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The holiday season means nesting: cuddling in front of a fire, sipping hot chocolate-and breathing in more than just the smell of chocolate chip cookies. That's right: the air quality inside our homes just might be more polluted than the air outside. A big culprit, ironically enough, is the products we use to clean them. With its "Million Baby Crawl," Seventh Generation, a RecycleBank Rewards Partner, is inviting babies to "virtually" crawl to Congress and fight for chemical policy reform. We spoke to Dave Kimbell, senior vice president of marketing, about the campaign and what we can do to keep our homes healthy for the holidays.
What would parents be surprised to know about our nation's chemical laws?
The federal law that should protect us from health-harming chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), just doesn't work. Since 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market. We need a stronger chemical law to keep our families safe and healthy. The new bill, called the Kid Safe Chemical Act, would require all chemicals in every day products be proven safe before introduced to the marketplace.
The Million Baby Crawl is creating infant avatars to help build support for this legislation. How does it work?
Simply go to this website and click "create a crawler." The process is intuitive and serves as a pledge of support on behalf of your loved ones for the Kid Safe Chemicals Act. As of this interview, almost 14,000 "babies" have joined the fight (including a few celebrities), but it increases every minute.
How did the idea come about?
Our inspiration is derived from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy: In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the next seven generations. We leapt at the chance to affect change when the opportunity to support this legislation - and ultimately future generations - came about through our relationship with the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition.
What are some steps we can take to rid our homes of toxins?
The EPA says the air inside our homes is two to five times more polluted than the air outside. The air we breathe, foods we eat and what we use on our bodies deposit chemicals in our system. This is in large part due to our behavior and the products we use. Some surprisingly simple recommendations: Remove your shoes when entering the home; open up your windows for fresh air - even for a short time; choose organic foods whenever possible; and use non-toxic cleaning and personal care products. Make your vote for safer products heard with each purchase you make.
Click here to learn more about Seventh Generation and its family of products.
