Friday, August 23, 2013

Good morning,

If you choose 'antibacterial' products because you think they kill more germs, think again. According to recent studies, antiseptic ingredients added to numerous products are not effective and may actually be harmful.

In 2005, an FDA panel concluded that there is no added benefit from using antimicrobial products over plain soap and water. There's also toxicity to consider. One of the most popular antimicrobials, the pesticide triclocarban (TCC), defies water treatment methods.

Once it's flushed down drains, about 75 percent of TCC makes it through treatments and it ends up in our surface water and in municipal sludge. This sludge is regularly applied to U.S. crop fields as a fertilizer, meaning the chemical could potentially accumulate in our food.

So if it's not more helpful, and can even be harmful, why bother with it? Scroll down to find out some alternatives.

Thanks for reading,

Your Living Green editor

Email the Editor

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* Many personal care products these days read off like a chemistry lesson. Thankfully, there are plenty of more natural alternatives like vegetarian soap.

* In most commercial soap making processes, at the end of the process what's left is the basic soap product and glycerine. The glycerine is a useful emollient and is often sold separately as a moisturizer. This is rather ironic as soap with glycerine removed can dry out your skin.

* Vegetarian soaps contain no animal products. They are made with plant oils and natural fragrances only and the glycerine is usually left in.

* Most brands of vegetarian soap are comparable in price to larger name brands and in some cases they are even cheaper.