Hiya Sweet Friend,
I fell in love with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) when I realized who they’re fighting for you and me.
This organization is doing all the work for us when it comes to understanding how to protect ourselves from the toxins in our world today. And I’m not just talking about our soil, streams and air. These pollutants have made their way into our food, water and personal products.
EWG’s tireless research, reporting and consumer guides take the guesswork out of healthy choices.
So when Heather White, EWG’s Executive Director and Jocelyn Lyle, their Director of Development, signed on to co-host the first Dinner with Kris, I literally dropped to my knees. Hallelujah! These women are wonk-tastic celebrities to me, but in a totally down to earth, generous and accessible way.
Today I’m keeping the EWG love going by Chattin’ & Chewin’ with Heather. I sat down with her a few hours before our fun-filled, live-streaming fiesta and kicked things off by digging into body burden, a topic that every consumer needs to know about starting NOW. Why?
For starters, EWG’s research has uncovered the fact that babies are being born with hundreds of toxic chemicals in their bloodstream.
Want to know how those chemicals are making their way into our bodies? Want to know how to lessen your exposure, up your prevention, and become an educated consumer?
Watch. Your choices matter and they really do add up over time. This information is here to empower you, not to scare you. Heather and I both take a balanced approach to improving our well-being. Slow and steady wins the race.
Let’s vote for a healthier future every time we go to the store to pick up a bottle of shampoo or sunscreen or toothpaste.
We deserve to know the truth about everything we eat, drink and slather on our skin.
Luckily, EWG is here to help us do that, but we also need to get active. As Heather says, “We can’t always shop our way out of our problems.” Start a domino effect of activism by watching this episode and accessing EWG’s phenomenal resources. Sign up for their newsletter to stay current and get notified when new legislation is pending. Our elected officials do listen (believe it or not), but how can they possibly know what’s on our minds if we stay silent. Phone calls and emails go a long way.
Lastly, check out EWG’s updated Skin Deep database. The next time you have a question about your personal care product, look it up! EWG rates hundreds, if not thousands of popular products. You’ll learn just how safe or toxic that favorite tube of lipstick can be.
Peace & activism,
Thanks so much Kris and Heather, this was an EXCELLENT, ARTICULATE interview that hit all the important point in a very simple, direct manner!!! I am a long time fan of EWG and support their efforts annually. Thank God for EWG bridging the gap between FDA’s supposed role and honestly educating consumers about toxins in our foods, drugs and cosmetics.
Kris you are doing a fantastic job to promote awareness and honest, cutting edge HEALTH and PREVENTION. You are very sincere, beautiful, gifted and I have just become a new fan!!!
Thank you for spreading awareness for positive change!!!!
Brenda! Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. 🙂 kc
Thanks so much Chris and Heather, this was an EXCELLENT, ARTICULATE interview that hit all the important point in a very simple, direct manner!!! I am a long time fan of EWG and support their efforts annually. Thank God for EWG bridging the gap between FDA’s supposed role and honestly educating consumers about toxins in our foods, drugs and cosmetics.
Chris you are doing a fantastic job to promote awareness and honest, cutting edge HEALTH and PREVENTION. You are very sincere, beautiful, gifted and I have just become a new fan!!
I like the EWG and everything they’re doing. However, sometimes I feel that they use scare tactics to get to people. Smart consumers know what to do, the general public doesn’t, I realize. I got a lot of email from EWG asking for $ and it made me feel like I was contributing to some sort of special interest group. I find their information very valuable but it’s also information that is available to me for free.
My question is who funds EWG? Are their any big pharmacies companies funding any of the research?
Hi Patty,
Great question! Here’s what Heather White had to say in response:
“Approximately 49% of our funding comes from private foundations and 49% from online donations from individual supporters. Corporate contributions make up less than 2% of our budget ($100,000 of $6.7 million). The vast majority of our corporate contributions come from Amazon.com. Customers who are buying anything from Amazon can go through our Amazon website portal and 8% of the purchase price is donated to EWG. We’ve also accepted small grants and inkind contributions from some green companies like Patagonia, Stonyfield Yogurt, and Organic Valley. We have not accepted any money from pharmaceutical companies.”
