Johnson’s Baby was flooded with concerns from parents and grandparents over the safety of ingredients used in their baby products. In 2011, the company said they were going to start phasing out ingredients like formaldehyde and reducing traces of dioxane 1,4. Now in 2014, Johnson’s Baby said they have met that goal. The reformulated products are making their way to store shelves around the world and will replace existing products over the next several months. Even before their removal, customers would not have found formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane listed on bottles because they aren’t technically ingredients.

Formaldehyde, which has been identified by government scientists as a carcinogen, is released over time by preservatives, like quaternium-15 and 1,4-dioxane is created during a process to make other ingredients mild but is also linked to cancer in animal studies. Johnson’s Baby says that the products were always safe and that they reformulated the products for the peace of mind of parents. The company also states that parabens were removed from most of the new and improved baby care line, ahead of their 2015 commitment to do so. For more information on this and Johnson & Johnson’s policies and timeline, visit safetyandcarecommitment.com.

A new video was just released by the company to mark the debut of the reformulated products. You can view the video below.

In the video Johnson’s Baby states that they were inspired by a Japanese legend when making the commitment to children to reformulate the products. The legend says that when you make 1000 origami cranes that it signifies a hope granted and a promise fulfilled. The company brought their employees and even the employee’s children together to make the cranes or storks to deliver their promise.

I think the origami storks are a beautiful way to show the fulfillment of a promise and I have never before heard that Japanese legend, but will now share it with my children. As a parent this reminds me of the promises we make to our kids to keep them safe, provide for their needs and to love and nurture them. I would never want to use a product with ingredients that are unsafe or questionable on my children and as the mother of a cancer survivor this is paramount to me! It’s a step in the right direction that Johnson’s Baby is removing these ingredients. What do you think?

Toxic Clean???

I want to share something with you that I have been thinking about for a while now. I think we are all aware of the movement in recent years to “go green.” However, I don’t think as consumers we are as aware as we should be and take many things at face value. You may be wondering, what I mean? Let’s talk about cleaners that are marketed as “green,” do you really know what that means? Do you go to the supermarket and see the new cleaners packaged with flowers on the label and called “green something”, toss it in your cart and think you are doing something good for your family and the environment? I did. I used to, if it said it was “green”, “eco-friendly”, “plant based”, I was all for it. Then, I would take my products home and feel good that I was not using harmful cleaning agents.

If you take a look at the commercials that market household products to us like laundry detergent, they will usually be focused on the smell, and how even after 7 days, the smell is still as strong or how they have fabric softeners added right in, so you will never forget. Then, we are told to control static cling by adding a dryer sheet to our clothing in the clothes dryer. It is easy to get wrapped up in the scents of detergents; don’t you want to go to sleep with your blanket as soft as a cloud and smelling like lavender? What we don’t hear about is, the nasty side of all this. The chemicals that are in these products, the toxins that we are cleaning our family’s clothing with, the dryer sheets that are filled with toxic chemicals that we throw in and then heat our dryer up to make sure we release every bit of it onto our clothing. Clothing we wear on our skin, the largest organ that is just absorbing these toxins in.

When we think about the ugly side, it is no wonder that incidents of childhood cancers, infertility, premature menses, autism, ADHD, and other cancers are rising dramatically. Cancers that have no hereditary links, but are due to environmental factors. I know this too well, our teenage son was diagnosed last June with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We have no risk factors, so if you ask me if I believe that environment and the agents we are exposed to are causing us harm, I think you know what my answer is.

The problem is that most of the time when we go about putting our homes on a detox, that the very products we are replacing them with, are as toxic or more toxic then what we were using. How can that be? Do you know what it takes for a cleaning agent to be deemed “green”? Did you know that a product can be marketed as “green” if it is biodegradable? Are you are using products that are so strong they have warnings on them, not to inhale, only use in ventilated area, harmful to people and pets, may cause eye and skin irritation etc? Do you think these products could be healthy for your family?

I find it amazing that we are marketed wipes and sprays that are said to kill the germs like the rhinovirus and influenza and we are advised to spray all the surfaces in our home, doorknobs, telephones, hard surfaces and the air. Did you know that these very wipes and sprays are not to be inhaled or ingested? Yet, we spray the surfaces we will surely be touching and we are spraying it in the air we are sure to be breathing. Okay, so you may be thinking that you don’t use any of those germicide sprays, you only use air fresheners with pleasing scents like cinnamon and vanilla. You may want to take a look at the back of your air freshener, plug-ins, scented candles, and linen sprays. Very likely, you will find that you should not be breathing these agents in. Why then are we told they are room sprays, air fresheners, room deodorizers when we are not to be breathing them in? Why in the world are we spraying these in our homes and making our air quality unhealthy to breathe?

Then, we can talk about beauty products, skin creams, cosmetics, scrubs, shampoos, baby products which have come under much scrutiny lately for containing chemicals and toxins. A major name in baby care products that we trusted for generations, was found to have 2 cancer causing chemicals in their baby shampoo and products. So you might think that once this was discovered, the FDA ordered all of the products off the store shelves. That is not the case and the company is gradually phasing the use of these chemicals out of their baby products and I believe they plan to have this done sometime in the next 2 years.

Again, there we are, trusting consumers, once again being sold “gentle” products with known carcinogens that we are applying to our most precious little lives. Scary isn’t it? What can we do? It seems we are misled, we can’t believe labels, and we have to be skeptical. Are you still using these products? Is the cabinet under your sink filled with chemical cleaning agents with safety caps, and warnings? If you are truly interested in detoxing your home, and getting rid of the harmful agents, please contact me. You might be thinking that you cannot find products that will do what you need them to do and are natural. I can tell you, that you can. I can show you products that will work as well as chlorine bleach, products that will kill germs and sanitize without putting your family at risk. Products that you will be on average less than the products you are buying in the grocery store. Products that will give you some peace of mind. If you have any questions, please contact me as I would love to help you. It is almost time for Spring Cleaning!!!