Did you know?
From day one, Madame Gabriela has been opposed to plastics. There is the obvious and well documented environmental impacts - It’s believed around one billion lipstick casings are discarded each year, ending up in landfill where they’ll take in excess of 400-500 years to degrade. But the biggest impact goes far beyond nature: phthalates.
Chances are you have not heard of phthalates. But they are making headlines now more than ever. Phthalates are a large class of chemicals that make plastics moldable, also present in cosmetics and personal care products, room fresheners, and anything artificially fragranced. Phthalates can also be found in any number of items that people come into contact with, but most exposure comes when products are wrapped, packed or processed with plastic. And the #1 source for many of you is cosmetics.
So what is the big deal? Previous studies have suggested that exposure to phthalates can interfere with normal hormone function and development, resulting in a range of unpleasant effects. Then the CDC recommended that the chemicals and their effect on human health be studied further, a recommendation that helped unlock funding for dozens of studies focused on phthalates, resulting in a tidal wave of recently published reports that largely indicate the CDC’s concern was warranted. Now, a new study reported in the journal Neurotoxicology has linked exposure to phthalates during pregnancy to altered cognitive outcomes in infants. The chemical also lowers testosterone and so have the strongest influences on the male side, for example diminishing sperm count, though they are bad for women too, shown to decrease libido and increase risk of early puberty, premature ovarian failure, miscarriage and premature birth. This month more reports are suggesting the exposure to phthalates is linked to asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, breast cancer, obesity and type II diabetes, low IQ, neuro-development issues, behavioral issues, autism spectrum disorders and altered reproductive development.
What should we be doing to cut down our exposure? People of reproductive age should be aware that everything they bring into their home has the potential to contain these chemicals. For personal care and household products use a minimum of simple products and try to avoid those that are artificially scented; phthalates are added to hold scent. But most of all… choose plastic free. This is a decision Madame Gabriela helps you make every single day with tubing designed of metal, and packaging that is plastic free. Don’t forget those fragrances, because ours are natural and never artificial.