The devil in your dryer sheets

People reach for dryer sheets to make their clothes soft, scented, and static-free. When I was in fashion school, we talked about dryer sheets in textiles class and our instructor explained that the coating on dryer sheets was nothing but scented wax that melted and very lightly coated our clothes.

Twenty years later, we know more and we know better.

The David Suzuki Foundation says that the synthetic perfumes used in dryer sheets are derived from petroleum-based ingredients, and they say, “once the scented air leaves your dryer vent and floats into your neighbourhood, it’s increasingly causing allergic reactions in people with chemical sensitivities.” (Chemical sensitivities are on the rise – I notice it, do you?).

Dr. Anne Steinemann, an internationally recognized scientist, Professor of Civil Engineering, and Chair of Sustainable Cities at the University of Melbourne, helps people create healthier living and working environments. In 2011, she published a study about the chemicals in laundry products and discovered an enormous and rather alarming range of chemicals:

• Linalool: A narcotic that causes 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
• Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled
• 1,4-dioxane: A recognized carcinogen
• Chloromethane: A developmental toxin
• 2-Butanone: A suspected toxicant
• O, m, or p-cymene: A suspected toxicant
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS/SLES), and ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS)
• Nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE): Hormone disruptor
• Phosphates: Major environmental health hazard
• Optical brighteners

How is it legal to sell toxic concoctions like this, you ask? “Simple,” says Canadians for A Safe Learning Environment (CASLE), “It’s still very much an unregulated market. Manufacturers are not required to disclose any ingredients in cleaning supplies, air fresheners or laundry products. The fragrance industry is actually allowed to regulate itself (italics mine) through a trade association known as the International Fragrance Association.”

For modern readers with an eco-conscience, this should raise alarms. The CASLE article explains that though substances are tested on adults, it is only for skin reactions, not neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, or anything else. The group says that only 1300 out of more than 5000 ingredients used by the fragrance industry are tested and evaluated for safety.

“If they’re coming out of a smokestack or tail pipe, they’re regulated, but if they’re coming out of a dryer vent, they’re not,” says Dr. Steinemann.

Eco-friendly dryer and dryer sheet alternatives

I’m always on about air-drying clothing for environmental reasons and to protect clothing. Dry heat in the dryer causes shrinkage and damages your clothes; it eats away at garment colour and at fabric fibers. The stuff in the lint trap is actually small bits of your clothing that over time will cause your clothes to lose body, develop holes, and become thread-bare.

If you want your clothes to last, try some of these alternatives to electric clothes dryers and dryer sheets:

–> The old-fashioned way is always preferable: line-dry your clothes. Back yards and balconies are great for hanging clothes out on the line. For people who live in smaller spaces, try drying your clothes on a drying rack.

–> For an eco-friendly laundry softener, National Geographic’s Green Guide recommends adding a quarter cup of baking soda to the wash cycle. Add a quarter cup of white vinegar to boost the laundry-softening properties, and reduce static cling.

–> Maddocks Holdings Limited, a Canadian industrial parts supplier makes PurEcosheets, reusable static eliminator sheets. One sheet will last through 500 tumble dries and reduce the amount of laundry waste in landfills. There are no chemicals in these sheets, so this reduces buildup in dryers and keeps them running efficiently.

–> Dryer balls are great to reduce drying time, soften clothes, reduce static, increase fluffiness, and make laundry a little more fun! Dryer balls are simply medium-sized balls of wool that bounce around clothes in the dryer and improve air flow. Order them online or make your own dryer balls for a cool project! Should you want scent to your laundry, simply add drops of essential oil to your dryer balls.

–> Lots of good, green laundry products on the Reuseit website.

So now you have a choice: toxic, wasteful, chemical-laden dryer sheets or reusable, inexpensive, and eco-friendly dryer products? Both options do the same thing, but the latter is non-toxic, leaves virtually no carbon footprint, and has no side effects. How could you not?

Exfoliating without microbeads

Plastic microbeads in your facial wash go straight down the drain and into the water system.

