Most people are generally resistant to change, and while changing your brand to something natural and non-toxic to the environment might mean breaking a 20 or 30-year habit, the health benefits are undeniable. Housewives are 55% more likely to get cancer than women who work outside of the home, a statistic that can be attributed to the dangerous chemicals they are exposed to on a daily basis. People are developing serious skin and respiratory diseases from exposure to toxins and experiencing long term illnesses, while the chemicals run riot through our ecological and water systems. Changing your mind about what you use to clean your home with starts with debunking some of the common myths that surround "natural" products and how powerful they are. Here are some of them:
Natural Products Are Not as Effective as Chemicals
Simple products like vinegar and baking soda can do just as effective a job as some of the most expensive chemicals on the market, and without the serious long term side effects. While toxic products destroy bad germs and bacteria, they also destroy the good bacteria which weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to disease and infection.
Nature contains a number of poisonous plant species that can be highly toxic. Natural products still need to be stored and handled responsibly, but they do not pose health risks to you and your family.
You Can Make a Difference
While many of the big brands manufacturing toxic chemicals have been running for years and have a broad base of clients using them, everyone can make a contribution, and change starts one small step at a time. For example, the United States uses 8.3 billion pounds of dry washing powder and a billion gallons of liquid laundry detergent every year. The average person uses about 30 pounds of laundry detergent every year, which contains high levels of phosphates. Phosphates kill water and marine life when it is recirculated after washing a load. It causes a surge in algae levels, which grow in response to fertilizing pollutants in the water systems. If just a thousand people made a change to their laundry detergent, they would be able to make a tangible difference to ecological disasters.
Natural Products Are Difficult To Find
More stores are diversifying their product options by offering ecologically-friendly detergents, and there plenty of products available for purchase online. While toxic household chemicals might dominate the supermarket shelves now, changes in consumer demands will cause changes in product options as time progresses.
Buying From a Smaller Company Isn't a Guarantee of Quality
While it might feel uncomfortable changing your brand of choice after so many years, there are plenty of smaller companies emerging with the potential to grow to the same levels as some of the more established companies. Look out for companies that are not only making a difference to what goes into the chemicals they manufacture but also the way they manufacture and package them, and that are making a concerted effort to reduce their carbon footprint.
