Comments on: “Green” shampoos — now with carcinogens? http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/ Urban environmental lifestyle blog in Los Angeles Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:31:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Siel http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-293060 Siel Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:53:08 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-293060 chrystie -- Thanks for the info. I'm v. glad to hear that Seventh Gen is working to eliminate 1,4-dioxane from all its products. Is there a target date for the phase-out, per chance? chrystie — Thanks for the info. I’m v. glad to hear that Seventh Gen is working to eliminate 1,4-dioxane from all its products. Is there a target date for the phase-out, per chance?

]]> By: chrystie http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-256234 chrystie Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:13:54 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-256234 just wanted to add: this was an apples to oranges comparison. The Clorox products tested by the Organic Consumers Association were spray cleaners--not dish liquids. Seventh Generation's household spray cleaners do NOT contain the substance 1,4-dioxane. It is also worth noting that all of the dish liquids tested by the OCA contained ethoxylates. Furthermore, according to the OCA, no viable alternative currently exists and will need to be developed and thoroughly tested. For our dish liquids and liquid laundry detergents, ethoxylates help deliver products that work. While that is true for now, we are working to eliminate ethoxylates from all products in the future. Thanks just wanted to add: this was an apples to oranges comparison. The Clorox products tested by the Organic Consumers Association were spray cleaners–not dish liquids. Seventh Generation’s household spray cleaners do NOT contain the substance 1,4-dioxane. It is also worth noting that all of the dish liquids tested by the OCA contained ethoxylates. Furthermore, according to the OCA, no viable alternative currently exists and will need to be developed and thoroughly tested.

For our dish liquids and liquid laundry detergents, ethoxylates help deliver products that work. While that is true for now, we are working to eliminate ethoxylates from all products in the future.

Thanks

]]> By: chrystie http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-256232 chrystie Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:05:56 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-256232 Hi Siel, weighing in on behalf of all of us here at Seventh Generation, who share your concern about ingredient disclosure and transparency. Our CEO and founder, Jeffrey Hollender, attended the Organic Consumer Association’s (OCA) recent conference and applauded their research efforts to educate consumers about the safety of personal care and home cleaning products. It is important for consumers to know that Seventh Generation’s dish liquid, which does contain a minute amount of the ethoxylate 1,4-dioxane, is deemed safe according to the FDA’s and our own strict guidelines. Please know that we are committed to eliminating all harmful chemicals from household cleaning products. Consistent with our core mission, we have worked with surfactant manufacturers for many years to reduce levels of 1,4-dixoane in ethoxylated surfactants and it is our intent to completely eliminate 1,4-dioxane from all of our products. We share the OCA’s concerns about the misuse of terms such as “organic” and “natural” and the lack of disclosure requirements. We have championed this cause and have led the market for twenty years. We also believe that the decision to stop using conventional synthetic chemical cleaners is one of the most important ones you’ll ever make for the health of your family and the safety of your home. While our products are not perfect today, we will continue to improve them and are confident that they are a much better and safer choice than traditional cleaning products. Is There An Alternative to Ethoxylates? We don’t believe that today there is a better or safer choice. Ethoxylation is used to modify plant oils to make them function as surfactants. It is possible to create surfactants without ethoxylation, but there are trade-offs. One alternative, for example, is to use exclusively petroleum-derived materials. However, this is less sustainable than using renewable plant oils. Petroleum-derived surfactants may also have less desirable biodegradability and toxicity profiles. For anionic (negatively charged) surfactants, another alternative is to not ethoxylate the plant oils. The resulting surfactants (SLS, for example) are more irritating than the equivalent ethoxylated surfactant. For more information about Seventh Generation's commitment to consumers, please visit our <a href="http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/blog/seventh-generations-response-oca/" rel="nofollow">7th Gen blog!</a>. I also encourage you to visit the <a href="http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/inspiredprotagonist /">Inspired Protagonist</a>. Again, thanks for keeping your audience informed. Chrystie Heimert, Seventh Generation Hi Siel,
weighing in on behalf of all of us here at Seventh Generation, who share your
concern about ingredient disclosure and transparency. Our CEO and founder, Jeffrey Hollender, attended the Organic Consumer Association’s (OCA) recent conference and applauded their research efforts to educate consumers about the safety of personal care and home cleaning products. It is important for consumers to know that Seventh Generation’s dish liquid, which does contain a minute amount of the ethoxylate 1,4-dioxane, is deemed safe according to the FDA’s and our own strict guidelines.

Please know that we are committed to eliminating all harmful chemicals from household cleaning products. Consistent with our core mission, we have worked with surfactant manufacturers for many years to reduce levels of 1,4-dixoane in ethoxylated surfactants and it is our intent to completely eliminate 1,4-dioxane from all of our products.

We share the OCA’s concerns about the misuse of terms such as “organic” and “natural” and the lack of disclosure requirements. We have championed this cause and have led the market for twenty years. We also believe that the decision to stop using conventional synthetic chemical cleaners is one of the most important ones you’ll ever make for the health of your family and the safety of your home. While our products are not perfect today, we will continue to improve them and are confident that they are a much better and safer choice than traditional cleaning products.

Is There An Alternative to Ethoxylates?
We don’t believe that today there is a better or safer choice. Ethoxylation is used to modify plant oils to make them function as surfactants. It is possible to create surfactants without ethoxylation, but there are trade-offs. One alternative, for example, is to use exclusively petroleum-derived materials. However, this is less sustainable than using renewable plant oils. Petroleum-derived surfactants may also have less desirable biodegradability and toxicity profiles. For anionic (negatively charged) surfactants, another alternative is to not ethoxylate the plant oils. The resulting surfactants (SLS, for example) are more irritating than the equivalent ethoxylated surfactant.

For more information about Seventh Generation’s commitment to consumers, please visit our 7th Gen blog!. I also encourage you to visit the Inspired Protagonist.

Again, thanks for keeping your audience informed.

Chrystie Heimert, Seventh Generation

]]> By: arduous http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-255250 arduous Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:43:27 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2008/03/17/green-shampoos-now-with-carcinogens/#comment-255250 Ack! CLOROX'S green line is greener than 7th Gen! My head is spinning. Ack! CLOROX’S green line is greener than 7th Gen! My head is spinning.

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