This is not the episode that I thought I would be writing when I restarted this podcast back in August. I told you in the Season 02 teaser that I had big plans for what I would share, what we would learn and how we would better our lives with small changes in our homes. But what do they say about the best laid plans?

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TRANSCRIPT

This is not the episode that I thought I would be writing when I restarted this podcast back in August. I told you in the Season 02 teaser that I had big plans for what I would share, what we would learn and how we would better our lives with small changes in our homes.

But what do they say about the best laid plans?

Sometimes shit just gets derailed… or something like that.

And so here we are, 10 episodes in with 2023 coming to a close and I’m writing the Season 02 finale. Even though, if I’m being honest, there was so much more I wanted to share with you.

So what happened? Why did I go radio silent for over a month with no explanation?

I guess you could say, motherhood happened. And it’s not a complaint – but when people tell women that “you can do it all” or “have it all” – you can have a career and be a full-time mom – that may be true, but you can’t also have a free podcast. And spoiler: you still can’t have it all without a shit-ton of work and behind the scenes help.

When I started working on Season 02 over the summer, we had a full-time nanny for my kids. And then at the end of August she moved to LA. I spent the next four months interviewing replacements until I finally hired someone in mid-November. I felt like I was back on track, I no longer had to fit all of my “real work” running my business, Factory45, into a two-hour nap window and I would have more time to invest in researching, writing and recording new episodes of this podcast. Even with an editor, each episode takes 3-4 hours to create.

And then, on the sixth day of this new nanny’s job she left my 19-month-old daughter alone on top of the changing table while she went into another room to dry heave over changing a dirty diaper. I know this because she called me upstairs to change the diaper for her.

So, yeah. After a four-month-long search, we are back to no childcare. For those of you parents who have figured out a way to run a business, work a free side hustle and be a stay at home parent at the same time, I applaud you. But I haven’t figured it out yet.

I still have plans in the back of my mind – I think this podcast could be a great HGTV show, something between The Home Edit and Fixer Upper but we go into people’s homes and tell them which products to switch out and educate them on things like seed oils and deodorant and VOCs – so I’ll put that out into the universe. But yeah, for now my plans will have to remain.. Just that… plans.

This is all just a long-winded way of saying thank you, I appreciate you and I’m sorry I left you hanging. I know it’s not a very juicy or interesting explanation. To be honest it’s probably the explanation that stands the test of time. Motherhood is demanding. But if that’s the season you’re in right now, too, then just know you’re not alone.

I’m wishing you all the happiest, healthiest holiday season – wherever you are in the world – and an even better new year ahead. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for being a listener. It means more than you know. Here’s to creating a cleaner, more sustainable world for all of us.

 In this teaser episode for Season 02, I want to illustrate a bigger point. And it’s one that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the two years since pausing this podcast, since having a second baby and since having conversations with friends. And it’s what I call “The Wellness Burden.”

Subscribe on iTunes here.
Subscribe on Spotify here.
Subscribe on Google Podcasts here.

LINKS TO PAST EPISODES

GRASS

HAND SANITIZER

COOKWARE

ORGANIC FOOD

LEMON

SOURCES

https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/mg74qm295

https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/DDT_FactSheet.html#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20banned%20the,environment%20and%20in%20animal%20tissues

https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/aboutepa/ddt-regulatory-history-brief-survey-1975.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2737010/#:~:text=The%20recent%20literature%20shows%20a,and%20impaired%20neurodevelopment%20in%20children

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470496/

TRANSCRIPT

I’m looking at a newspaper advertisement from 1947. I see a black and white photo of a woman, wearing a gingham top, peering over at a baby who’s just woken up from a nap. The ad shows a cozy crib, with a framed picture of a cat on the wall, and there’s patterned wallpaper with flowers and cartoon characters on it. 

The headline on the advertisement reads: “Protect your children against disease-carrying insects!”

Can you guess which of the products in the photo will protect a sleeping baby from disease-carrying insects?

[pause]

It’s the wallpaper. It’s wallpaper that’s covered in the insecticide, DDT.

The ad goes on to read: [quote] “NO SPRAYS! NO LIQUIDS! NO POWDERS! So convenient, so safe because the DDT is fixed to the paper. It can’t rub off!” [end-quote]

Do you know what else the ad says?

