Did you know that even if it’s marked “pure and gentle,” baby shampoo might contain contaminants linked to cancer. That’s what the Breast Cancer Fund’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found nearly a year ago, when product tests revealed formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in children’s shampoos, bubble baths and other cosmetics.

Yet because U.S. cosmetics are almost completely unregulated and the FDA has no authority to issue recalls on dangerous products, our government has taken no action.

Please support the Safe Baby Products Act, which would require the FDA to test kids’ products for contaminants and work to prevent contamination in the first place.

Find It Here:  Safe Baby Products Act

On Our Blog: We’re Blushing!

Disinfectant chemicals have a purpose and place, but should be used very sparingly as scientific studies have shown that disinfectant chemicals have been linked to chronic health issues like asthma, hormone imbalance, potential reduced fertility, and immune system problems.

What kind of disinfectant chemicals are we talking about? The kind we come in contact with everyday in household bleach, ammonia-based cleaners, triclosan in antibacterial soaps and other antibacterial products and nano-silvers found in antibacterial plastics, textiles, soaps and other materials.

Visit Women’s Voices for the Earth to learn more and then consider signing  this petition to tell companies to replace toxic chemicals in their household cleaning products with safer alternatives AND disclose all of the ingredients that they use in household cleaning products on the product label.

Target and Walmart have been recently caught selling products that expose your children to lead. AGAIN.

Tests conducted by the Center for Environmental Health found lead-contaminated Walmart and Target store brand shoes, belts and raingear for kids. One Target product contained more than FOURTEEN times the legal limit for lead. This post at Z-Recs details how very high amounts of lead were found in the snaps of Target brand onesies

These stores need to hear from you. They are powerful companies who have the resources to ensure the products they manufacture and sell are safe for you and your children. It’s time they committed to doing just that.

Please join thousands of children’s health advocates and send a message to Target and Walmart by sending them a letter and telling them you will shop elsewhere until they provide absolute assurance that they are taking the necessary steps to keep lead-containing products off of their shelves AND make public their independent test results on all store-brand products.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is used to force cows to make more milk. It is, in essence, a genetically-engineered synthetic hormone. Most of the industrialized countries in the world have banned rBGH but here in the United States, we’re giving it to our most vulnerable citizens—our children! It is estimated that at least 84 million gallons of milk from artificial hormone-treated cows were distributed through the school nutrition programs in fiscal year 2005-2006. That’s about 20% of the milk offered in school cafeterias nationwide. I don’t give my kids rBGH-derived milk at home—why would I be okay with them having it at school??? The good news is that we have a great chance to bring milk free from artificial, genetically engineered hormones into our schools as Congress takes up legislation on the National School Lunch Program. Make your voice heard on this important issue by signing the True Food Network’s petition to ask Congress to state that schools can specifically seek out and purchase artificial hormone-free milk and organic milk.

It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that we, humans, have highly polluted bodies. This pollution in people is the direct result of a statute that does not require chemicals to be proven safe to get on the market, or stay on the market. Under federal law EPA does not have the authority to demand the information it needs to evaluate a chemical’s risk, and neither manufacturers nor the EPA are required to prove a chemical’s safety as a condition of use.

What’s even more shocking than the above is the sad fact that babies bodies are polluted with dangerous toxic, cancer-causing and hormone-altering chemicals before they’re even born. How does this happen? Watch the video below. What can we do? Sign this declaration and tell your elected officials that this is morally wrong and it needs to stop NOW.

Tonight (Saturday, March 28, 8:30pm your time) Earth Hour 2009 takes  place. My lights will be off for an hour while I read a few books by flashlight to my kids and then send them off to the Land of Nod. Why will my lights be off for an hour? Because all the cool kids are doing it! Oh, and to show that I support action against global warming. A symbolic gesture that started two years ago with the World Wildlife Foundation in Australia, Earth Hour has grown into a worldwide event with more than 100 US cities and towns agreeing to darken some of the nation’s most famous skylines in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Around the world cities like Beijing, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Toronto and Sydney will also be participating in this popular once-a-year event. There are also Youtube, Flickr and Twitter activities going on so that you can show your green spirit in other fun ways. Will you be participating? I hope so :)

It has been more than a year since the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported that many popular brands of lipstick contain lead. The FDA said it would conduct an independent investigation but despite repeated calls from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and consumers, as well as pressure from U.S. Senators, the FDA still has not released any data on its own lipstick tests or taken any action to protect consumers from toxic ingredients in cosmetics. In Europe and Canada, cosmetics are regulated but not here in America, which is shameful, although not particularly shocking when you consider that our government also doesn’t see a problem with BPA in baby bottles. So what can you do? Well, one really easy-peasy thing you can do is send a letter to the FDA, letting them know you don’t want lead in your cosmetics. Just click here, fill out the form and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics will send the letter for you. It will take about 15 seconds and your voice will be heard. With any luck, our lips will soon be lead free—but only if we all speak up!

