Organic

EWG is about to embark on a new study about bottled water-where it comes from, how it's "purified," and if it's even worth the expense. A big part of this project is just compiling the data, so we need your help to gather information from the labels of whatever bottled water you have at hand.

To thank you for your time, we'll send you a free Pesticides in Produce wallet guide and fridge magnet if you're one of the first 1,000 people to enter your label. What do pesticide-free veggies have to do with bottled water? They're both EWG research projects that effect your family's health and might just save you a few dollars at the grocery store.

In order to help, we'd like for you to tell us:

What brand?
Where did you purchase it?
How much did you pay?
What type of container?
There are a few additional questions, and the whole process will only take a few minutes. If you're willing to go to your local store and record the information for several additional brands, even better!

If you'd like to help, please enter your label information here:

LINK: http://www.ewg.org/issues/bottledwater/

Just follow the instructions for the two-step process. We've included illustrations to help you find the information we need.

Thank you for your continued interest and support!

Sincerely,

Jane Houlihan
VP for Research
Environmental Working Group

Beware Hair Dyes

Lead Head: Even Worse Than Bed Head

Remember lead? The toxic stuff that used to be in gasoline and house paint? Activists, scientists and public health workers fought long and hard to get lead out of consumer products. When they phased it out of gasoline, lo and behold, children's IQs phased up.

So why is lead acetate (a compound of lead) still used in dad's Grecian Formula hair coloring?

Before it was common knowledge that lead was a neurotoxin, reproductive toxin and carcinogen, it was used personal care products - something that most of us take for granted isn't occurring anymore.

Stunningly, there's still lead acetate in men's hair dye, most notably in Grecian Formula dyes marketed to graying dads across the country.

Also stunningly, the U.S. FDA does not regulate or study dads' hair dye for long-term safety (or his cologne or scented aftershave).

The European Union, Canada and the state of California have done their part to keep lead acetate off Dad's graying head: each has banned or limited its use because the same health concerns that trouble us.

In a recent article about cosmetics safety, a spokeswoman for Grecian Formula's parent company, Combe Inc, said: "Lead acetate has been used in the United States and throughout the world as a color additive for gradual acting dyes to color gray hair for more than 40 years."

The family-owned company is showing its age if it thinks things haven't changed in 40 years. We sent men to the moon, the Cubs made the playoffs and scientists and governments alike agreed that lead acetate doesn't belong in personal care products.

While the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics works on vastly improving U.S. regulation of personal care products, consumers can do their part by demanding that companies voluntarily axe toxins from their products.

In honor of Father's Day, please join us in asking Grecian Formula's own "Dad," Combe Inc., to Get the Lead Out, already!

We think gray is distinguished, but if Dad still wants to dye his hair, refer him to the Skin Deep database, where he can find safer alternatives to Grecian Formula.

Ask Grecian Formula to get the lead out for Father's Day »

Before you reach for the Avon Skin So Soft this summer, heed these warnings about "the company for women."

Jellyfish warning: Sunny promises of silky legs and firm thighs - courtesy of Avon's Skin-So-Soft Fresh and Smooth Shaving Cream, Skin-So-Soft Hair Minimizing Lotion and Planet Spa South Pacific Firming Body Gel - might be harmful to your health. These products contain ingredients like salicylic acid, aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, parabens and fragrance, chemicals that can lead to cancer and reproductive problems.

Shark sighting: Avon knows that many of the ingredients they use are carcinogenic or are linked to other serious health problems because the company's own shareholders have brought this issue to the table on two separate occasions. Avon claims that the amount of these ingredients in each product is too small to matter.

Polluted waters: However, we use about 10 to 12 personal care products each day, and the chemical ingredients add up. The average person has about 200 toxic, synthetic chemicals in her (or his) body at any point in time.

No lifeguard on duty: The FDA doesn't protect us from toxic chemicals in cosmetics. Instead, they let cosmetics companies like Avon determine what's safe.

Drop a life raft! Tell Avon that you want to be summer fabulous AND safe. »

Make a safer splash: Don't hide under a towel all summer - try safer alternatives to Avon for hair removal or body firming lotion products. Compare the safety of all your Avon products to other similar products on the Skin Deep database.

Have a fun and healthy summer!

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of women's, health and environmental organizations working for smarter laws and safer cosmetics products. We can only make progress with your help!

Can organic farming fight climate change? Yes. And we're not just talking about food miles. Research from the Rodale Institute shows that sustainably-farmed soil absorbs 30% more carbon than conventional agriculture, and switching our farmland to organic would cut greenhouse emissions by 10% in the US (20% in Canada and most of the rest of the world). For a concise explanation of how organic farming could be a major tool in the fight against climate change check out the 10 minute online video "SOIL: The Secret Solution to Global Warming," featuring Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser. The website includes an online petition calling on world leaders to switch subsidies from conventional to sustainable farming practices.