[quote] “Certified to be absolutely safe for home use.” And then there’s a seal of approval placed over the photo from the Consumer Service Bureau that says, “Tested and Commended by Parents Magazine.”

When this advertisement ran in 1947, DDT was one of the most widely-used insecticides in the United States. It was used on cotton crops, peanuts, soybeans, and yes, it could even be used on the wallpaper of children’s bedrooms across the country.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, scientists started voicing their concerns about the harmful effects of DDT in the 1940s, but it took 30 years for the U.S. government to ban its use after initially being approved by the FDA in 1945.

DDT was discovered to be a human carcinogen and one of the most damaging environmental pollutants in existence. We are still dealing with the effects of it in our soil and water systems today.

Since 1972, when DDT was finally banned from being used, studies showed that the insecticide was associated with adverse health outcomes such as breast cancer, diabetes, decreased semen quality, spontaneous abortion, and impaired neurodevelopment in children.

So, why am I telling you about an insecticide that hasn’t been used for over 50 years?

Because I want to illustrate a bigger point. And it’s one that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the two years since pausing this podcast, since having a second baby and since having conversations with family and friends.

And it’s what I call The Wellness Burden.

The Wellness Burden is the pressure and expectation that falls on us as parents, as consumers, as the people, that requires us to do our own research and discern our own truth.

And that’s a scary place to find ourselves. The pandemic made the information crisis worse, social media has made the information crisis worse but you know what else has made it worse?

The organizations that were put in place to protect us – organizations like the FDA or the AAP or the USDA. The organizations that would approve a man-made chemical to adorn our homes, be used to grow our food and allowed to seep into our water systems, only to ban it decades later. We are living in a world where the burden of research and decision making, when it comes to our own health and the health of our families, falls on us and us alone.

And here’s the crazy thing: there was a time when what I’m saying would be written off as conspiracy-theory talk or fringe, off-the-grid, alt nonsense… but I know you know what I’m talking about.

These aren’t taboo topics anymore, we now know that insecticides like DDT and Round-Up cause cancer, respiratory issues and worse. We now know that our drinking water is so intoxicated with PFAs that we have to buy expensive, fancy filters for our homes. We now know that our beauty and skincare routines are causing infertility and breast cancer. 

And if you don’t know these things, then that’s why you’re here.

I am not trying to embolden a mutiny of distrusting consumers and citizens, but it’s not a secret anymore: the products and foods that are supposedly safe, and approved and certified and recommended by our leadership and consumer safety organizations are not always in our best interest.

In the 1950s doctors were encouraged to prescribe cigarettes to ease asthma symptoms. 

Prior to the 1970s, it was considered safe to use lead paint in our homes.

It wasn’t even that long ago that baby powder was considered safe, despite containing talc with asbestos in it.

And just as it wasn’t safe to wallpaper our babies rooms with DDT in the 1940s, it again, falls on us to detox our bathrooms, kitchens and medicine cabinets from parabens, sulfates, pesticides and endocrine disruptors.

It’s exhausting, isn’t it?

This story isn’t new, though. Our grandmothers will tell us how they lit up a pack a day, with a martini in one hand, when they were pregnant with our mothers. They’ll say, “Eh, we didn’t worry about that stuff – she turned out just fine.”

But as I’ve shared in Season 01 and will continue to bring to light in Season 02, our grandmothers were not facing the same level of toxic load. And just as corporations knew back then, and continue to exploit today (maybe even tenfold), it’s that healthy people aren’t profitable. 

The pharmaceutical companies don’t make money when we use lemons and onions to boost our immune systems. Or when we cook our food with pots and pans that don’t leach teflon chemical byproducts into our bodies. Or when we use hand soap that protects our microbiomes instead of stripping away the natural oil barriers that fight germs.

Nope, healthy people aren’t profitable. 

And so, the burden falls on us.

It falls on us if we have the time, resources, disposable income, access, interest and energy to put into educating ourselves, seeking out better products, adjusting our budgets and getting the rest of the family to adapt to the changes.

Ask a single mother of three, who works two jobs, to do the same and it shines a light on what I really mean when I say, “burden.” Ask her if the system is rigged. Ask her if she’s set up to give her kids the healthiest life possible.

