MI crazy??

Recently, we have been getting a lot of correspondence from people around the Globe that have discovered they have allergic reactions to Isothiazolinones. If and if is the key word the ingredient deck on your products disclose this potential problem it would be listed as Methylisothiazolinone or Benzisothiazolinone.

What we feel is important to understand is that these ingredients are added to products to preserve them from potential bacteria and both the conventional products and many Big National Brands continue to use these because they are inexpensive and help with manufacturing by killing contaminants introduced in the process or present in the other ingredients.

So that’s the “upside” of keeping them in the formulations that usually are made in many locations by contract packagers not the brand manufacturers themselves. The downside is that many people get sensitized to this ingredient with minimal exposure and develop contact dermatitis which is uncomfortable, unsightly and can lead to further tissue damage if not treated properly. Furthermore, most dermatologists are not keen to the chemical connection and prescribe creams, ointments and steroids as oppose to guiding an elimination of the source products.

Our position with all of our client’s products is to eliminate completely this preservative system and use the alternatives. It’s only a matter of time before the industry or Governments decide this is a public health concern and then the big brands will be scrambling. In the end like all change, better practices and technologies will take over. Our team is constantly reviewing new, safer preservative systems as well as reviewing the total ingredient toolbox to try to bring the highest performing, safest products possible through the traditional distribution channels.

For more information on products without MI or BI please visit  http://isothiazolinone.tumblr.com/

 

Sudsing up with Sulfate

So you’re in the shower trying out that new HOT shampoo that a celebrity says makes his or her hair glow. As you begin to work it into your hair there’s something missing. Where are the bubbles, that rich lather that tells you it’s working? You massage harder, add some more shampoo, but still NO BUBBLES. Disappointed you get out of the shower towel off and style your hair. But wait something does seem different your hair feels cleaner or lighter.

This experience is going on a lot these days as companies race to put our their SULFATE FREE line of hair care products. For many decades, shampoo has been all about the lather. Variations on the type of foam produced were the focus of the scientists making the surfactants, with the end goal being lots of lather and bubbles. In reality, bubbles and foam are the result of combining air, water and friction none of which have anything to do with cleaning the hair, in fact the more bubbles the more active product is lost to the air rather than the hair.

As some of our new clients take on this new frontier of hair care (rhyme), we encourage them to once again educate people, that bubbles don’t equal clean and SLS (sulfate) or SLES (sulfate with 1,4 dioxane) are not the best options for health or performance.

Sudsing up with Sulfate

So your in the shower trying out that new HOT shampoo that a celebrity says makes his or her hair glow. As you begin to work it into your hair there’s something missing. Where are the bubbles, that rich lather that tells you it’s working? You massage harder, add some more shampoo, but still NO BUBBLES. Disappointed you get out of the shower towel off and style your hair. But wait something does seem different your hair feels cleaner or lighter.

This experience is going on alot these days as companies race to put our their SULFATE FREE line of haircare products. For many decades, shampoo has been all about the lather. Variations on the type of foam produced were the focus of the scientists making the surfactants, with the end goal being lots of lather and bubbles. In reality, bubbles and foam are the result of combining air, water and friction none of which have anything to do with cleaning the hair, in fact the more bubbles the more active product is lost to the air rather than the hair.

As some of our new clients take on this new frontier of haircare (rhyme), we encourage them to once again educate people that bubbles don’t equal clean and SLS (sulfate) or SLES (sulfate with 1,4 dioxane) are not the best options for health or performance.

Oh Christmas Tree

So it’s that time of the year again when people start to stress out about shopping, planning and those sometimes crazy family gatherings. For me it’s also been a time when I find myself congested. Is it the change in weather, the extra food goodies, stress, I have never figured it out or maybe a combination of all of above.

While working on some new Holiday inspired scents for clients I researched pine oils and was pleased to find that those little needles may be just what I needle to feel better. Pine oils like spruce, black spruce and balsam fir are commonly used in pharmaceutical preparations to treat coughs and colds and specifically for bronchial infections. As a side benefit they also ease mental stress, anxiety and revitalize the mind and body.

One note of caution, those synthetic over powering pine aromas will do more harm than good. Always with fragrances seek essential quality therapeutic grade oils. These are easily found on-line or at your local health food stores.

