California looks to regulate toxic ingredients in consumer products

There's an initiative in California to "mandate new regulations limiting toxic ingredients in a wide variety of consumer products," according to a news release sent to me. The new regs are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, and there's a public meeting for comments from stakeholders set for Nov. 1.

California's Department of Toxic Substances Control new "Green Chemistry" regs will "require companies to analyze the raw materials of their products and their potential toxicity through their entire life cycle.  The regulations, which reflect an entire movement, seek to minimize a product’s impact on human health, the environment and natural resources."

And as is often the case, as goes California, so goes the country. That is, the wider impact of the regulations will likely be felt in markets and by manufacturers far outside state lines. For more information, the news release recommends Peter Hsiao, an environmental and clean tech attorney in Los Angeles with Morrison & Foerster. (You might recognize Morrison & Foerster as the wild and crazy law firm that likes to be known as MoFo.com.)

The locavore trend, reductio ad absurdum edition

It may be the ultimate in vertical green retailing: a grocery store that grows its own produce on site. That's the idea behind a Danish proposal, reported in Discovery News:

The do-it-yourself grocery store concept called Agropolis combines hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic farming to grow vegetables without soil ... Shoppers will come in and see all the produce growing on-site and point to what they want. Nutrients from fish in aquaculture tanks goes to feed the plants, and the whole place becomes an ecosystem.

And you can eat the food where it is grown, at a restaurant at the store — talk about a start-to-finish concept!

Does vinyl flooring cause autism and defects in kids?

Darned if I know! But if you sell or make vinyl flooring, you should know that reports, like this one, reported in Treehugger, are linking product to genital deformities and autism.

An outpouring of help for those suffering after floods

The recent flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, hit that community pretty hard. But many people are pitching in to help the city get back on its feet.

• Massachusetts teens are helping to rebuild the town library.
• FEMA and local builders are working on reconstruction.
• A few hippies have set up a free kitchen for volunteers, serving organic food, natch.
• And a manufacturer of an eco-friendly mold-killer maker has sent a team to help with the clean-up.

By the way, the mold-killer product is also being sold at Cedar Rapids' Edgewood Do it Best Hardware & Rental Center. The store has sold more than 400 units, according to store co-owner Kelly Lauderdale.

Radon hotline offers tips for homeowners

From the National Safety Council comes word of two hotlines (and low-cost test kits) for homeowners worried about radon gas.

Chances are your kitchen countertop is free from radon, even if it is granite – and despite the potential link between radon and granite countertops that’s been in the news. For people who have concerns or questions about radon and want to test the air quality of their homes, the National Safety Council issues a reminder that its toll-free Radon Hotline is available at (800) 767-7236. Through this automated number, callers can order a brochure that contains information on radon and ordering a low-cost short-term test kit. Or, to speak to National Safety Council radon expert, callers can dial another toll-free number, (800) 557-2366. Specialists are on hand to answer questions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern) on business days.

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It's a good resource for dealers, retailers, and builders who want to answer customer questions.

Fighting germs the green way

I'm a little skeptical about the trend towards adding more and more anti-microbials to our living spaces. And so is the Centers for Disease Control! It's become a marketing point to be able to add "Fights Germs!" to the product label.

Still, Duraban seems to be trying to have its microbe-killing cake and eat it too. The company is pushing its new line of products (a Laundry Rinse, a Fabric Spray, a Surface Spray, and a Disinfectant Spray) as not only germ-unfriendly, but earth-friendly too. The product is applied to fabric or hard surfaces -- and it sticks. Megan Parker, a company spokeperson, culled these talking points from the product Web site for me:

Since the antimicrobial is permanently bound to the surfaces it protects, it does not leach from the fabric to the skin or into the environment.

DuraBan does NOT contain any heavy metals. Tin, arsenic, silver and copper are often used in other antimicrobials.

DuraBan does not volatilize, dissipate, or leach onto other surfaces or into the environment. The chemistry polymerizes where it is applied and forms a permanent bond that typically lasts for the life of the treated surface. Normal cleaning should not remove the treatment; although it can be abraded away.

If fighting germs is your top priority, maybe you can mitigate the disadvantages -- to a degree -- with a greenish product like this.

Two new Green Web sites

Here are two new Web sites focussing on topics of interest.

A creation of Electrolux Home Care Products North America, GoodCleanAir.net offers allergy tips and, as one might expect, ideas for choosing and maintaining a vacuum.

W.R. Meadows' LEED Information Page offers product info, especially on construction products made and sold by W.R. Meadows.

The bad science behind new fears on vinyl shower curtains

The Internet has been buzzing with blog posts and news articles about the dangers posed by new vinyl shower curtains -- that they release dangerous fumes when first opened. The reports suggest that "new shower curtain smell" may be a health hazard. Check out reports in U.S. News & World, WPTV in Florida, the Kansas City Star, AOL News, and the L.A. Times, among many others.

The original report was issued June 12 by the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

The effect on retailers remains unclear. But as ammunition for those faced with fearful customers, you can't do better than this statement I got from Information and Public Affairs Director Julie Vallese at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

CPSC staff scientists did a cursory review of the study and found many problems with the testing methodology that call into question the credibility of the science used for the study. This is a case where a group is sounding a false and misleading alarm.

The CPSC mission is to protect the American public from the unreasonable risk of injury from consumer products. We take this responsibility very seriously and work to reduce the risk of death and injury from consumer products every day. In our busy lives there are so many things that we should be focused on for improving our personal safety -- a shower curtain is not one of them.

Many thanks to Julie for her response!