ecotwirl.com » Glossary

Phthalates

giovanna — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:42:13 +0000

Phthalates are reproductive toxins that can affect the development of children, yet are so prevalent that repeated studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found phthalates in the urine of nearly every test subject. Unfortunately, phthalates aren’t always included ingredient lists; typically they’re referred to as “fragrance” in perfume, hair spray and deodorant.

Parabens

giovanna — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:35:26 +0000

Parabens are a common preservative found in most conventional beauty and personal care products; look for the words ‘methyl-’, ‘ethyl-’, ‘propyl-’, ‘butyl-’ and ‘isobutyl’. They have been linked to breast cancer and reproductive disorders.

Polyethylene or polyethene or poly(methylene)

jules — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:42:05 +0000

Petrochemical used in production of plastic bags. HDPE (detergent bottles, rubbish containers, margarine containers), PEX (plumbing), MDPE (plastic bags, packaging film), LLDPE (toys, pipes), LDPE (plastic bags, film wrap) and VLDPE (frozen food packaging) are all polyethylenes. Not biodegradable.

Ethylene or Ethene

jules — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:27:38 +0000

Petrochemical used to ripen fruit and for welding. Is also used to create ethylene oxide used in detergents and polyethylene use to make bags for rubbish and plastic bags.

Petrochemicals

jules — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:20:05 +0000

Most petrochemicals are made from petroleum although some are made from natural gas or coal. Some are considered to be harmful both to humans and the environment. They are commonly found in soaps, detergents and cosmetics.