What a find, this year the smells of the Holiday, freshly prepared in our diffuser, may keep me happy, healthy and wise.

Oops we don’t regulate that

After returning from a press conference yesterday on the Capital Lawn in Lansing,MI I felt inspired to write a bit about regulations and the current state of our consumer products industry. You see I was there, on behalf of greenblendz, supporting two Children’s Safety bills that were introduced to the Michigan legislature.

The first bill was to ban Cadmium, Mercury and other toxic heavy metals from kids jewelry and toys. What?? We need a bill to pass in a State’s legislature to ban lethal things sold to give to our kids as “gifts”.

The second bill would put together a committee to generate a list of chemicals of concern (bad stuff) and require manufacturers to disclose the presence of such chemicals in their kid products. Personally, I don’t need a committee or a bill this just is disturbing.

Over the past couple months we have had visitors in from Canada and various countries from the EU. As we walk them through our plant and explain some of the projects we are working one question always comes up. Doesn’t your government require these other companies to tell people what they are putting in their products? Then it progresses to how could something that is banned in our countries be present in baby products sold on all your grocery shelves. Valid questions.

You see we have a bit of a flawed self-regulating system in the US. Manufacturers are required to put out “safe” products but they can determine the safety of those same products through their paid testing. Arguments among the chemical manufacturers are always leaning towards the “it’s not that bad” side of the fence instead of exploring the possibility that long-term exposure from multiple products and even vapors could be causing some of our health issues that continue to rise.

For those of you interested here is the way products are regulated.

OTC Personal Care Items(Sunscreen,Sanitizer) – FDA regulates these and require products to be certified (registered) in their database.

Personal Care – FDA regulates but as long as no claims are made on the product label, no certification of the product is required. INCI (International Nomenclature) identifies ingredients but require some research from there to know what these things are or if they are Nasty.

Household Cleaners – No regulation, not even a requirement to disclose ingredients.

So what should be done?

1. At the very least full disclosure with common names should be on every product sold at store level.

2. When ingredients are identified as potential health concerns, the public should be notified so they can look out for those ingredients.

3.Eventually with consumer buying dictating the market we will push these ingredients out of the market for good.

It sounds simple, is simple and certainly would make it easier to explain to visitors from other countries how,WE the people, regulate our products.

What’s that Smell??

To walk through a grocery store cleaning aisle has become a nose opening experience. Mountain Fresh, Spring Rain and many other wonderfully thought out marketing names of fragrances fill the aisle. But what are all these smells made from? I have not come across a plant named mountain fresh or a flower called spring rain.

Yes, these are synthetic creations designed specifically to trigger the senses and most importantly buy the product. Back in the late 80’s after the whiter than white campaigns did not increase market share, the big companies hired a sociologist team to determine what will sell more product. The answer smell. From that point on everyone began seeking the smell that sells.

Taking it to the next level, development began to enhance fragrance retention a new term to describe how long a given fragrance can stay in the fabrics. Because people want that “fresh” smell when they pull the laundry out of the dryer and even when the are wearing the clothes or sleeping on the sheets, extra chemicals needed to be added to help the fragrance penetrate the fibers and stay put.

What are some of the chemicals in artificial fragrances?

• Benzyl acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer
• Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant
• Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders
• A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage
• Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list
• Camphor: Causes central nervous system disorders
• Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic
• Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders
• Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled

So next time you are shopping check the label for a product with no fragrance or natural fragrance. Unfortunately, many of the pseudo natural brands out there still contain artificial fragrance so be careful and do some research.

We hope you enjoy the video and look forward to many more episodes of Live from the Lab!

Whiter than White Dude

Finally we have gotten our blogging plans together and there will be a combination of videos, like this one below, talking about some ingredients and features to consider when choosing conventional versus natural healthier products, as well as some written pieces.

In this first episode, we talk about Optical Brighteners , their use in laundry detergents and the associated issues with this ingredient. As we continue our education as a manufacturing company leading the industry into healthier, safer and greener products we will take you on the journey with us through this blog.

If you or your company are looking for innovative products under a private branded campaign, we would be happy to discuss your needs. Everything at greenblendz is done for our clients benefit. We have proprietary marketing programs, specialty formulations, unique packaging and are in the process of adding an entire design team to help launch brands that will shine in the marketplace.

Feel free to email us at info@greenblendz.com