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California Coast Naturals
California grown, certified organic black and green olives and olive oil—hand-picked and hand-packed. Plain, stuffed, and flavored (sweet balsamic sundried olives, anyone?). Their Sun Dried Black Olives are the very olives used in the famous Black Olive Brittle & Goat Cheese Ice Cream featured at Salt and Straw.
Millions Now Known To Have Multiple Chemical Sensitive (MCS)
Anne Steinemann PhD has been a leading researcher studying the health effects of fragrance in consumer products for many years.
Her latest study assesses the prevalence of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), its co-occurrence with asthma and fragrance sensitivity, and effects from exposure to fragranced consumer products.
She concluded that the prevalence of diagnosed MCS has increased over 300%, and self-reported chemical sensitivity over 200%, in the past decade. She recommended implementation of fragrance-free policies to reduce adverse health and societal effects.
Results of this study provide evidence that MCS is widespread and increasing in the US population: an estimated 25.6 million adults are diagnosed with MCS, and an estimated 51.8 million adults report chemical sensitivity. Using the same criteria to assess MCS and chemical sensitivity as prior US national prevalence studies, this represents an increase of 300% in diagnosed MCS and 200% in self-reported chemical sensitivity in a little more than 10 years.
In addition, among individuals with MCS, 86.2% report adverse health effects from exposure to fragranced consumer products. Thus, individuals with MCS are proportionally more likely to be fragrance sensitive than individuals without MCS (prevalence odds ratio 16.8; 95% confidence interval 10.3 to 27.5).
As a consequence, individuals with MCS are prevented from accessing restrooms, businesses, workplaces, and public places due to risk of adverse health effects—some potentially disabling—from fragranced consumer products. Notably, exposure to fragranced consumer products is associated with lost workdays or a job, in the past year, for 11.0% of the adult population with MCS or chemical sensitivity, representing an estimated 22 million Americans. While researchers continue to investigate which chemicals or mixtures of chemicals in fragranced consumer products could be associated with adverse effects,18 a practical step in the meantime would be to reduce exposure to the products. For instance, 71.0% of those with MCS would support fragrance-free policies in the workplace, and 82.1% would prefer fragrance-free health care facilities and professionals, as would a majority of the US general population.
You can read other articles on the health effects of frangraced consumer products on Dr Steinneman’s website.
including:
Fragranced consumer products and health effects in America
Air fresheners and indoor air quality
Good Box Spring
Question from Nick
Hi Debra,
Wanted to know if you know a good non toxic healthy box spring or foundation for under a mattress?
Debra’s Answer
Actually I had never thought about this before.
I bought a wood slat frame for my natural mattress years ago and I think most people do that. These are widely available. The least expensive are those from IKEA, which I have purchased in the past and recommended to readers and clients. Nobody has ever complained to me they didn’t like them. But there are many others. Get unfinished wood and leave unfinished or apply a toxic free finish.
You can also get metal bed frames, also many available online. If you have a spring mattress you can put it right on the metal bed frame. For those of you with futon-type mattresses, you’ll need to get a “bunkie board” which is just the wood slats that you can put in any metal bed frame. Here’s one made of solid wood slats . Read descriptions carefully as some are made from glue laminated wood strips.
I had an assumption that all the natural mattress manufacturers would make box springs, but apparently they don’t.
Here are some box springs made with organic and natural materials:
Here is a very basic metal frame that can be used alone or fit into any bed frame
Classic Brands Hercules Heavy-Duty 14-inch Platform Metal Bed Frame
Allbird Shoes
Allbirds advertises their shoes as “wool” but it’s really a proprietary fiber made from wool and undisclosed ingredients.
Question from Heather
Hi Debra,
I am wondering about Allbird shoes and your thoughts? I am desperately trying to find shoes for my kids and elements age boys in Seattle need good shoes. I love Pololo but only found one place in USA that sells them and sizes are slim. What are your thoughts?
Debra’s Answer
First, I see that in addition to this question, you also made some other comments, including that Campers have polyester and polyurethane in them.
As you have found, it’s very difficult to find shoes that are 100% natural and even if you find them, they are often not available or affordable.
Given the state of the market today, some product categories are better than others with regard to having toxic free products available.
Shoes are one of those categories.
You commented specifically that Campers have polyurethane and polyester. Not sure where the polyester is, but I believe the soles are polyurethane. I have a pair of Campers and I wear them almost everyday. I’ve actually been wearing Campers for years and have never had a problem with the release of any kind of odor from these shoes.
In terms of toxic materials used in shoes, I personally will accept polyester and polurethane in a vegetable-tanned shoe rather than wear a pair of shoes made with PVC or chemical-tanned leather which are much more toxic.
But you asked me about Allbirds.
Looking at their website I see that they have shoes made from “Wool” and other shoes made from “Tree.”
On their FAQ page they state that their “Wool” is “proprietary merino fabric…” Proprietary wool fabric. This sounds like wool mixed with some other material. And they are not going to tell you what it is. So it’s not 100% wool. And no information on chemicals that might be used in the raising of the sheep.
