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Trick-or-Treat
October 14, 2005
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This Halloween don't run screaming when I share this information with you...I
only report the news I don't make it!
There's no need to make your child
a toxic avenger by covering them in vinyl masks, PVC costumes, or carcinogen-laden makeup. Send
your kid out to scare the neighbors in style with these better choices and safety
tips.
Safe Trick-Or-Treating
- Make sure your kids can both see and
be seen. Avoid masks, hats and hoods that obscure vision.
- Small children should wear lighter
colored clothing to increase visibility.
- If your older child is wearing a dark
costume like the popular Darth Vader, be sure he or she also carries a bright flashlight (or a
lightsaber). Also, avoid costumes that are too long and might cause your child to trip.
Glow Sticks
Light
sticks are popular accessories on Halloween. They provide visibility to kids walking in
the dark and, when used correctly, don’t pose a health risk to your
children. However, if the exterior plastic is punctured, the
materials inside glow sticks—a mixture of hydrogen peroxide,
oxalic phthalate, and fluorescent dye—can leak, causing skin irritation and
may pose a health risk if ingested. Furthermore, glow sticks are made of
non-recyclable materials, and fluorescent dye is not something we need accumulating in
landfills. (Just a thought!)
Pumpkins
For younger kids, Hearthsong makes a
pumpkin decorating kit that doesn't involve knives, just colorful wooden features children
stick into pumpkins to make faces. A parent should still supervise and help make
holes with a screwdriver for wood dowel inserts ($21.95; www.hearthsong.com).
The Horror of
Vinyl Costumes
Many Halloween costumes and masks
are made from a truly horrifying substance:
Polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) also known as vinyl.
Vinyl really makes Me
scream, because of the damage it wreaks at every stage of its life cycle, from fabrication
through use to disposal. Moreover, soft vinyl products usually contain phthalates, substances that pose potential risks to
human health and to normal fetal and child development . Watch for vinyl as well in wigs or in
shiny leather-ish belts and boots.
For
alternatives:
• Costumes often come wrapped in
PVC packaging and accompanied by a PVC mask. (You know the smell--eeeww). To avoid both,
check out the creepy costumes without masks available from Disney and California Costumes
(available at big box stores like Toys ‘R Us).
• Raid your closet for old clothes that
younger kids can fashion into costumes. Remember being a ghost or hobo every year?
• Harrison’s Halloween
(www.harrisonshalloween.com) makes 100 percent natural (not organic)
cotton costumes for babies.
• Playstore offers satin princess
hats, cotton doctor's outfits and felt swords, see "active play" at playstoretoys.com
• Hearthsong makes nylon
fairy and butterfly wings that can be put on with straps ($11.95, www.hearthsong.com).
Children under five, and most
people for that matter, will find it more comfortable and safe to trick or treat without a mask.
As with regular makeup and personal care
products, the Halloween makeup found in conventional drug stores—white, green, and black
cream makeup, multi-colored makeup crayons, and fake blood—contain a number of
suspect ingredients.
A LITTLE LABEL READING may save you some
pain and heartache in the future. Many types of make-up are labeled "non-toxic,"
"safe," and "allergenic," however, these Halloween makeup products contain
ingredients such as these listed below that may add
to the body's exposure burden and contribute to long-term health effects such as cancer or
endocrine disruption...This isn't a paranoia factor here, just plain facts that I think
we all should know and keep in mind. Thanks to the Green Guide for this helpful
information.
- Preliminary evidence suggests that
parabens (methyl-, propyl-,ethyl, butyl-), widely-used as preservatives, act
like estrogens and may disrupt normal hormone functions.
- BHA (butylated
hydroxyanisole) is a preservative and antioxidant that is "reasonably
anticipated to be a human carcinogen," according to the U.S. National Toxicology
Program's 2005 11th Report on Carcinogens. BHA is also a suspected hormone
disruptor, and may act like estrogens in the body.
- Phthalates
have been found to produce cancer of the liver in lab animals and linked to changes in the
genitals of boys born to mothers with high phthalate levels. Look out for
"fragrance" in ingredient lists, a blanket term the industry uses to cover
trade-secret components including phthalates. According to the American Academy of
Dermatology, fragrance is the number-one cause of allergic reactions from cosmetics and
phthlates have been linked to asthma and other respiratory ailments.
- Formaldehyde
is a preservative commonly found in nail polishes, eye shadows, mascaras, and other
cosmetics. Formaldehyde is listed as a "reasonably anticipated to be a human
carcinogen" in the U.S. National Toxicology Program's 2005 11th Report on
Carcinogens
A
few safety-minded companies or some home cooking will allow you to say "Yes!" to
scariness and "No!" to scary makeup.
- Burt's Bees, Real Purity,
Logona, and Sante Kosmetics produce makeup to
terrify friends without risking your health. Burt's Bees are available at retail outlets and
other products can be found at natural supermarkets and health food stores, or online at
www.holisticbeauty.net. To avoid the risk of ingestion,
however, do not apply any cosmetics to babies and young kids. Options include:
- Earth's Beauty
eye liner can be used by parents to draw whiskers or other designs on children's faces
($10.50, earthsbeauty.com)
- Burt's Bees
lipstick can stripe cheeks as well as rouge lips ($9.50, www.burtsbees.com)
Fact Source: www.Greenguide.com
Trick or Treat!
Beth Aldrich
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