You have seen the signs and claims as much as I have. Nontoxic! A sense of relief issues forth and we, more or less, feel we are safe. It doesn’t matter what product we’re talking about, or what service, the fear or measure of security is there once we see the nontoxic claim.
Being a dry cleaner (Greensleeves) of a truly nontoxic and environmentally safe process and plant, and, I’ll admit, a bit of an environmental sentinel, I see the signs everywhere on dry cleaners. Nontoxic! I know better but the public does not and it irritates me to see these dry cleaners hanging out these nontoxic signs with utter impunity. One store (or more) I’ve seen actually has a picture of Rainbow Trout swimming into a dry cleaning machine as a demonstration of how safe their solvent is. The sign says, “So safe even Rainbow Trout can live in it.”
First their solvent is Isaparafin Hydrocarbon, a toxic synthetic petroleum distillate - like virtually all petroleum related substances. Second, it is devoid of any free oxygen, a must for any fish to live in since fish need oxygen and they obtain it from the liquid they are ’swimming” in - their form of breathing.
This assaulted my sense of dignity as an environmentally safe dry cleaner that goes to great lengths to make sure every aspect of our plant and process is safe for the environment and, at the same time, gives us an outstanding cleaning without harming the environment, the person who wears it or our employees that do the cleaning. The picture of those trout got stuck in my head. I knew the claim was ridiculous but how could they get away with it?
Looking into it I found some rather disturbing “loopholes” in the country’s labeling laws. Unless a substance is proven to be toxic through official studies and tests, it is considered nontoxic and can be so labeled. The substance can be a deadly poison but unless it had been officially designated a toxic substance through proper studies it can be labeled, advertised, broadcast to the whole world that it is nontoxic.
Caveat Emptor. Buyer beware, read between the lines. Read the labels and get to the details. Look for substances you don’t know and put the item back on the shelf. Almost absurd advice in today’s world of products with so many chemicals or so many unfamiliar names that even a qualified chemist can’t tell you if everything in the product is safe 0r n0t. And that’s just the way corporate America wants it.
The Good News. The internet has opened so many avenues of awareness to the common people like you and me that we can find out the real deal in a matter of seconds - if we take the time to look. There are so many watchdog sites that are out there spreading the news and opening the truth to everyone that we have little excuse for purchasing a product or service that isn’t safe for us.
One refuge of truth and a site I heartily recommend is focused on safety for products in the arts but covers many products and services. Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety and the offer fact sheets on many substances here: http://artscraftstheatersafety.org/datasheets.html
There are many other similar sites out there and if you can’t find information on the substance or service you are looking for, write to some of the people that run these sites, they’ll be glad to help. Or write to me and I’ll do whatever I can to find the information for you.
The important thing here is to not use or stop using any service or product that has toxins in it. It most certainloy is not good for your health.
