Every day is Earth Day at Beautiful Healthy Home

April 22, 2023 Zoe Rodgers Beaumont

EARTH DAY

Today is Earth Day and this year’s theme is a call to businesses (& people!) to shift to sustainable practices - ‘Invest In Our Planet, Protect Our Future’.

But for me, here at Beautiful Healthy Home, every single day of the year is an Earth Day. Choosing brands and products that have sustainability at their core, has and continues to be, one of my key values. However there is something more to this that too often gets overlooked: we don’t talk enough about the chemicals in our lives. Most chemicals are completely invisible so easy to ignore, but they are having a hugely detrimental effect on our long term health, the environment, wildlife and eco-systems.

These chemicals are absolutely everywhere - from agricultural practises to manufactured products. They are in our water, air and land, and we are exposed to chemicals through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact. Chemicals can even pass through the umbilical cord to the unborn child, so shockingly we were all born with our very own toxic body burden, and through our lifestyles and environments, we add to it daily.

Beautiful Healthy Home promotes the use of natural ingredients for the skin so you are not exposing your body to harmful toxins. I also focus on healthier interior products, through my interior design service, that do not release (off-gas) volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, so that again, you are not exposing yourself to toxic chemicals through inhalation.

STATISTICS

Here are some mind-blowing chemical stats: (source WHO.int)

Did you know there are over 160 million chemicals known to humans?
The global chemical inventory lists over 350,000 chemicals registered for commercial use.
6,000 of these make up 99% of the chemicals found in commercial products.
2 million deaths each year occur from chemical exposure.
Millions more suffer health problems such as mental, behavioural and neurological disorders, cataracts or asthma

I am not against all chemicals. There are many that are not harmful and the industrial application of certain chemicals have helped improved our lives such as the development of water purification and modern medicine; the introduction of global communication and the preservation of food, to name a few.

However, although the chemical industry is highly regulated, there are still big problems with environmental pollution, lack of regulation to protect workers, a lack of corporate accountability and the marketing of products to consumer lacks true transparency.

CONSUMERS

Consumers have been sold products based on their aesthetic appearance or functionality without any real consideration as to the content of the material and the possible impact to the user’s health. Data sheets are available on some products but not all, and let’s be honest, how often have you sought out a data sheet before using a product?

The idea of pushing for a sustainable world is vital for our survival (carbon-off setting; renewable sources and so on) but sustainability needs to go hand-in-hand with better awareness of the chemicals in our lives - what they are, what they do, how they affect us and what steps we can take to reduce any negative impacts on us and the planet.

So many of us are exposed to chemicals without even knowing it. If you were given the knowledge of a product and the effects on you and your environment, perhaps you’d choose something different. But without this knowledge we are left in the dark and we are solely reliant on companies with excessively large marketing budgets who want us to buy their products. So where to start? The first point is to understand which chemicals are worth worrying about and whether you are exposed to them at all.

CHEMICALS

Here are just a few of the chemicals that you need to know about;

asbestos - a toxic substance when inhaled - its use in both commercial and residential properties was only fully banned late 1999. It can still be found in pipe laggings, vinyl tiles, ceiling and wall coverings, roof tiles, sprayed insulation….
benzene - a toxic VOC - cigarette smoke, glues, adhesives, paint strippers, paraffin wax candles and other petroleum-based products (plus having previously been used in cosmetic products) - it is known to change cells, has links to leukaemia and can be deadly.
cadmium - a toxic heavy metal - found in batteries, pigments, metal coatings and plastics. As well as being in certain foods - cereals and cereal products, vegetables, nuts and pulses, starchy roots or potatoes, and meat and meat products. Cadium is toxic to the kidneys and is a human carcinogen
dioxin and dioxin-like substances are a group of Persistent Environmental Pollutants (POPs) that accumulate in fatty tissue and can be found in our food-chain, predominantly animal based products. They are carcinogenic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system and interfere with hormone production.
formaldehyde - used within adhesives and often found in flat packed furniture. Remember the ‘new’ smell that comes with a newly built piece of furniture? Well that furniture is off-gassing as the chemicals contained within the adhesives and paint become air-borne. Off-gassing can continue for six months up to five years and it is a severe respiratory tract and skin irritant which may cause dizziness or with serious exposure, suffocation.
glyphosate (commonly used toxic herbicide) and thiamethoxam (a commonly used toxic neonicotinoid insecticide)- we are slowly destroying eco-systems, polluting our waterways, severely reducing our insect population and damaging our own health with the continued use of these toxic agents - all in the name of food production! Read here to find out ways you can help our bees.
toluene - in paint cleaners, thinners, lacquers and nail polish - with small amounts you may develop a mild headache, dizziness, drowsiness, or nausea. With more serious exposure, toluene may cause sleepiness, stumbling, irregular heartbeat, fainting, or even death.

THE PROBLEM

Most of us are not regularly exposed to these chemicals in large quantities, but we are exposed to them in tiny quantities, often and regularly. They are slowly building up in our bodies and it is this toxic body burden that is leading to health problems later in life.

THE SOLUTION

Educating ourselves on which chemicals are toxic and how they can be avoided is an important step forward in ensuring a longer, healthier life, as well as protecting our precious planet.

FREE DISCOVERY CALL

If you’d like to chat about any home improvement project you are starting out on, book my FREE discovery call and together we can get your healthy home project off the ground.

Happy Earth Day to you all.
Zoë x

Images Unsplash: Earth - Anirudh, Hands holding earth - Gabriel Jimenez, Smoke - Corina Rainer, Hands holding water - Mrjn Photography, Chemical - D. Koi

Images Unsplash: Bedroom - Isaac Martin, Kitchen - Ionut Vlad, Living Room - Minh Pham

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.