The Walt Disney Company recognizes the danger of cleaning chemicals for their animals living in their Animal Kingdom, but the same care is not taken in the other parks, hotels and restaurants.  Disney makes millions from their theme parks, and now it is time for them to act for the sake of our childrens health.  The Center for Health, Environment and Justice is waging a campaign to persuade Disney to adopt a Green Cleaning Purchasing Policy and phase out the use of 84 toxic cleaning products.  On October 29, 2008, the National Day of Action, join in a worthy cause by signing a postcard to send to Disney.  Other ways you can act? Host a green cleaning party and join other groups and families calling for a healthier environment for children and Disney employees.  Let’s send the message that safer, greener cleaning is not a fad, but an important issue that needs to be addressed, not just for the animals but for everyone!

Find it Here: The Day of Action

Don’t Forget:  Our awesome $140 Seventh Generation giveaway ends today (Oct 17) Enter now if you haven’t already!

According to the Breast Cancer Fund’s Pure Prevention Campaign, only 1 and 10 women with breast cancer have a genetic history of the disease, and science increasingly points to radiation and harmful chemicals in our everyday environment as factors for the high rates of breast cancer. Yet some people are still not aware of the environmental links to this terrible disease. During the month of October, The Breast Cancer Fund is focusing its breast cancer awareness efforts on the importance of prevention by asking a simple question: What do chemicals (like those in some of our food, make-up and cleaning products) have to do with breast cancer? Visit the Pure Prevention Campaign to find the research behind this link and why prevention is so important. Then check out their 5 Tips for Prevention and help spread the word by sending an e-card to share simple, everyday prevention steps with your loved ones.

Take Action! Send a Breast Cancer Prevention E-Card

Goats that produce spider silk in their milk, pigs with mouse DNA to improve their digestion? I know, totally bizarre, right? But you should know that the aforementioned animals aren’t the results of creepy lab experiments in a sci-fi film. No, they’re man-made anomalies created by genetic engineering and they’re about to enter our food chain.

It should be noted that the jury is still out on the safety of these animals for human consumption, as the appropriate studies have NOT been conducted. Additionally, the ethics of this sort of thing have clearly not been considered.

Nonetheless, the Food and Drug Administration wants to let the meat and milk from these animals be sold to you without your knowledge. I can’t speak for anyone else but I want to KNOW what I’m eating and I’m betting you do, too.

If you think meat and dairy from genetically-engineered animals should be properly labeled as such, please take 15 seconds to sign this Consumer’s Union petition to the FDA demanding the agency require labeling of genetically engineered food. We should know what we’re buying and eating — and have the right to refuse gene-altered food.

Here at Green Mom Finds, we like to share great eco-friendly products but we also like to help raise awareness on serious issues such as the connection between the environment and breast cancer.   October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  There is renewed interest in the U.S. Congress to launch a war on cancer headed up by Sens. Ted Kennedy and Kay Bailey Hutchison. One growing area of concern is the effect of toxins and chemicals found in our communities and workplaces.  Make your voice heard by taking a few seconds to send a message to your representatives. The Breast Cancer Fund works for legislative reform and as an advocate for environmental health policies.

Find It Here: Breast Cancer Fund Action Alert

The products that we buy for our bodies, our kids, and our home are frequently loaded with chemicals that are very likely to be harmful to human health, many of which have never even been tested for safety. Now, Californians are blazing a trail to better chemical regulation and consumer awareness!  Two critical bills are up for a vote in the California legislature this week. AB 1879 would enable the state to regulate the use of all dangerous chemicals in consumer products. SB 509 would authorize the state to create an online database of chemicals to serve as a clearinghouse for businesses and consumers to search for a chemical and learn the hazards associated with it. The Breast Cancer Fund has stated that if these laws are enacted, they will lay a framework for a broader chemical policy overhaul in the state. If you are a Californian, now is the time to send a message to your representatives to tell them that you want them to vote for these bills!

Take Action:

• Californians - urge a vote of yes on these comprehensive chemical bills!
• Got Friends in Cali? - Send them the message and ask them to take action!