Thank you for this…I am sharing this with the world! 🙂 While I strive to make the healthiest choices out there and buy the simplest and cleanest products and food choices, it gets harder as big biz buys up these smaller companies who have good intent and changes them into a money making product. I have thought long and hard about how the government “regulates” and I fear that it will be a long time, if ever, for the government to make companies change their ways of what is put into their products. There is a lot of money to be made by everyone in the business of Cancer. From the company who produces our unsafe food, cosmetics and cleaning products, ( Let’s not forget Monsanto’s lovely GMO’s too), the advertising agencies who market them, to the Doctors who treat our ailments, to the pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs to “treat” our ailments. It seems like a HUGE business and win win for everyone if someone isn’t thriving. I would love to help make a change, but definetly do feel like David against Goliath most days in this country!
Thank you for covering this topic! As consumers we need to be more aware of what we are eating, breathing and putting on our skin. I’m grateful for the EWG and the great work they are doing. It is, however, upsetting that the government pushed cosmetics and chemical to the side like it doesn’t really matter. When in fact, it is one of the biggest underlying factors affecting our health today.
I’m glad I knew the dangers of chemicals and toxins before I got pregnant and continue to educate myself for the safety of my family.
Bottom line: Be a informed consumer. Ignorance is NOT bliss in the case for chemicals and toxins.
Hi Kris,
I just saw your discussion with Heather White from EWG. I really enjoyed listening in. Thank you so much for giving me a chance to get better informed on these matters. I was wondering if EWG has thought about having an app that people could use when they go shopping. Often I look at the ingredient list of personal care products and don’t know if I should buy them or not. It would be great if there was an app smartphone that people could use on the spot. Thanks again,
Sophia
They are working on just that Sophia! 🙂 I can’t wait to test it. xo kc
Hi Kris,
Thank you and Heather for this informative video. I’ve been involved in spreading info about toxics in personal care products (as well as the importance of healthy eating) for about the last 15 years and it’s really shocking know that there are not only still so many toxic ingredients used including the ones that came to light 10-15 years ago, but NEW ones in personal care and cleaning products, such as anti-bacterials. Yes, the more we know, the more power we have. And our power lies in the fact that we are consumers. As Heather said, “Democracy is NOT a spectator sport”. Let’s keep the pressure up! This American company is quite tuned into creating effective non toxic personal care and cleaning products: Neways.com. There are many good, ethical aware companies now, but unfortunately more that produce cheap and toxic products aimed at young women and people who don’t have much money. I could go on and on…
As I watched this discussion unfold last week I first felt scared, but quickly realized I can’t just stick my head in the sand. Baby steps to a cleaner life style is my motto. A little bit each day to help myself and my family. We have a tool already in our hands, Crazy Sexy Kitchen. It has provided us with healthy foods we can nourish our bodies. Phew, one large baby step taken…
I made Sage Polenta and Nana’s Marinara last night. My favorite so far! 40 recipe down and loving every minute of it! Check it out Crazy Sexy Kitchen Project. Thanks Kris for helping us become unicorns too!
Thank you for this video–I don’t think we can be reminded of this information too many times. Our choices matter, day in and day out, and I am resolved to continue to search for products I can feel good about buying. I agree that most of the products for sale are an untested chemical soup, but I do cringe when I hear the call for more testing, though. That has meant and still does mean, all too often, animal testing, and I am vehemently opposed to that.
OK, I’m freaking out now. I never really gave any thought to the use of these chemicals and I use anti-bacterial stuff all the time! I’m looking up Triclosan and it seems to be in everything. Time for a product overhaul!