I often talk to my clients about using exfoliants to remove the dull dead skin cells that sit on the surface of the skin to keep it soft, supple, and youthful. Exfoliated skin feels better, looks polished, and takes age off a guy’s face. It’s also a great pre-shave step which softens men’s whiskers and lets the razor glide right over. Once guys are on the bandwagon, there’s no turning back.

However, there are massive environmental concerns with some commercial exfoliant products that contain microbeads – tiny plastic beads that are so small that they slip through the water treatment process and end up, at least in Ontario, in the Great Lakes. Tiny bits of plastic in water systems can wreak havoc on our marine environment and ultimately, us. Environmental Defence says that microbeads “are being eaten by fish and birds, which can cause digestive blockages, dehydration, and even death from starvation thanks to stomachs full of plastic. The plastics absorb dangerous toxics that can harm wildlife when they mistake the colourful beads for food”. Since we get much of our drinking water from the Great Lakes, I’ve read that these beads can end up in our drinking water and beverages made with water (i.e. beer!).

It’s an issue that is gaining ground. In March of this year, Ontario MPP, Marie-France Lalonde, introduced a private member’s bill to ban the manufacture and use of microbeads. South of the border, Illinois has passed a state-wide ban on microbeads, and New Jersey, Colorado, and Wisconsin are in the process of banning them too. Back in 2012, The Guardian discussed the global effects of microbeads in the oceans and said that “the [beauty] industry needs a reminder that an ecosystem driven to the edge will not be productive”. Happily, CBC reports that “L’Oreal, the Body Shop and Johnson & Johnson all committed to phasing out plastic microbeads by 2015, and Proctor & Gamble said it would do so by 2017.” This is wonderful news on many levels.

Natural alternatives

We don’t need plastic beads to keep our skin smooth – there are lots of natural alternatives. For instance, I recommend a pre-shave facial cleanser from Bread & Butter men’s skincare line which uses biodegradable rice flour granules as the exfoliating agent.

A friend who sees a naturopath uses plain old baking soda mixed with water to make a paste and uses that on his face to exfoliate his skin. He uses this very inexpensive and environmentally friendly exfoliant once a week; his skin looks clean and polished and he says it feels great.

Some people will turn to drug store exfoliant products that contain things like broken nut shells or fruit pits. Natural, yes, but these are somewhat harsh on the skin because the pieces of shell or pit are not rounded, and pointy bits of hard shell rolled over the face can damage the skin. Better alternatives are found at neighbourhood health stores that carry different exfoliant products, or check the multitude of online suggestions for natural facial scrubs.

For guys who want to take it a step further and give their whole bodies a good exfoliation, Janet Perry, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist™ in Calgary, offers her own recipe for an inexpensive DIY sea salt body scrub for the shower (not to be used on the face):

1/2 cup good quality oil such as almond, jojoba, avacado, olive, or grapeseed

1 cup sea salt (if your skin is sensitive, substitute sugar for salt)

5 – 15 drops of good quality (i.e. organic, therapeutic grade) essential oils like lemon, lavender, peppermint, or rosemary oil

1.  Put the sea salt (or sugar) in a glass bowl.
2.  Pour in the oil and mix with a wooden spoon.  The texture should be moist enough to hold together; if the mixture is too oily, add more sea salt.
3.  Add 5 – 15 drops of your favourite essential oil, and combine well.
4.  Transfer to a sterilized glass jar and store in a cool, dry place.

Also check out exfoliating gloves and towels from places like the Body Shop that you can soap up and use like you would a wash cloth. Feels great but be gentle exfoliating around your privates, gents.

It’s not much of a sacrifice to make a change from plastic microbeads in commercial facial exfoliants (and toothpaste and body wash products); you’ll be more natural, find more money in your pocket, and you won’t add to the water pollution problem that currently faces us.

Click here to send a letter of support for Ms. Lalonde’s bill to Glen Murray, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and make the push for banning microbeads stronger with your voice.