What are consumer products?
Consumer products are items purchased for everyday use. They range from cleaning supplies, personal care products, and toys to furniture and building materials. These products can contain harmful chemicals like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), endocrine disruptors, and toxic additives. Chemical ingredients in products can affect indoor air quality and health. Understanding what you bring into your home is key to creating a healthier environment.
What are the potential health impacts of consumer products?
Exposures to harmful chemicals are linked to respiratory issues, developmental delays, hormone disruption, reproductive effects, organ damage, and increased cancer risk. For example, endocrine-disrupting chemicals can be found in plastics, fragrances, and pesticides. Endocrine disruption means chemicals interfere with hormone function in the body, which can contribute to long-term health problems. Children are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures because their bodies are still developing. They also breathe, eat, and drink more relative to their size than adults, making exposure more dangerous.
How can I protect my family?
Reduce exposure by making informed choices and minimizing harmful chemicals in the home:
- Store safely: Keep all cleaners, pesticides, baits, and medications locked away and out of reach of children.
- Choose safer products: Look for items with fewer ingredients; avoid PFAS (products with “fluoro” chemicals), fragrances, parabens, phthalates, and triclosan.
- Baby products: Select PVC-, BPA-, and BPS-free bottles and feeding items; choose plant-based personal care products.
- Toys: Avoid soft plastics with strong odors and older or imported toys that may contain lead.
- Furniture & materials: Choose natural wood over pressed wood; avoid products with formaldehyde and chemical flame retardants.
- Flooring: Opt for washable rugs or hardwood, cork, or bamboo flooring over carpet or vinyl/PVC flooring.
- Cleaning: Use plant-based cleaners or simple ingredients, like vinegar and baking soda. For disinfection, consider hydrogen peroxide or alcohol instead of bleach.
- Air quality: Use low- or no-VOC paints, ensure good ventilation, and test for hazards like radon and carbon monoxide.
- Water safety: Use filtered water (NSF-certified) when preparing infant formula to reduce lead exposure.
Top chemicals to avoid (“Dirty Dozen”): formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens, fragrance, triclosan, PFAS (“fluoro” chemicals), SLS/SLES, toluene, coal tar dyes, aluminum compounds, PEGs, and petrochemicals.
Resources
Women for a Healthy Environment Fact Sheets
- DIY Recipes for a Healthier Home
- Fragrance Fact Sheet
- Healthy Home Assessment – Tools & Tips for a Healthier Home
Safer Home Products
- 36 Expert Tips for a Healthier Home | Harvard
- Chemical Exposure from Personal Care Products | American Academy of Pediatrics
- Exposure Assessment Tools by Media – Consumer Products | US EPA
- Safe Cleaning and Disinfection | NCHH
- Safer Choice | US EPA
- Apps
Protect Children’s Environments
- Children’s Environmental Health Chemicals of Special Concern to Children’s Health | MN Dept. of Health
- What Are Common Sources of Toxicants to Which Children May Be Exposed? | ATSDR
- What Are Special Considerations Regarding Toxic Exposures to Young and School-age Children, as Well as Adolescents? | ATSDR
- Protecting Children’s Environmental Health | APHA
- The Red List | Living Future
- Understanding Exposures in Children’s Environments | US EPA
- What You Can Do to Protect Children from Environmental Risks | US EPA
