Our Right to KNOW What's in Cleaning Products #COMECLEAN

I support our right to know what's in cleaning products. Everything in our environment effects us, some in a very negative way and I deserve to know what's in the products I use that effects my environment. 

Exposure to cleaning products may cause or exacerbate certain health conditions. Fumes from some cleaning products can induce asthma in otherwise healthy individuals and exacerbate asthma in people who already have the disease.

• The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) “has found that nearly 10% of all work-related asthma cases are caused by exposure to cleaning products.” CDPH is concerned that the use of some cleaning products in schools may contribute to asthma in students and workers.
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• About 8 percent of adults and children in California have asthma, with almost 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Asthma is much more prevalent in lower income communities.
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• Children born to women who held cleaning jobs while pregnant have an elevated risk of birth defects, according to a 2010 study by the New York State Department of Health.

Workers, children, and minorities are most at risk. Workers like janitors, maids, and housekeepers are most vulnerable to these products, being exposed for long hours every day. Children born to women who held cleaning jobs while pregnant have an elevated risk of birth defects, according to a 2010 study by the New York State Department of Health.

The generic term "fragrance" when listed on a product label can refer to a mixture that may be composed of any of over 3,000 chemicals. According to the California Department of PH, fragrances in cleaning products are actually a combination of many chemicals, some of which contain ingredients that have been associated with dizziness, cancer, endocrine disruption, and asthma.

The manufacturers of cleaning, and personal care products for that matter, are not required to list their fragrance ingredients on product labels. Without this information consumers do not know what ingredients, including potential allergens, are in their products.

Further, “unscented” does not necessarily mean a product is made without fragrance chemicals. This term can be misleading to consumers, particularly to those with an allergy related to fragrance. Natural fragrances can also cause sensitivities.  The term "fragrance free" on the other hand denotes products that do not contain any fragrances at all.

It comes down to consumer education and awareness. Think of food labels. While it was once a foreign concept to look at the ingredient labels of your food, it’s now commonplace and consumers are knowledgeable about certain ingredients they may choose to avoid.

For MORE information visit the sites below:

California Department of Public Health (2012). www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohsep/documents/wra-cleaningprod.pdf

California Department of Public Health (2014). www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohsep/Pages/class.aspx

California Department of Public Health (2013). www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohsep/Documents/Asthma_in_California2013.pdf

UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (December 1, 2010). “Income Disparities in Asthma Burden and Care in California”. Joelle Wolstein, PhD, MPP, MA, Ying-Ying Meng, DrPH, Susan H. Babey, PhD

Herdt-Losavio et al. (2010). www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20029025

Environmental Protection Agency (2010). www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/cleaning.htm

Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm

Herdt-Losavio et al. (2010). www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20029025.

California Department of Public Health (2012). www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ohsep/documents/wra-cleaningprod.pdf

 Environmental Protection Agency (2012). www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html