This fires me up. It’s the inequities, the system, the privilege I can see from my own white, straight, married, affluent cis-woman lens that keeps me up at night. And it’s the reason I had to bring The Clean Living Podcast back.

My goal with the episodes you’ll hear this season is to try and democratize the wellness space, so that it’s accessible to anyone with an internet connection and 10 minutes – (I know, it’s not perfect but it’s about the closest we can get to easy and free). I will also do my best to recommend cleaner products at a range of price points and to speak about these issues in a way that considers all of us – from Cohasset, Massachusetts to Fort Scott, Kansas to Detroit, Michigan – even if I do it imperfectly. And spoiler, I will probably do it imperfectly. But we have to start somewhere.

As I said, in Season 01, and I’ll say again now: I truly believe that cleaner living is about progress over perfection — and taking charge of the toxins, pollutants and health in your own family is a huge step in changing the world. Each small change we make individually has the power to create a movement. 

So, let’s start again, shall we?

Season 02 kicks off next week, September 13th, with a brand new episode. Before then, please share this teaser episode – maybe you have a friend who has been preaching this message for years and she doesn’t know about this podcast yet. Maybe your mom thinks you’re overreacting when it comes to the products you buy for your kids – send this episode to them. You don’t have to fight the good fight – I’ll do it for you : ) 

In the meantime, make sure you’re subscribed on your preferred podcast platform so you’re notified as soon as a new episode goes live. I’m so honored to have you here.

How do you manage friends and relatives with different views? How do you make things ‘okay’ without surrendering your values? This is an unconventional episode with some personal stories about the challenges and rewards of “livin’ that eco life.”

SUBSCRIBE

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Transcript

The episode for today is a little “meta,” but it was actually suggested by my father-in-law. Yes, my father-in-law listens to my podcast. And if he was here right now he would say something like, “yes, old dogs can learn new tricks.”

Anyway he said, “What about an episode on how to manage relatives, going to friends with different views; making things ‘OK’ without surrendering values?” Which may require me to share a lot of personal stories, but I’m up for it. So, that’s what I’m talking about in today’s episode, the challenges and rewards of livin’ that eco life.

The first thing you need to know about me is that I’m the oldest child. I’m going to make a sweeping generalization, but as the stereotype goes, it’s never been very hard for me to voice my opinion or stick to my convictions. That’s probably a combination of personality in addition to being the oldest.

Here’s an example: when I was in first grade I was allowed to walk to school with one of the 4th grade girls in the neighborhood. The only rule was that the older girl had to hold my hand to walk across the street. This was a rule I understood for my own safety and it made logical sense to me, so when we got to the first crosswalk and she wouldn’t hold my hand I was flabbergasted by her disregard of the rules.

The next day I refused to walk to school with her. As ridiculous as this now sounds, it is my very first childhood memory of having conviction.

As I grew up, this character trait presented itself in different ways: in elementary school, I often befriended the “underdog” (whether it was the girl with the single mom who had just moved to town and didn’t have any friends) or debating my high school history teacher on the Palestine-Israel conflict and getting kicked out of class.

Yes, I was a pain in the ass. My mom often tells stories about me “ruling the roost” in our house and things needing to be done to my exact satisfaction. She took me to therapy when I was four years old because I would go ballistic if my socks weren’t folded perfectly or if I colored outside of the lines.

So, yeah, that’s some background on where I stand in voicing opinions, holding my ground and sticking to my beliefs. 

Which begs the question, what does this look like as an adult living a lifestyle that could be considered somewhat “alternative” to the mainstream consumer?

And the answer is, it depends. It depends on what it is and how strongly I feel. And I have learned to pick my battles.

So, for example, when I first got interested in sustainable fashion I started learning about how terrible fast fashion is for the planet and people. So, I channeled all of those negative opinions into blog posts and marketing materials for the startup fashion brand I was creating at the time.

I hosted clothing swaps and documentary screenings for my friends but I didn’t push my opinions on them. I wasn’t going around condemning everyone for shopping at Forever21 and H&M (even if I was doing it privately in my head).

But over time, this strategy paid off. Whether it was people following me on social media, or reading my blog posts or coming to a sustainable fashion event that I co-hosted, I gradually became the girl who would be really proud of you for buying something second-hand.

