ABOUT
Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Written by EWG staff.
DONATE TO EWG!
Help us protect your health and environment! Please donate $5 to EWG today.
GET EWG'S TIPS & ACTION ALERTS
Sign Up here to receive email updates and tips from EWG and stay informed on the issues that matter most to you.
ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL
Join EWG's live chat with Chef Ann Cooper
School lunch: More fruits & veggies, please!
Texas Schools are Drilling for Dollars
Why do blowouts take so long to fix?
SEARCH ENVIROBLOG
FEATURED
Support the 2010 Safe Cosmetics Act. It's Urgent.
Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?
Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure
Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked
EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series
EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure
EWG on TV
Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill
Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water
Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen
BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics
What can I do about fluoride in my water?
What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?
Are stainless steel water bottles safe?
Is mineral-based makeup safer?
PEOPLE TALKING TOXICS
TALK TO US
Did we miss something? Email Enviroblog.
« Your neighborhood pharmacy -- now just a faucet away? | Main | What's not for dinner? Wild salmon »
"Natural" products contain carcinogenic contaminant
Let this be a lesson to us all: Just because a product is labeled natural or organic doesn't mean that there's nothing in it you want to avoid.
The Organic Consumers Association released a report today that details the presence of 1,4-dioxane, a carcinogenic contaminant, in 47 of 100 so-called natural cleaning and personal care products, including such popular brands as JASON, Kiss My Face, Alba, Seventh Generation and Nature's Gate Organics. (Click here to download a list of all the contaminated products as a pdf.)
But don't look for 1,4-dioxane on the ingredient list. It's an accidental by-product of a petrochemical process used to make harsh ingredients milder. That's right -- petrochemical, as in derived from petroleum, that stuff that's causing global warming. There's a simple way to strip the carcinogen out of the finished product, but most companies don't bother.
A quick analysis of our own data reveals that 1,4-dioxane is present in 28 percent of personal care products. Baby products and anti-aging products have some of the highest levels:
1,4-dioxane is a potential contaminant in
- 55% of baby bubble baths
- 57% of baby shampoos
- 55% of baby soaps
- 43% of body firming lotions
- 37% of anti-aging lotions
- 35% of around-eye creams
OCA's tests found that no USDA or German certified organic products contained the carcinogen. In a previous report on 1,4-dioxane, EWG had this to say:
To avoid 1,4-dioxane, read ingredient labels and avoid any of the 56 cosmetic ingredients that can contain the contaminant, including "sodium laureth sulfate" and ingredients that include the clauses "PEG," "xynol," "ceteareth," and "oleth."
Or, click here to search Skin Deep for products free of all cancer-causing impurities.
I am passionate about promoting & teaching the benefits of not using products that are laden with chemicals...the effects are devastating....kudo's for this report...!! Judy
Thanks for this great reporting. I recall searching in vain for labels with 1,4 dioxine (thanks to EWG's previous reporting) and not finding any - but I was always suspicious of so-called "natural" products. Now I know why! Thanks for clarifying which ingredients to avoid.
Lynn from organicmania.com