Independent journalist: consumer, fashion, and home health sustainability
When Rob Wilson drove away, he took a last look at the house, thinking he wouldn’t see it again.
The home did survive, while his neighbors’ houses burned down to their foundations. But Wilson came to wish his home had burned too. Because it’s now too toxic to live in.
Read moreHalloween costumes are designed to be worn once – and have been found to contain substances such as lead, cadmium and BPA
Read moreThe worsening climate crisis and cultural changes may have you wondering if you should skip Burning Man. Veterans of the weeklong festival, which begins August 25, have some advice.
Read moreA new report from Beyond Plastics, an NGO, claims that very little of the bioplastics labeled as compostable can be composted by consumers.
“Compostable” bioplastics can only be broken down in commercial compost facilities, but many of these won’t take compostable foodware and packaging because of concerns about microplastic and chemical contamination.
With no U.S. federal standards, bioplastic certifications are voluntary, and mostly owned and influenced by chemical companies and bioplastic manufacturers, the report says. Standards are also weak globally.
The report notes that bioplastics often take longer to break down than industry claims, and when they do degrade, they leave toxic micro- and nanoplastics in compost that can enter the food chain, potentially causing health problems for people and animals. The plastics industry disputes these claims.
The cofounder of Aizome is selling sheets colored with natural dyes that won't harm your skin. Just don't call his startup a bedding company.
Read morePre-owned clothing is a surging market with a cool reputation. Yet the economics don't make sense, and most companies are struggling.
Emerging research shows that plant-based plastics — just like petroleum-based plastics — contain many thousands of synthetic chemicals, with large numbers of them extremely toxic. However, the bioplastics industry strongly denies that bio-based plastics contain hazardous substances.
Read moreNew federal safety regulations could push PET plastic-makers out of the country for good.
Read moreUltraprocessed clothing is bad for the environment and bad for you.
Read moreAnti-plastic campaigners have achieved limited initial success in passing bans based on the toxic health effects of some plastic types, especially those that contain known carcinogens and hormone-disrupting chemicals.
Some activists say that two of the most toxic types of plastic, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) should be completely banned. But so far, bans of polystyrene in Zimbabwe, Scotland and elsewhere have focused only on certain products, such as takeout containers.
PVC is used in medical devices and children’s products, despite its well-known toxicity. PVC and polystyrene are both used in consumer construction, where they can leach chemicals into water or home air, or release particles into the wider environment.
The U.S. EPA is reviewing vinyl chloride, PVC’s main ingredient and a known carcinogen, but the outcome won’t be known for several years and may only affect U.S. production, not imported products made of PVC. More than 60 nations want a ban on “problematic plastics” by the global plastics treaty now being negotiated.
Nature Coatings makes a petroleum-free alternative to a widely used—and particularly toxic—black pigment. But the problem it’s solving isn’t one the fashion industry is desperate to fix.
Read moreTo celebrate the 150th anniversary of its famous 501 jeans, Levi’s announced the release of a new plant-based 501 Jean.
If you’re slightly confused by this, you’re not alone. After all, a typical pair of 501s isn’t made of leather or any other animal product. It’s cotton. In fact, its label says, “100% cotton.”
But while that label is legally correct, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Read moreEarlier this year, my husband and I were invited last minute to a weeklong celebration in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, complete with two themed nights: a pink party and a sparkle party. With two days to outfit ourselves, we messaged every person we knew, asking to raid their closet. Finally, someone directed us to Costume Closet, a Brooklyn-based styling business run by former actor Felicia D’Ascanio and her business partner and designer James Richwine.
Read moreIn 2022, the Center for Environmental Health, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group based in California, tested sports bras, leggings, athletic shirts and other activewear and found high levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in those sold by Athleta, PINK, The North Face, Nike and Patagonia, among other brands. (CNN reached out to the companies for comment; a spokesperson for Athleta said the company was committed to safety standards, adding, “We believe the CEH claims have no merit and stand by our products and practices.”) This came just one year after the CEH found high levels of BPA in socks from over 100 brands.
This information spread quickly through women’s groups and group chats. As I was in the middle of researching my book “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick – and How We Can Fight Back,” my friends asked me how concerned they should be. My answer? Very concerned.
Read moreYou’ve likely seen the photographs of rivers in countries like China and Bangladesh turned a bright shade of purple, blue or red by the dyes used in the fashion industry – a very visible reminder of the harm that chemicals in our clothes can cause.
But while most shoppers in the Western world believe that the problem of toxic fashion pollution is an issue in developing countries, those same toxic chemicals are being applied – sometimes deliberately and sometimes through sloppy contamination – to our clothing and accessories. In many cases, these toxic substances stay on our garments all the way to our closets.
Read moreThe first thing that happened when Mary, an Alaska Airlines attendant, received a new, high-performance, synthetic uniform in the spring of 2011 was a hacking cough. Then a rash bloomed on her chest. Next came migraines, brain fog, a racing heart, and blurry vision.
Read moreLondonderry contractor Abe Crossman was keeping busy with small projects at his family’s home in June 2020 during the newly arrived coronavirus pandemic. He was working outside when he noticed that the paint was peeling off the trim at the peak of the gable end of his roof.
With 25 years of building experience, he knew that peeling paint indicated the presence of moisture. But the location was odd — that trim underneath the overhang should stay dry. So he grabbed a ladder and a pry bar to take a closer look.
His stomach dropped as he sank the pry bar into the soft wood sheathing underneath the trim and peeled away the vinyl siding down to four feet below the roof line.
Read morePolyester is in almost all of your clothing, and it's almost impossible to recycle. Some innovators are looking beyond turning plastic bottles into fabric.
Read moreWhen you look at a piece of fashion—a swishy long dress, a pair of yoga leggings, a bright turquoise T-shirt—what do you see? I see petroleum.
That’s right: When oil is pulled out of the Earth, it’s not just going to power cars and heat homes. It’s also going into the making of and materials used in clothing, shoes, and accessories. The $2.5 trillion global fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for somewhere between 2 percent and 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver of global warming. That’s more than the emissions from the aviation sector or deforestation.
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