curiosity and chemicals

Curiosity.....

Ezra's chore today was to empty all trash, and while emptying all trash he came across the small wrappers of my feminine hygiene products. Inevitable, this is bound to happen. Especially with the snazzy packaging designs. I mean, all mommies/women/girls run across the daunting monthly task of using and disposing of these creatively designed products. Right? I'm not going to make this an uncomfortable post(men would not like the ewww-gross factor if I elaborated), although it seems that I have no modesty, I threw that out the window during my pregnancy somewhere between pelvic exams and the 3rd trimester sneeze peeing... if you've been pregnant then chances are you've been there.

Anyway, back to the curiosity, Ezra comes up and asks 'what are these little green wrappers you keep throwing away?' in a very curious tone, almost as if he feels left out. I simply replied that it was not of his concern, and to please quit inspecting trash. I couldn't help but chuckle as he walked around the corner, because he seemed as if he thought I might be sneaking up to the bathroom to have snacks or chocolate. What gets me is that the branding, and the packaging has changed to become more 'trendy' looking - how is that any more pleasant? Does it make me feel better each month to say - whew, at least the wrapper is cute and green? No. And further, my 9 year old evidently thinks it's a candy wrapper, so I can't wait until my 2 yo grabs a hold of one from my bag and starts launching them like rockets.

Chemicals...

I can't get my head around this, how it is that the makers of all of these chemicals didn't think past the main objective. Why isn't product testing more intense? Doesn't it make sense that if cancer, disease, and behavioral concerns could be directly related to chemical exposure that it should become top priority to eliminate it? The very laptop I'm writing this post from is likely emitting a PBDE. I blogged in the past about different chemicals in shampoos, toothpaste, etc., and how we're trying our best at home to change within our budget in order to buy organic, perfume free, and chemical free products. It's pretty insane how many baby products contain Quaternium at high rates, it's also pretty interesting how many products I found with triclosan in them. I know we're not saving the world in our house by making a few changes, I know alot of eyes roll when I say 'we buy 75% organic' and that is even evolving toward clothing, and other products outside of food... but what I know is that it makes me feel better about my children and their exposure to chemicals. I realize not everyone agrees, and that doesn't bother me - I'm ok with making choices like that and dealing with the eye rolling. I just read alot, probably too much, and what I read doesn't make me too happy lately when it comes to chemical exposure. I also realize that I have lived my life exposed to most of this, and that it's been good enough for me, but I just sleep better at night knowing I'm doing what I feel is right for me and my family. I can't change genetics, but I can check a label for a chemical - in most cases I've ran across there's a 10-20 cent difference in an alternative product, and many times no price difference at all. According to this article, there are some very simple steps to take in order to 'go green' in a simple way. This is all we've done, with the exception of #7 (hopefully at Christmas I can afford to change this too!) - we're doing what I like to call 'simple green' living as much as possible, and it doesn't really bother the budget. It definitely eases my mind just a bit. I'm off my 'tree hugger' freak rant now. Goodnight to all!!