Baby Care Products: Possible Source of Infant Phthalate Exposure
Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) is unquestionably at the forefront of identifying and educating the public on environmental exposures. I use and refer to this site frequently and always urge others to do the same, with some additional thought to making a donation. Phthalates are petroleum products that are used in plastics. They are known endocrine disruptors and can interfere with thyroid and reproductive function. Any identifiable exposure to them should be eliminated.
But the general public is not typically aware of the exposures their little ones are getting. Everyone is aware of lead, the phthalate exposure is much more prevalent, even in the womb. For our family, we have elected to use organic, expensive shampoo and bubble bath. Think about how long a child is soaking in a bath–it is worth the extra expense to me to by organic. Besides, we keep Keegan’s hair short so an $8 bottle of shampoo will last 6 months. Incidently, EWG just got a law passed limiting the use of phthalate containing plastics to be used in any product for infant or toddler use. Sounds like a good idea to me.