Their “Tree’ fiber is TENCEL(tm), a manmade fiber that is made from plant cellulose—in this case from trees—mixed with chemicals. The trees are from responsibly managed forests, but your body doesn’t recognize Tencel as a natural fiber because it isn’t.
So basically you have a company that is making shoes out of wool and tree turned into industrial fibers and marketing them as natural.
On their basic page about the shoe materials they state:
- their laces are 100% recycled polyester.
- insoles are their proprietary merino wool fabric (with undisclosed ingredients)
- the sole is “proprietary low-density foam” (again undisclosed ingredients). It’s pretty likely it’s polyurethane foam. I’m not concerned about the polyurethane, I’m concerned about the chemicals that are used to make it into foam.
I prefer Campers.
Urth Caffee
While driving down Main Street in Santa Monica, California one evening, I saw this tiny sign lit up in the dark that said “Exclusively Organic Coffees & Fine Teas.” I couldn’t stop right then, but went back the next day. It was crowded with a line out the door and Starbuck’s a block away was empty. “Founded in 1989, Urth Caffe is widely considered the first coffee roasting company in America to offer exclusively organically grown, heirloom coffees. Each season we choose the very finest beans from our farmers – carefully selecting only a small percentage of the crop representing the coffee’s finest seasonal flavor & characteristics. The flavor profile of our blends changes from season to season – always presenting exciting new characteristics. All our organic coffees are small batch roasted using secret, innovative techniques in roasting and blending developed by us, to give the coffee its full potential of depth and complexity of flavor…Heirloom means that the trees have never been genetically modified, and are like their ancient ancestors found growing wild in the rainforests. Heirloom species such as Bourbon, Geisha, Heirloom Culitvar, Typica (to name a few) can grow up to twenty feet tall, require deep shade, and produce less coffee yield than hybridized trees. Heirloom coffee has superior flavor, has a more distinctive aroma, and is naturally lower in acid for easier digestion. “ Their exclusive selection of fine loose leaf teas include black, fruit scented, oolong, green, white, matcha green teas, and herbal infusions. “Each source garden is carefully selected by Urth Caffé based on highest quality, commitment to purity, uniqueness, and sustainability.”
Just Skin Food
Skin care products for men and women, plus make up, all made from certified organically grown and wildcrafted ingredients. “By selecting botanical ingredients based on their beneficial properties, our products provide the healing effects of each plant. ..We make all the herbal oils, salves, balms, butters, soap, body scrubs, and lotion sticks by hand, by using various infusing methods with a range of organic herbs, unrefined, steam-distilled and cold-pressed ingredients.We also double infuse certain oils for therapeutic reasons in order to provide additional healing properties. It is through these raw materials that the color, texture and scent of the products are determined. Our products are made in small batches in order to pay attention to each step in the process and to keep the integrity and quality of the herbs and the essence without compromising the outcome…For packaging we use only glass, reusable or biodegradable products. Even our inside seals are made from certified unbleached chlorine free paper.” Ingredients page.
Branch Basics
A multipurpose, unscented, plant-and-mineral-based concentrated “soap” that can be used for different cleaning tasks by mixing it with different amounts of water. Comes with labeled BPA- and phthalate-free plastic bottles that have markings for easy mixing of concentrations. For MCS they have a 2 oz all-purpose spray you can purchase as a sample to test. “We have taken every step we could to create a product that works even for very sensitive people.”
Nova Scotia Organics
USDA Certified Organic whole food vitamins, minerals, and supplements…”We often use a production approach called the Whole Herb Method which uses the raw plant exactly as found in nature. Such plant preparations contain all the inherent constituents of the plant including the natural buffers, which help protect the body from overdose, toxicity and dangerous interactions. In contrast to many unregulated techniques that isolate a single biochemical constituent, we use the entire herb plant, allowing it to work synergistically to create the positive health effect Nature intended. Just about all of our herbal vitamins and supplements are simply whole herbs and plants dried using a gentle freeze drying process which preserves almost all of the nutritious properties of the original plant. Some formulations also add organic minerals if it is called for.” Choose from single vitamins or solution-based blends.
Blessed Nest
A unique nursing pillow filled with buckwheat hulls, which allows you to get your baby into the proper position, and then it conforms to baby’s body and its weight helps it to stay put, instead of simply placing your baby on top of the pillow. “The miracle of buckwheat hulls is that they not only move around like a bean-bag, but they are shaped like little pyramids that interlock together like puzzle pieces so it gives stable support whatever size, shape or position you are in (and where you’re sitting!).” All of theirfabrics are certified organic by GOTS.
Essential Wholesale & Labs
Certified organic bodycare bulk products and bulk ingredients. This allows you to purchase formulated UNSCENTED organic personal care products of all types in bulk, or purchase individual unscented ingredients and make your own. Then if you want scent, you can purchase the essential oils and add any scent you want. Products and ingredients are sold by the 1/2 gallon, gallon, and 5 gallon, but they also sell samples, so you can try before you buy in bulk.
