toxic cleansing

I was recently directed to a great Canadian website: Guide to Less Toxic Products maintained by the Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia.

You can look up your favourite household and body cleaners to see how toxic they are... like laundry detergents, soaps and hair products... if they aren't eco-friendly, they won't be there! The website lists best, good, less toxic or simply unscented.

Basically the site tells you the ways in which toxins from man made and natural products end up hurting us all. It also offers great home remedies that are cheap and not as harsh like most commercial products. My favourite is the home-made alternative for metal polish! Did you know you can polish all your silver with a mix of water, salt, baking soda, aluminium foil and no rubbing whatsoever?!

The website has loads of well organized information, much of which was entirely new to me. For instance, it comments that essential oils can be dangerous and should be used with caution. Apparently orange peels contained d-lemonene, a powerful solvent potentially harmful to skin and earth!

PHOTO: I took this on a ferry between Ernakulum and Port Cochin in Kerala, India. Many people make their livings and indeed feel themselves on fish from these waters. This tanker was spewing brown junk as dug out canoes passed by! ICK!