GoodGuide | Blog

By Dara O'Rourke, March 19, 2009

File this under “Ironies of the Global Economy.” We just learned that Chinese Supermarkets are removing Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo from their shelves based on a recent report from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that found 1,4-Dioxane and formaldehyde in some baby shampoos and bubble bath products. The US Department of Health and Human Services “considers 1,4-dioxane as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”

“We have to be responsible to consumers and suspend sales of these products until they are proved safe,” said Gan Pingzhong, quality supervision department manager of Nonggongshang, a retailer with 3,500 stores in China.

Back home in the US, the FDA:

“has not established or recommended a specific limit on the level of 1,4-dioxane in cosmetics.”

And Johnson & Johnson asserts that these are only trace quantities of 1,4-Dioxane, so all of their products are safe.

Nonetheless, stores in Taiwan and Vietnam were also pulling Johnson’s baby shampoo from their shelves. And the Chinese government announced that they will test these products for their safety.

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By Dara O'Rourke, March 18, 2009 · Posted under Health Issues

As Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) labels show up in grocery stores, we are learning that approximately 80% of our seafood, 90% of lamb and mutton, 30% of fresh fruits and nuts, and 13% of vegetables are imported from around the world. The top 10 countries importing food and beverages into the U.S. include: Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil, Australia, Indonesia, Chile, New Zealand, Colombia and the European Union.

Developing countries such as Mexico and China are increasingly important in our food supply. Food imports from China into the U.S. have quadrupled over the last decade. China is now our number one country for importing prepared/preserved fruits, number two for prepared/preserved vegetables, and number four for fresh or frozen vegetables. China also is the number one producer of farmed fish and shellfish in the world, and the number one supplier of apple juice.

China supplies 80 percent of the world’s ascorbic acid– vitamin C – one-third of the world’s vitamin A, much of the supply of vitamin B-12, and many health-food supplements, such as lysine. Perhaps most surprising, a growing percentage of imported “organic” foods are now coming from China as well. So my daughter’s lunch of fish sticks, crackers, a fruit snack, apple juice, and a vitamin could all be from China. But is her food safe?

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By Dara O'Rourke, March 16, 2009

My daughter Minju has a peanut allergy. So, my wife and I are used to reading labels to avoid products with peanuts. But over the last month, all of America has come to fear and avoid peanuts as nine people have died and almost 700 have been sickened by salmonella contamination that led to recalls of almost 3,000 different food products. This even hit us at GoodGuide when our team’s beloved Clif Bars were recalled.

The peanut scandal follows closely on the heels of several other food safety crises: melamine recently showed up in baby formula, E. coli was found in bagged spinach, and an outbreak of salmonella occurred in chili peppers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year an estimated 76 million people in the U.S. contract a food borne illness, leading to 5,000 deaths.

But even if we can avoid these contamination outbreaks, it turns out, there are a range of other serious issues to worry about with food. I think of myself as a fairly knowledgeable, healthy eater. But I was shocked when we began our research on food products and found out what’s actually in the food we eat. It turns out that when I pack my daughter’s “healthy” afternoon snack of a juice box and a fruit snack, I’m really feeding her two desserts filled with high fructose corn syrup, added sugars, and artificial colors. Some juices have more sugar than a can of soda!

That is why we are incredibly excited to announce the release of GoodGuide’s first ratings of food products. Click to read more about our food release.

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By Dara O'Rourke, March 16, 2009 · Posted under Health Issues

On March 16, 2009, the US government will finally begin enforcing Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for meats, fruits, vegetables, and some raw nuts. This comes almost seven years – and a lot of industry lobbying – since Congress originally passed the COOL law in 2002.

With this required disclosure, grocery store shoppers can finally know the country of origin of their beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, raw peanuts, pecans, ginseng, and macadamia nuts. Labeling for seafood went into effect in 2006.