In fact, during one of the speeches at my wedding, my maid of honor told a story about how everyone loves to come up to me and tell me that they bought something at Goodwill. 

That’s not to say everyone in my life has changed their ways when it comes to how they shop, but I have definitely seen a shift among the majority of my friends and family. So this is a testament to changing opinion and action without being forceful about it.

On the other hand, there are lifestyle choices that I’m not so subtle about. My family can probably remember a certain Thanksgiving when my mother-in-law tried to give my one-year-old son a muffin with refined sugar and I quite literally ran out of the room with him.

The “food stuff,” as I call it, is probably the topic that’s most difficult to communicate to friends and family. The idea of Grandma sneaking the kids sugar is such an ingrained and accepted part of our society. It’s almost a rite of passage to spoil your grandchildren with sweets and candy, but that was something my husband and I put the kibosh on as soon as our son started eating real food.

Most of my friends still can’t believe that my son is three and has never eaten refined sugar (he’s obviously had sugar in fruit and has had coconut sugar once or twice but no white sugar). And as he gets older it’s harder to find the line between “he doesn’t eat that yet” and not making him feel alienated from what other kids are eating. But for now, he’s far more inclined to go for a strawberry than he is a Skittle.

It’s funny now that I think about this, and examples to give you, because I don’t think of clean living or eco-living as challenging. What you may also find in this process is that the more steps you make, the more naturally the changes will come. Nowadays, I don’t think twice about using reusable grocery bags or looking at the ingredient list on a jar of peanut butter or avoiding the cosmetics section at CVS. And because I believe in cleaner living so much, I don’t feel bad about sticking to it or explaining why I do or buy something a certain way. 

What people don’t realize when they’re first starting out in this space is that your own lifestyle choices don’t have to reflect shame on others. What you do for yourself and your family isn’t an attack on anyone else. The majority of the time, people just don’t know — they haven’t done the research, they trust big corporations and the government to create safe products and they don’t have the time, energy or resources to think about an alternative. And that’s completely understandable.

What I’ve found is that trust and conviction in my choices comes from the confidence I’ve gained in doing my own research and having the information to back up my claims and reasons for doing things. It also helps to have a partner who for the most part, is fully on board with my needs to install an under-the-sink water filter and buy the more expensive, non-toxic sunscreen and know that if the blueberries at the grocery store aren’t organic then not to buy them.

And that’s what I’d recommend for you. If you are committed to detoxing your products, your food and your family, then the first thing I would recommend is education. Just by listening to the podcast, you’re already doing that. Many of the brands that I recommend in various episodes have their own blogs where you can deep dive further on specific topics, ingredients and products. It helps immensely to have the knowledge and research when certain situations come up that you know aren’t aligned with how you want to live.

The second thing is to get your partner or a friend on board. Even if your partner isn’t as committed as you to doing the research, it makes a big difference to have a conversation so that they “buy in” to the changes you want to make for your family. If you’re single, then finding a friend who can be your accountability buddy makes it a lot more fun and supportive to make both big and small changes.

So, confidence through knowledge and partner support — those are my first two suggestions on holding steadfast to a lifestyle change.

Because inevitably, uncomfortable situations are going to come up — especially if you have kids where the parent shaming can feel intense. I have no doubt that I’ve come across as rude or “high and mighty” in certain situations when I’ve declined a food that was offered to my kid or donated non-toxic cleaning supplies to the daycare or asked if my son can use our own hand sanitizer instead of the school’s. Honestly, I kind of cringe thinking about how “nice white parent” I can be (that’s another great podcast, on a totally different topic, if you haven’t listened to it). I often make fun of myself, definitely keep an air of humility, and I do pick my battles, but there are some things that I’m not willing to back down on.

It’s this constant balancing act that we as consumers shouldn’t have to make — we shouldn’t have to be the gatekeepers of toxic food and toxic products but that’s the world we’re living in until companies decide to put their customers first. Or until the government starts to get serious about lobbyist influence. I’m going to go off on a bit of a tangent for a second, but the reason we need strict government oversight with food and consumer products is because right now, the cleaner, more sustainable, healthier options are more expensive. And that, very unfairly, alienates a huge segment of the population.

Because the truth is, “living that eco-life” is a privilege. It’s been created for the privileged and while yes, I always try to recommend alternative products at a range of accessible price pointS it’s not always easy — you may have noticed that in the Nut Butter episode. It’s practically 10 dollars more to buy peanut butter that does contain additives and other toxic ingredients.