Don’t freak out Erika. Just educate yourself and shop accordingly. No stress, ok? 🙂
Thanks for this. My only concern about advocating for testing is that it will likely involve outdated methods that are not only cruel to animals, but tests that will result in misleading results that are not applicable to humans. So along with advocating for testing of cosmetics and household products, people need to speak up for accurate, modern tests that don’t involve inflicting pain on innocent animals. For more info on this, see: http://neavs.org/research/testing
Well said Bean. I will bring this up as a topic to follow up on with EWG. Thanks so much for your comment!
I am just starting my third year with my local CSA, and I love it. My only comnlaipt is that we often don’t get enough of a particular vegetable to do much with; most portions are limited to one pound or one item (i.e. one eggplant). We also get fruit, herbs, and cheese from our CSA, and we have frozen meat delivered once a month by a small farmer from Vermont.In terms of price, I feel that eating well is important and that it’s worth it to spend money on quality ingredients. We eat very few processed foods, and I do my best to cook from scratch. We live about 20 minutes away from a Whole Foods, so I go there every Sunday to do my week’s grocery shopping. The CSA delivery and our local farmers’ market are both on Thursday. I will go to our local supermarket, which is next to my workplace, maybe once a week for milk and a few things, like toilet paper, that are cheaper there. I find WF a much more relaxing place to shop than my local supermarket, with its fluorescent lights, orange-and-green decor, and persistent smell of chemicals. Plus I seldom have to wait for a cashier at Whole Foods. And shopping once a week has really freed up my time for more important things (like cooking).
You bring up a very important point, bean. The welfare of animals is a huge priority, which is why I contacted Heather White about your question. Here’s what Heather had to say:
“The Safe Chemicals Act would require better data collection and sharing to minimize animal testing. It would also encourage the use of computer simulations to determine the health and safety of some chemicals. When I say testing, I’m talking about safety assessments. If we have better knowledge of the research that is out there, we may not need any additional test for a chemical. But we need to know what’s out there.”
Thank you so much for following up on this, Kris! You da best. xxoo
I loved the interview with EWG. As an acupuncturist I specialized in Fertility Enhancement and one of the first things I would educate my fertility patients on was all the chemicals they are ingesting and inhaling that are know endocrine disruptors. I then head them over to read about them on EWG’s website. I am convinced that all these endocrine disruptors that people eat, breath and slather on their bodies daily is one of the main reasons why 1 in every 5 couples can’t conceive. Keep up the great work that you do! PS, I also send my patients to your site as well.
Great information that everyone needs to hear! In dealing with my own health issues the last few years I realized just how important it was to change my personal and household products! I found Ava Anderson and have been educating ever since! Thank you for bringing this important topic to the table!
What are top 3 chemical to avoid??
Loved this information on toxic chemicals in our products and where to get more information. Please keep us informed
XO
U
Wonderful post Kris & Heather!
I am in Australia and was saying to my husband earlier this evening that I wanted to start seeking some natural alternatives for our body products. At the same time I was also trying to coerce my fella in to joining me for a morning green juice.
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was just on TV and now this. Thank you universe! And thank you ladies for the wonderful work you do.
p.s. Kris, that unicorn makes me giggle every time xx
Thank you so much Kriss for sharing this information!!! Ever since reading your book and applying the principles of veganism (my husband and I are now vegan… Thanks to you and the awareness you have brought in our lives) I was having such a hard time trying to figure out which personal care products were TRULY “natural”.
I am very excited to head over to EWG website and find out the TRUTH!
Love,
Chantal, Montreal, Canada
I went to the ewg.org site and contributed! Thanks for letting us know about this site, Kris.
I’ve known about EWG for quite some time and briefly looked at their website long ago, but truthfully thought of it as just another government agency that I couldn’t fully trust (i.e. FDA). However, now I’m going to take a longer and deeper look into their website and the work they perform. Thanks for helping me broaden my thinking about EWG. It was a good interview.
Thank you for getting the word out on the levels of toxins in our cosmetics and in our everyday life! What we put on our skin does get absorbed into our blood stream which is why I started my natural perfumery – Bohemian Naturals. I wanted to offer beautiful and luxurious alternatives to commercial perfumes a price that make them attainable to everyone.