Unfortunately, COOL only covers unprocessed foods. So while fresh peanuts must be labeled, roasted peanuts and peanut butter are not. A bag of frozen peas is covered, but a bag with a mix of peas and carrots is not (this is considered processed). Cooked shrimp? You guessed it, not covered. In fact, cooked meats such as bacon, cured ham, and almost any products with more than one ingredient are exempt from disclosing their country of origin.

Despite these gaps in what COOL covers, we still consider it a big step towards greater transparency in the marketplace.

Enjoy the exciting new tour of countries of the world in your grocery store!

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By Dara O'Rourke, January 13, 2009 · Posted under GoodGuide Happenings

On Friday night we won a Crunchie award – Silicon Valley’s version of the Oscars. We were voted the Startup “Most Likely to Make the World a Better Place.”

This was an amazing and humbling honor for us. We were nominated for this award alongside some absolutely amazing organizations - Kiva, Akoha, the Causes App for Facebook, Better Place, and CO2Stats.

Standing next to these fantastic organizations made me wonder: Is it really possible for a startup like us to change the world?

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By Alastair Iles, December 18, 2008

At the GoodGuide office, we’re starting to think about Christmas. In between our hard work on improving our data and assembling our Holiday Guide to Safe Toys, we’re looking forward to our first annual Christmas party and spending a vacation home with our families. To prepare for all the holiday cheer, I talked with fellow environmental experts on and off campus and drew up a list of the Top Ways To Make Christmas Safe and Sustainable – while keeping it just as fun, if not more!

Eat Local
Eat Less Meat
Buy Toys that are Safe, Durable, and Use Little Packaging
Give Different Gifts
Travel Less – or Offset it
Send Electronic Greetings
Buy Reusable Christmas Trees
Cut Back on your Lighting, or Use Energy Efficient Lights
Recycle

Read the full article for more details…

Professor Alastair Iles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Iles studies science, technology, and environment, with a focus on how technologies – ranging from chemistry, energy systems, environmental health monitoring, to information technology - affect society and the environment. He received his PhD in Environmental Law and Policy from Harvard University, and previously studied Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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By Dara O'Rourke, December 09, 2008 · Posted under Health Issues

A parent’s job has always been difficult. But this holiday season it seems you need a team of elves with PhDs to find out where the toys you’re buying came from and what chemicals might be lurking inside them. Of 1,500 popular toys tested by HealthyToys.org, 1 in 3 were found to contain significant levels of toxic chemicals such as lead and arsenic.

GoodGuide has assembled a team of science elves and partnered with leading nonprofit groups around the country — such as HealthyToys.org, the Center for Health and Environmental Justice, Healthy Child Healthy World, and the City of San Francisco — to identify safe toys and toxic toys on store shelves.

Our Holiday Guide to Safe Toys includes only toys that are free from chemicals of concern such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, bromine, and phthalates. Hopefully, they’re also fun for your kids! We've searched for everything from safe dolls to safe puzzles, from safe arts and crafts to safe action figures.

Continue reading to see our list of Safe Toys...

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By Dara O'Rourke, December 09, 2008 · Posted under GoodGuide Happenings, Health Issues

According to Consumers Union, product recalls due to safety hazards were up 19% this year, with over 29 million children’s products recalled in the last 12 months alone and over 12 million toys recalled due to lead contamination.

A new law passed in August was designed to protect children from hazards in toys by tightening standards for lead and by banning phthalates outright in toys. These chemicals are causes for serious concern: lead is a known childhood developmental toxin, while phthalates have been banned in Europe for almost a decade due to suspected threats to the hormonal system, including risks of boys being born with smaller penises and undescended testicles.

Unfortunately, despite the continued flow of problematic toys into the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued a legal interpretation of this law effectively delaying its implementation. The CPSC has ruled (in response to industry lobbying) that products manufactured before February 10, 2009, are grandfathered in and not subject to the new safety rules.