So, as much as this has been a conversation about standing strong in my beliefs, I also know that I have the privilege of being able to do that. And I recognize that not everyone has that privilege — some people have to buy the 7 dollar mascara shampoo at the drugstore or the baby shampoo at Family Dollar. This should probably be a whole separate episode, but we need to recognize that there is an inherent privilege in even being able to listen to this podcast and buy the non-toxic products I suggest.

And that’s why I do feel so strongly about legislative change. Because the U.S. hasn’t updated its legislation on the personal care industry since 1938. And companies too often aren’t held liable when they add toxic ingredients to their products. But yeah, now I’m just ranting… 

So, that’s what I’ve got for you today. You do you. Knowledge is power, confidence is key and having the support of other people will further empower you. For healthier, more vibrant lives, and a cleaner, less toxic world, I think it’s worth it.

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of The Clean Living Podcast — I’m your host Shannon Lohr. Here’s to creating a cleaner, more sustainable world for all of us.

Ironically it wasn’t until several years into my career in sustainable fashion, and learning about eco-friendly fabrics, that I even thought about the fabric and materials used for bedding. We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping and yet most of us don’t think about our sheets or pillowcases beyond how soft they are — or maybe what the thread count is. So in this episode, we’re talking about how to ensure non-toxic sleep…

Product Recommendations

Mattress:

Avocado

Awara

Nest

Tuft & Needle (budget option)

Crib Mattress:

Naturepedic

Sheets & Bedding:

Buffy

American Blossom Linens

Under the Canopy

Coyuchi

Boll & Branch

Pillows:

Avocado

Obasan

Saatva

Birch

Sleep Goddess

Episodes Mentioned

Listen to the COOKWARE episode here.

Listen to the LAUNDRY episode here.

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe on iTunes here.
Subscribe on Spotify here.
Subscribe on Google Podcasts here.

Transcript

Ironically it wasn’t until several years into my career in sustainable fashion, and learning about eco-friendly fabrics, that I even thought about the fabric and materials used for bedding. We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping and yet most of us don’t think about our sheets or pillowcases beyond how soft they are — or maybe what the thread count is. So in this episode, we’re talking about how to ensure non-toxic sleep…

A quick disclaimer here: Similar to the cookware episode I previously released, this is an “investment” episode. Meaning that after you listen to the next 10 minutes or so, you may feel compelled to overhaul your entire bedroom — including the mattress. But as you will find, sustainable bedding can add up very quickly. The goal in sharing this information is so that when the time comes, and you need a new sheet set or a new duvet or even a new mattress, that you’ll be armed with the information to make a non-toxic purchase.

I’m going to get into the specific components of non-toxic sleep, including mattresses, linens and pillows but first I want to give a general overview of what eco-friendly bedding is.

Generally speaking, sustainable sheets, duvets and pillowcases are made with fabrics that have natural moisture-wicking and antibacterial properties — instead of being coated with synthetic flame retardants and chemicals like formaldehyde. Eco-friendly bedding is typically easy to recycle, manufactured using less water and doesn’t require the use of other harsh chemicals like bleach, microplastics or pesticides.

If you’ve listened to this podcast before, then you know these chemical pollutants can end up in our drinking water, rain and soil, eventually entering our bodies. So when considering the pollution that is associated with nylon and polyester bedding, as well as the way those pollutants affect your body, sustainable bedding becomes a bit of a no brainer.

When looking for eco-friendly bedding, there are a few guidelines and labels to keep an eye out for that will help you distinguish actual sustainably-made bedding from the companies that may be greenwashing. Some of those certifications are the Global Organic Textile Standard, Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX, Cradle to Cradle, and Fair Trade. Each organization can give their individual stamps of approval on various products, ensuring that they meet certain benchmarks in order to be considered organic, ethically sourced, safe, and responsibly manufactured. To make sure everything is above board, fabrics go through rigorous chemical testing, and brands are reviewed in both the farming and manufacturing processes.

Additionally, some eco-friendly bedding brands practice sustainable production by reducing waste through closed-loop systems, using eco-friendly dyes and less water. In a closed-loop manufacturing process, 99 percent of chemicals, solvents and waste are recycled and used in the next production run of fabric, limiting the effect that manufacturing has on the environment.

