Hand Sanitizer

If you often use waterless hand sanitizer, consider switching to a green alternative. The following article from Tree Hugger discusses the Clean Well line of hand sanitizers. Here in West Melbourne, FL, you can find these products at Paradise Health and Nutrition. I'm sure if you have the good fortune of having access to larger natural food/products stores, you'll be able to find Clean Well easily where you live, too.

A Greener Hand Sanitizer for Cold Season?

Natural CleanWell hand sanitizers kill 99.99 percent of germs while being 100 biodegradable just in time for cold season. CleanWell’s kid-friendly sanitizers, soaps, and wipes are made with ingredients from renewable plants such as thyme that don’t require pesticides during their growing process.

CleanWell also doesn't include Triclosan, an ingredient that has gotten a pretty bad wrap. Triclosan, widely used as an antibacterial ingredient in household hand sterilization products, breaks down rapidly when exposed to chlorinated water and produces toxic chemicals including chloroform. According to a study published on the Environmental Science & Technology research website As Soon As Publishable (ASAP), many antibacterial products may not only be ineffective, but harmful.

According to Cleanwell's Web site, however, the product doesn't disrupt the eco-system. It's also free of toxins like Triclosan and cruelty-free (not tested on animals).

Lloyd previously discussed how hand sanitizers can do more harm than good. According to Scientific American, it appears that after spraying a counter with an antibiotic cleaner, some chemicals linger and continue to kill bacteria but don't necessarily get all of them. The ones that survive develop a tolerance. That's scary stuff. The jury is still out as to whether that's true of natural sanitizers.

The bottom line: people love hand sanitizer. So if you're going to use it, you might as well try a greener version.

Oh, Teflon!

Ben's going to kill me. I'm going to have to go through our kitchen and get rid of more pots and pans and utensils...again. Turns out Teflon was even more dangerous that I knew. I thought it was just a problem if it was scratched and the Teflon got into your food. WRONG. At high temperatures (you know, like the ones you cook at) it emits toxic particles and gases.

Read this article, complete with graphs and scary stuff. And ask for some safe and healthy stainless steel and pans for the holidays!

UPDATE: Here's a little further discussion. Thanks, Amy!

Indoor Plants

As winter comes, more of us may be staying inside a little more often. A great idea for the indoor months: potted plants!

LiveScience's article The Environmental Impact of Indoor Plants tells us why.

The primary reason is "phytoremediation, or using plants to remove and retain toxins. This is where toxins like carbon monoxide, some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or even cyanide might be absorbed and converted by the plant, while heavy metals are absorbed and retained in the plant. Indoor plants can be great at absorbing VOCs from paint or cleaning supplies so you aren't inhaling them."

Ben and I like to try to have a potted plant or two in every room where we spend a lot of time. We have six broccoli plants going in the bedroom; an ivy and some cat grass in the den; an aloe vera in Ben's office; and mint (and more cat grass...) in the guest bath. Not that hard. Especially if you grow useful plants like the mint, brocolli, and cat grass, or desert plants like the aloe vera (I can't even tell you the last time we watered that thing, but it's growing strong.)

Give it a try. Comment to let us all know which plants are easy and which are hard. And let us know if you have any problems.

[Thanks, Eric, for sharing the original article with me!]