This means that toxic toys with phthalates can be sold on US toy store shelves not only this Christmas, but for many years to come. The Wall Street Journal reports that some toy makers are now stockpiling toys with phthalates and may be flooding the market with these products in order to sell off their inventory before the federal ban takes effect.

Particularly troubling for parents is that toy companies do not have to disclose the “ingredients” in their products. It is thus almost impossible to know whether a rubber ducky on the shelves contains lead, phthalates, or other hazards. US shoppers may unknowingly be purchasing unsafe toys during this and many future holiday seasons.

GoodGuide has been working to fill this gap in information by developing a database of safe toys that rates toys for lead, cadmium, mercury, phthalates, environmental performance, treatment of workers, safety recalls, and other issues. We have partnered with HealthyToys.org, the Center for Health and Environmental Justice, Healthy Child Healthy World, and the City of San Francisco, to pull together the best available information for concerned shoppers.

Today, we are releasing our ratings of the safest toys. Visit GoodGuide.com or download the newest update to our iPhone application for all of this data. You will be surprised to see how many products from famous brands still contain hazardous materials. And you will be relieved to know you can still find safe toys while you’re online or out shopping in a store - you just have to know where to look.

Arm yourself with GoodGuide’s information on safe toys, tell your friends, and then have a safe and healthy holiday!

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By Dara O'Rourke, November 20, 2008 · Posted under Health Issues

In the last 30 years, we’ve seen a fairly alarming trend of increasing childhood disease rates worldwide. Research in the United States and Europe shows increases in incidences of childhood cancers, as well as increases in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, early-onset puberty, asthma, and allergies.

There’s also a growing body of scientific studies linking chemicals found in consumer products with specific illnesses (usually studied in animals). And while there is no scientific consensus on the overall causes of these trends, there is enough evidence now to help people buy better products to avoid certain chemicals, until those chemicals are proven safe. This perspective is called the precautionary principle. With babies I think it makes a lot of sense. Rather than requiring that someone (usually an under-funded regulatory agency, or even less-funded non-profit organizations) prove these chemicals definitively cause childhood cancers and other illnesses, we simply say, let’s avoid them until industry provides the data to prove that they are safe.

Based on that idea, many chemicals are now banned in baby care products in Europe and Japan. So when I go shopping for stuff for my five-year-old daughter, I try to avoid these chemicals as well:

Triclosan
Oxybenzone
1,4-Dioxane
Formaldehyde
Phthalates

Cocamide DEA and Lauramide DEA
Propylene Glycol
Talc
Fluoride
Parabens

Read more about the top 10 chemicals to avoid in babycare products after the break.

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By Alastair Iles, November 13, 2008 · Posted under Health Issues

Green chemistry is now a hot topic in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two green chemistry bills in Sacramento on September 29 in an effort to create greener products through the transformation of the state’s regulation of chemicals.

Most immediately relevant to GoodGuide users is SB 509, which Senator Joe Simitian sponsored. Starting in 2009, the California Department for Toxic Substances Control will build an online Toxics Clearinghouse Database with detailed information on chemical hazards to human health and ecosystems. The agency will pool data from existing chemical databases across the world, not just the US. (GoodGuide already uses many of these databases to help generate our health ratings.) This should vastly increase the amount of information that consumers can use to protect themselves.

Unfortunately, the new law does not impose a basic requirement on manufacturers to disclose all ingredients in consumer products, as opposed to reporting only hazardous active ingredients or using vague terms such as “surfactant” or “fragrance”. Nor does the law require the toxics database to address consumer products specifically.

The original bill, in fact, did have such a requirement. Companies were to reveal all substances constituting over 0.1% of a consumer product’s composition on their product labels or websites by March 2009, an effort to help consumers find healthier products. But, in August, Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature succumbed to heavy industry lobbying and abandoned this badly needed reform.

Read more to learn what this lack of reporting means for you.

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