Okay, so let’s get into the specifics starting with sheets and other bedding. The main thing here is to avoid synthetic fabrics — a synthetic fabric is usually petroleum or oil based and can be recognized as names like polyester, nylon and spandex. If we’ve learned anything about BPA, microplastic and endocrine disruption, I know I don’t want to be cozied up to a blanket of plastic every night.

What you’re looking for in your sheets and bedding is natural fibers — preferably organic as to avoid some of the chemicals I’ve already mentioned.

In order to be labeled “organic,” the cotton must be grown without using chemicals like fertilizers or pesticides or GMOs. By choosing organic sheets, you’re not only reducing the output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, you’re helping to protect the health of soil around the world. Fertile, carbon-rich soil helps more plants grow, and those plants, in turn, draw in more carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, continuing the beneficial cycle. It’s a win-win.

An alternative to organic cotton bedding is hemp or linen, both are natural fibers that are up to eight times stronger than cotton. When both fabrics are certified organic, they’re made from 100% natural fiber and manufactured in environments without harmful chemicals. Because heavy chemicals, like bleach, are required to achieve bright white hemp sheets, look for undyed or more natural colors, and the impact on the environment will be much smaller.

But my favorite alternative to organic cotton, hemp and linen is a fabric called Tencel (you may also hear it referred to as Lyocell, Modal or eucalyptus). This is a fabric made from wood fibers derived from birch, beech or eucalyptus trees and it’s the bedding that I have in my own house. The reason I love it so much is not only does it have the silkiest feel to it (without boiling silkworms), but it’s naturally moisture-wicking, shrink resistant, antimicrobial and antibacterial. It’s also one of the easiest fabrics to find manufactured using the closed loop system I mentioned earlier. This is a textile that’s completely recyclable and has made a much smaller impact on the environment through its closed-loop production process — especially if the Tencel is made from organically-grown eucalyptus as it requires 10 times less water to grow than cotton.

Clearly, I could nerd out on fabrics all day as this is what I do in my “real job” but I do want to leave some time to talk about mattresses. So for now, I’ll leave you with the show notes page where you can see all of my recommendations for sustainable bedding. That’s at cleanlivingpodcast.com/sleep

If you look at my list of recommendations and get a bit of a sticker shock from the prices, there is an alternative. When my husband (then boyfriend) and I first moved in together and we were both at the early stages of starting each of our businesses, I knew I wanted to buy sustainably-made sheets but we really couldn’t afford it. That is until I was in Marshall’s one day browsing through the sheets section and came across brands selling 100% tencel sheets or 100% organic cotton sheets that were basically on clearance. I got them for a fraction of the price and if you look closely in stores like Marshall’s, TJ Maxx or Home Goods you may be able to find the same.

Of course I have to mention that if you are in a position to buy directly from these sustainable brands, instead of outlet stores, then that makes a big difference in your purchasing power and goes a long way. Whenever possible, it pays in the long run to shop small.

Okay, so mattresses. As I mentioned in the intro, we spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping, yet the average mattress contains 5-10 different toxic chemicals. Those include:

• Flame Retardants. Many flame-retardant chemicals used in mattresses have been banned in countries outside of the U.S.
• Boric Acid is used to prevent bacteria growth and pests from living in the mattress — I talked about the dangers of boric acid (or borax) in the laundry episode
• Formaldehyde. Long-term exposure can lead to health issues, including cancer.
• Glues or Adhesives. Solvent-based glues and adhesives can contain up to 48 different toxic chemicals.
• Antimony. Similar to arsenic, this poisonous chemical has been proven to cause reproductive health issues.
• Synthetic Latex. Synthetic latex is made using chemicals, and is commonly known for its off-gassing properties.
• Polyurethane Foam. Polyurethane foam is made using petroleum by-products, releasing harmful chemicals into the air.
• Off-Gassing. Occurs when volatile organic compounds break down, omitting an odor.

Each of these chemicals have been reported to cause health problems, ranging from tumors to hearing loss and depression.

So, if you are in the market for a new mattress or if you’ll need one in the foreseeable future, my recommendation is to look for eco-friendly mattresses that use natural fibers like organic cotton, organic wool and organic latex. 

