If you think green just means eco-cool and connected to saving the polar bears while costing you a fortune, you're missing the point. Parents are increasingly concerned, with good reason, about what's in everyday products that could harm their children's health. Green choices are backed by research by today's top environmental health experts.
At demonstrations in New York's Times Square and other locations around the country, parents are telling Disney to dump toxic lunch boxes and other children's school supplies. One of the big product safety loopholes, pointed out by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, is that levels of phalates reportedly linked to health problems and not allowed in toys are still allowed in soft plastic vinyl products like lunch boxes. Groovy Green Livin's Lori Alper has boldly asked Disney to correct this inconsistency and got tens of thousands of signatures from other concerned parents, too.
Want to know ways to protect yourself and your family when you shop? You're invited to Monday's Body and Soul Talk with Women's Voices for the Earth, where author Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse will be available to talk. MacEachern's message about wise shopping choices resonates with parents everywhere.
Ready for your community group, school or church to put their money where your heart is? If you want to learn more about green purchasing programs, you can get started by listening in with CHEJ's Be Safe Campaign Coordinator on Tuesday. CHEJ offers a tool kit of model policies that help avoid persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemicals and probable carcinogens. RSVP by emailing your name and organization to science.intern4@chej.org or call 703-237-2249 ext. 21. The conference call-in number will be sent to you.
Concern for both the short and long-term health of our children as well as the health of our planet is what motivates many parents to stop and get the facts before buying this holiday season. What will you be doing differently with purchasing decisions this year? We'd love to hear from you.