Tag: Forbrugerrådet Tænk

How to choose a gaming console joystick without problematic chemicals

All I want is … EDC-free gifts!

All I want for Christmas is … EDC-Free gifts!, Health and Environment Alliance, 19 December 2016.

Another regular gift each year are gaming consoles. Yet, these popular games may contain hormone disruptors, also known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, an EDC-Free campaign partner, has put several gaming consoles controllers to the test. They examined the content of unwanted chemicals in popular joysticks.

Two gaming controllers received the best mark for being without any problematic substances. Six joysticks received an average mark because of traces of unwanted chemicals were found. Four controllers could not be recommended ; they got the lowest mark as they contain a number of chemicals suspected of cancer-causing.

How to choose a pop star gift without problematic chemicals

Gift boxes with cosmetics are a cocktail of problematic chemicals

All I want for Christmas is … EDC-Free gifts!, Health and Environment Alliance, 19 December 2016.

Many popstars market gift boxes with cosmetics to children, making these boxes popular gifts during the festive season. Yet, these boxes may contain hormone disruptors, also known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, an EDC-Free campaign partner, has put several gift boxes with cosmetics to the test. They examined the ingredient lists on gift boxes which are targeted at children in their marketing. EDCs were found in every single gift box with cosmetics.

“It is very unfortunate that all of the gift boxes we found in the stores contain substances which are suspected to be endocrine disrupting,”

says Stine Müller, project manager in the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals. Hormone disrupting chemicals are suspected to cause several ailments such as declining semen quality in boys and too early puberty in girls.

How to choose a shampoo without problematic chemicals

Many green options for consumers

Under the shower in the morning you are probably mostly thinking about getting your hair nice and clean when you pinch shampoo into your palm. But if you follow the recommendations from The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals you can also take a closer look at the ingredients in the shampoo that you massage into your hair.

Even though the shampoo is rinsed off under the shower, you can consider if you want to avoid substances that are problematic.

“Shampoo is not the type of product I would be most concerned about, since it does not stay on the skin like for example creams and body lotions. Shampoo is quickly rinsed off and consequently the exposure to the substances in shampoo decreases. But the substances are a tiny piece of the puzzle in the total cocktail effect of all the problematic substances you are exposed to from many sources in your everyday life. Allergenic and endocrine disrupting substances in shampoo are an unnecessary contribution to this exposure.”

says Christel Søgaard Kirkeby, project manager in The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals.

Endocrine disrupting substances are suspected to cause effects on health such as low sperm count among boys and early puberty among girls.

Problematic content in 20 shampoos

Test: 26 shampoos are without perfume and problematic ingredients, kemi.taenk.dk, 19. apr 2016.

A total of 20 shampoos receive the lowest mark due to content of problematic chemicals. Seven of them contain substances which are suspected to be endocrine disrupting. The substances are for example a number of preserving parabens, the softening substance cyclopentasiloxane and the sunscreen ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate.

12 other shampoos receive the lowest mark due to content of the mixture MI/MCI (methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone).

Persons with MI allergy can react to products with content of MI/MCI says The Danish Knowledge Centre for Allergy.

The test also showed content of the allergenic preservatives iodopropynyl butylcarbamate and dmdm hydantoin.

Many green options for consumers

The consumers have many shampoos to pick from if they want to avoid problematic ingredients. In the test 26 receive the best assessment.

“In general there are many good choices among shampoos. Most consumers will be able to find one without problematic substances. We recommend the consumers to use our tests on kemi.taenk.dk or the app ‘Kemiluppen’ – ‘The magnifying glass for chemicals’ – if they want to minimize the exposure to problematic substances.”

says Christel Søgaard Kirkeby.

How to choose a toothpaste without problematic chemicals

Triclosan and other suspected endocrine disruptors are present in some toothpastes

Have you thought about the chemicals in the toothpaste, that you use every morning and evening? The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals recommends that you do if you want to avoid problematic ingredients during the brushing.

The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals has checked the ingredient lists on 32 toothpastes, looking for substances that are suspected to be endocrine disrupting and also fragrances which are classified as detrimental to the environment. 14 toothpastes receive the best mark, whereas 5 get the lowest.

Test: 14 toothpastes are without problematic substances, Forbrugerrådet Tænk Kemi, 4. maj 2016.

Besides triclosan some toothpastes in the test contain parabens, which are suspected to be endocrine disrupting substances. One contained the substance manganese sulfate which is classified as damaging to the organs of the body by the EU.

There are plenty of good toothpaste on the market for the consumers. However, there are still substances that we recommend consumers to avoid in order to reduce their exposure. For example, Colgate Total contains the endocrine disrupting substance triclosan. Even though there is no immediate health risk in using the product, triclosan is one of the unnecessary endocrine disrupting substances, that we recommend consumers to reduce or avoid altogether.”

says Stine Müller, project manager at The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals.

The common fragrance limonene gets a yellow mark in the test, since the substance is classified as detrimental to the environment.

How to choose a sunscreen without problematic chemicals

Ecolabels are the easy choice

When you are enjoying the sun and applying sunscreen this summer, don’t forget that your skin is in close contact with the ingredients in the bottle. It is therefore worth considering which substances your sunscreen contains. Are they for example suspected hormone disrupting chemicals?

The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, an EDC-Free campaign partner, has put over 65 sunscreens to the test. 25 out of 66 sunscreens on the Danish market, many of which are international brands, receive the best assessment for being without content of problematic chemicals.

How to choose a sunscreen without problematic chemicals this summer, Health and Environment Alliance, 27 July 2016.

It is not only from sunscreen that you can be exposed to problematic substances. Other personal care products can also contain unwanted chemicals and you can be exposed to the chemicals from for example dust or vapours in your home. That is what scientists call the cocktail effect, where the combined exposure from many sources of chemicals can be problematic regarding for example hormone disrupting effects.

Eco-labels are the easy choice

In sunscreens consumers can keep an eye out for ingredients such as ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and benzophenone-3, methyl- and ethylparaben, which are suspected to be endocrine disrupting. However, these names are close to impossible to remember for consumer. Therefore it is easier to look for products with eco-labels. Many consumers also use apps to show whether a product contains unwanted chemicals. A popular app by the Danish Consumer Council ‘Kemiluppen’ – ‘The magnifying glass for chemicals’ – contains 368 sun products in its database including for sunscreens, sun sprays and after sun.