Wait, organic latex? I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t zoned out on me… 

But yes, organic latex is another natural bedding material made from certified rubber sap and poured into molds to make a firm foam that fills mattresses. Organic latex is naturally mildew, mold, bacteria AND dust resistant which reduces your exposure to nighttime air pollutants and bacteria that take hold of our bedrooms.

In the show notes, I’ve linked to my favorite sustainable mattress options — in a range of prices. The mattress that we have in our home is the Nest and we have the Naturepedic mattress for my son.

And the last item I want to mention is pillows. Generally, you want to avoid polyurethane foam, polyfill or other petroleum-based synthetic materials that make up the majority of the pillows on the market. Think about it, do you really want to be laying on oil-derived plastic for 6-10 hours a night? Even if there’s an organic cotton pillowcase between you, any petroleum-based material off gasses for up to several years — meaning that the material is releasing hazardous VOCs into the air where you’re sleeping. Upgrading your pillow to organic latex or organic cotton is worth a good night’s sleep.

Again, all of my bedding and mattress recommendations can be found on cleanlivingpodcast.com/bedding

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Clean Living Podcast — I’m your host Shannon Lohr. Did you know that there’s a survey on the podcast website where you can give me suggestions for upcoming episodes? Just go to cleanlivingpodcast.com/hello and click on the button to submit your topic idea. Here’s to creating a cleaner, more sustainable world for all of us.

After visiting a friend and her newborn, I went down a rabbit hole of laundry detergent research — starting with a popular brand marketed for babies. In this episode, I’m recommending that you toss the Tide (and others) and switch to these clean detergents instead.

Product Recommendations

Seventh Generation Zero Plastic Laundry Detergent Tablets, Fragrance Free

Whole Foods Organic Laundry Detergent 

Puracy Natural Laundry Detergent, Free & Clear

Dinobi Laundry Detergent 

The Simply Co. Laundry Detergent

Episodes Mentioned

Listen to the BLEACH episode here.

Sources

https://www.ewg.org

https://www.healthline.com

https://www.ewg.org

https://www.ewg.org

https://www.scientificamerican.com

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe on iTunes here.
Subscribe on Spotify here.
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Transcript

I remember going over to a friend’s house a few years ago to visit her brand new baby girl. The baby was sleeping in a little bassinet in the living room and my friend was folding laundry while we talked. She brought this adorable little onesies to her face, and with a big inhale said, “Isn’t Dreft just the best smell.” She was referring to the very popular and commonly used laundry detergent exclusively made for baby clothing. And that’s what we’re talking about in today’s episode, laundry.

At the time I was visiting this friend I did not know nearly as much as I do now about chemicals and toxins. Ah, those were such simpler times.

I did know, though, that anything artificially scented probably wasn’t great. But this is always the moral dilemma I have around friends — in no scenario was I going to tell this new mother, four weeks postpartum, that she needed to change her laundry detergent. And maybe I was wrong — maybe I should have just leaned into the discomfort, or shown up with a new bottle of detergent the next day, but at the time I didn’t have all of the facts so it seemed harmless enough to let the moment pass.

As you’ve probably noticed, though, this interaction occurred years ago and I’ve never forgotten it. When I became a mom I found that one of the most common issues that other moms talk about is their baby’s skin. Baby Emma has this weird rash on her back… Little Ryan is dealing with some eczema right now… the doctor says that baby Tori has some mild psoriasis. It’s all skin rashes in the first year of life.

Am I about to tell you that baby skin issues are the result of the wrong laundry detergent? No… well not entirely. Skin rashes can be caused by allergy to other things, dryness, the wrong kind of baby wipe, a whole slew of other explanations. But when I went to research more about Dreft Liquid Laundry Detergent for babies, the first thing I did was look up its rating on the Environmental Working Group’s website.

I’m not usually phased nowadays when it comes to doing this kind of research. I’ve done this long enough to know that I’m almost always going to be disappointed by a brand or company. I was fully expecting Dreft to have a C rating by the EWG, definitely not great but not the worst.

And then I watched as my computer screen pulled up the search results. Seven different Dreft products came up — with a picture of the detergent, the pink cap on the bottle, the little sleeping baby on the label — and next to six out of the seven products was a big, fat red F rating. 