The problem of cancer causing benzene turning up in sodas seems to pop up in the U.S. with alarming regularity. Last week, the FDA reported that it tested 100 sodas and found unacceptable levels of the known carcinogen in five of the drinks. Some of these drinks had benzene levels nearly 100 times that which is considered safe by the EPA for drinking water. The toxin is formed when a soda manufacturer uses two ingredients that can react to form benzene: ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Soda companies found to have dangerous levels of benzene have vowed to reformulate their drinks. In the meantime, boycott the following beverages and consider avoiding any soda with the "toxic two" ingredients, found in an astoundingly high number of popular drinks. (As a note, beverages labeled as "organic" cannot contain these ingredients.)

Benzene in soft drinks has become a very sensitive matter these days. The chemical id formed as a result of a reaction between Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, which are contained in soft drinks and beverages. However the reaction does not occur as a rule, but takes place as an exception when the conditions are ideal for the reaction to take place.

Benzene is a chemical, which is linked to cancer in humans. It is released into the air from automobile emissions, burning coal and oil. Benzene is also used extensively in industries, which produce chemicals, dyes, detergents, synthetic fibers, solvents, rubber and some plastics.
As such the FDA does not have a upper limit for benzene in soft drinks. Rather it follows the five parts per billion (ppb) limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. The FDA's website says that benzene can cause harm at "very low levels." It adds that exposure to light can trigger the formation of benzene in the soft drinks.

EWG Action Fund
Double your impact to
help Grow Organics --
donate today

Double your impact.

Donate by June 30th and your gift will automatically be matched! Give at least $65 and we'll send you this 100% organic cotton Shopper's Guide grocery bag.

DONATE TODAY
Dear Supporter,

It's crunch time. The House is about to vote on a new Farm Bill and you have a chance to ensure organics get fair funding.

In the current $76 billion Farm Bill, organic farmers -- and farmers making the transition to organic -- get far less than 1% of the funds. The Environmental Working Group Action Fund is out to level the playing field for organics.

Join us by making a gift today. Your support will fund our efforts to reform the Farm Bill and ensure that your family has greater access to healthy, organic food. When you give by June 30th, your support will go twice as far, thanks to a generous matching gift from several donors.

We're more than halfway to our goal of raising $20,000 by June 30th. Help us move the Farm Bill into the 21st century.

Give at least $65 and we'll send you a 100% organic cotton grocery bag with our "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce" printed on the side. With the Shopper's Guide, you'll know which fruits and veggies to always buy organic.

Your support is crucial. Despite the growing scientific consensus that even small amounts of pesticides can be harmful -- especially for our kids -- big agribusinesses and their allies in Congress are working to strip funding for organic farming. That means less organic farming nationwide and fewer healthy options for you and your family.

Join the EWG Action Fund in the fight for organics in the Farm Bill by making your matched gift today.

Thanks for helping us grow organics.

Ken Cook
President

New findings regarding the dangers to health by soft drinks has caused fear in the UK and is sure to cause concern in other parts of the world, according to a report published in the Irish Independent.

Soda could be doing more damage than you think Credit: unknown Copyright: unknown Enlarge + According to recent research, carried out by Sheffield University in the UK, a preservative that is commonly found in soft drinks can cause essential parts of human DNA to stop working, leading to serious health problems.

The health problems most commonly thought to arise from this preservative are not what most would associated with drinking a soda or fruit juice, but more with the aging process and excessive alcohol consumption.

Many of us know today that too much soda should be avoided as it can lead to dental problems. But the new research reveals that the preservative commonly found in soft drinks can also lead to cirrhosis and Parkinson's.

The head expert that worked on the study, Peter Piper, took a close look at this common preservative, known as E211, otherwise called sodium benzoate. Piper told the Independent that "these chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it, they knock it out altogether. The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously."

Sodium benzoate or E211 has been used in soft drinks for many years. This isn't the first time this commonly used preservative has been the subject of controversy. Last year it was causing fear over its potential to cause cancer if it was combined with vitamin C. It was found that when E211 was combined with Vitamin C, a carcinogenic was created, called benzene. Last year the Food Standards Agency in the UK investigated a number of soft drinks that had this combination and found four to have unsafe levels of benzene. As a result these four drinks were taken from store shelves.

Many may be wondering what the purpose of E211 is and why it is so commonly used. The reason E211 is used is that is keeps the soft drinks fresh by not allowing mould and other harmful bacteria to grow. E211 isn't just found in soft drinks, it can be found in other food products such as salad dressing.

Both the food agencies in the US and Europe have sodium benzoate as an approved safe to use substance. However, Piper was quick to point out that the test carried out by