STINK! opens with a foul smell and a pair of kids pajamas. And a single father trying to find out what that smell could possibly be. But instead of getting a straight answer, director Jon Whelan stumbles on an even bigger issue in America, which is that some products on our store shelves are not safe — by design.

Stink! tells us about our exposures to toxic chemicals from consumer products and lack of regulations through the eyes of a father who has lost his wife to cancer. He buys pajamas for Christmas presents for his two tween daughters and is appalled by the overwhelming odor.

Stink! takes us through his journey to find out what’s in the pajamas that causes the odor, shows the world of undisclosed “fragrance” chemicals, and even includes a a teenage boy who cannot attend high school because he goes into anaphylactic shock when he breathes a certain body spray used by many of his classmates.

There’s a lot of good information about toxics in this film that shows the problem. It’s well worth watching and a good movie to show others, so they can get an idea of the problem.

[Just as an aside I want to say that this film is full of interviews with people who are working to change the chemical industry and lack of regulation. One of them shown over and over is Jeffrey Hollander, founder of Seventh Generation, who just sold Seventh Generation to Unilever, manufacturer of the product that won’t disclose the chemicals in the body spray product that sends the teenage boy into life-threatening anaphylactic shock. This is the company that is now manufacturing the Seventh Generation brand.]

At the end of the film, the solution presented is

•  manufacturers need to disclose their ingredients and

 

•  there needs to be better regulation. And the closing scene is his daughter calling an online business that is offering “flame-proof” pajamas, asking them if the pajamas contain flame retardants.

What this movie is missing is any mention at all that there ARE toxic-free products available.

A big message of this movie is that we can’t make decisions as consumers unless the big corporations disclose the ingredients of their toxic products. Well, I would like to see that happen too, however, it’s not a prerequisite for us to determine the products are toxic or for us to have the power to identify, find, choose and purchase toxic-free products.

My concern about the film is that it leaves the viewer with the idea that the world is 100% toxic, and there are no safe alternatives. That may be the filmmaker’s world, but I know that’s not true.

So if you see this film and share it, tell everyone to come to my website after to find out how to live toxic free.

Watch STINK! Free for the Month of October

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