The one product that wasn’t rated an F was rated a D instead and is discontinued.

As I said, these discoveries don’t usually phase me but in that moment I felt so much rage. I was mad at myself for not just sucking it up and bringing my friend a bottle of non-toxic laundry detergent after the fact. But most of all, I was infuriated at Proctor & Gamble, the company that owns Dreft, for allowing this product to be marketed to pregnant mothers and used for newborn babies.

So, let’s look closer at the problematic issues with Dreft. The ingredient with the most cause for concern is Sodium Borate. You may know it as Borax. It is a white, powdery toxic mineral used to clean toilet bowls, remove mold and mildew around the house and even kill insects, such as ants.

The EWG gives Sodium Borate an F rating in itself and the irony is that Borax is often marketed as an all-natural, safe ingredient. The problem is, something can be “all-natural” and still not be safe. The lava flowing from a volcano could be labeled as “all-natural” — that doesn’t mean you should touch it.

And in case I need to go on, if an ingredient is toxic enough to kill insects or remove mildew is that an ingredient you want on your newborn baby’s skin?

So yes, despite what you may see marketed, Sodium Borate or Borax is, in fact, toxic and can cause health issues such as: 

• Fertility damage
• Organ system toxicity
• Endocrine and hormone disruption
• Skin allergy and skin rash
• Eye irritation
• Damage to male reproductive system
• Respiratory irritation

Canada has restricted the use of Sodium Borate in cosmetics and yet, here we are in the U.S. using it to clean baby clothes.

Some of the other ingredients of concern, not only in Dreft but other conventional laundry detergents, are artificial fragrance which I talk more about in the episode on Fragrance, as well as fabric brighteners and an ingredient called Dimethicone which is linked to cancer, digestive system effects, respiratory effects and of course, skin irritation and allergy.

There is a whole slew of other concerning ingredients but I think you get the picture. 

That’s all to say, you’re not in the clear if you’re not cleaning your clothes with Dreft. Some of these other common laundry detergents get a similar rating: Every single Tide product gets a D or F rating (even their Tide “Purclean” detergent gets a D) and yes, even the detergents that have bleach alternatives. Arm & Hammer laundry detergent products range in ratings from C to F. All Cheer laundry detergent products get a D or F rating. Even Mrs. Meyer’s laundry detergent is rated a C through F, depending on the scent, and ironically it’s the one labeled “scent free” that gets the F rating. 

You can go to the EWG’s website and search your own laundry detergent if I haven’t mentioned it yet.

And while we’re on the subject, and if it’s not obvious by now, we need to stop using dryer sheets. These things are coated with a cocktail of chemicals and fragrance and their single-use is just an environmental nightmare, not to mention the potent toxins that are being released into the air from our dryer vents. 

You don’t need fabric softener either. Some of the most harmful ingredients in both dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener include benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer), benzyl alcohol (an upper respiratory tract irritant), ethanol (linked to central nervous system disorders), limonene (a known carcinogen) and chloroform (a neurotoxin and carcinogen), among others.

As always, my source list is linked on the show notes page at cleanlivingpodcast.com/laundry

I’ll close out this episode with a “This for That” segment suggesting some healthier, cleaner laundry detergent alternatives. There are quite a few options, but I’m going to focus on the ones readily available in grocery stores like Whole Foods and Target. 

The first is Seventh Generation, specifically the Zero Plastic Laundry Detergent Tablets that are fragrance free. Most of the Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent Packs get an A rating but you start to get into C territory with the liquid detergents from a bottle. And then the other is Whole Foods Organic Laundry Detergent (I hate to refer an Amazon brand but I know it’s what’s most accessible to many of us.) 

For a more extensive list of small batch options from independent brands, go to the show notes at cleanlivingpodcast.com/laundry

You may have also noticed that I didn’t talk about bleach or bleach alternatives in this episode. I did a whole separate episode on bleach that you can listen to — it’s at cleanlivingpodcast.com/bleach

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of The Clean Living Podcast — I’m your host Shannon Lohr. If there’s a topic that I haven’t covered on the podcast that you want to know more about, I have a survey page where you can offer suggestions for upcoming episodes. You can find that at cleanlivingpodcast.com/hello. Here’s to creating a cleaner, more sustainable world for all of us.