4 Easy Non-Toxic Swaps For 2021
Aiming for a healthier year? Make a big impact with minimal effort by swapping out these frequently used products.
Safe Foaming Hand Soap
Most hand soaps contain synthetic fragrance, colorants, or ingredients that not only irritate skin but can have adverse health effects. Fragrance contains unnamed ingredients like phthalates which are disruptive to the endocrine system. Artificial dyes are petroleum-derived colorants that are unnecessary in soap.
Avoid antibacterial soaps which contain ingredients than can do more harm than good. Read this factsheet for details on handwashing. [1]
Make your own gentle hand soap using Dr. Bronner’s castile soap. Mix the concentrated soap with water in a foaming soap pump bottle. Dr. Bronner’s is mild, comes in unscented or the natural scent of your choice, and does not irritate or dry out skin.
Non-Toxic Household Cleaner
Improve indoor air quality by swapping out traditional cleaning products. Cleaning products have strong smells and can release release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are different types of chemicals than can cause short term and long term health effects. VOCs inside the home can be up to 10x more concentrated compared to outdoors.[2][3]
Health effects from exposure to VOCs include the following:[3]
Eye, nose, and throat irritation
Headaches, loss of coordination, and nausea
Damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system
Some VOCs cause cancer in animals, and some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.
Switching to non-toxic cleaning products improves air quality and can reduce chemical-induced headaches and respiratory reactions.
Branch Basics can replace 4 or more household cleaning products. A Branch Basics starter kit includes all purpose, window, and bathroom cleaner plus laundry detergent.
Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent
Ingredients commonly used in laundry detergent are often the source of skin irritation. For some, switching to a non-toxic laundry detergent even cures eczema.
Laundry detergents like Tide and Gain contain harmful ingredients such as ethoxylates, ethanolamines, synthetic fragrance and more. This includes “natural” laundry detergents like Seventh Generation which contains methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone.
Branch Basics laundry detergent is a liquid detergent made from mixing concentrate with water. It is unscented and uses simple, completely clean and effective ingredients. Branch Basics has an oxygen boost powder to add in for extra dirty laundry, to brighten whites, or banish stains.
For an alternative to detergent pods, try Eco Nuts laundry soap balls.
Safe Hand Sanitizer
Given the increase in use of hand sanitizer, consider swapping for a cleaner formula. The CDC recommends using an alcohol based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when water is not available. Alcohol should be the only ingredient in the “active ingredients” section of the label. Learn about the proper use of hand sanitizer by reading this CDC factsheet.[4][5]
In addition, check the inactive ingredients section. Look for a clear liquid and no artificial dyes to ensure there are no petroleum-derived colorants.
Lastly, avoid hand sanitizer that contains fragrance because there are undisclosed ingredients in fragrance like phthalates which have negative health effects. Essential oils can be used instead of synthetic fragrance to impart a pleasing scent.
Dr. Bronner’s and EO products are alcohol-based, not overly drying, and contain essential oils instead of synthetic fragrance. Everyone brand is a great option as well and is owned by EO products.
References & Resources
[1] https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-08/documents/fact_sheet_hand_washing.pdf
[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1247565/#:~:text=Past%20research%20has%20shown%20that,Levin%201989%3B%20Otson%20et%20al.
[3] https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality
[4] https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7229736/
