You may think that having a shower is just about getting clean and that this is an environmentally friendly thing to do. But think again. It may stop those around you having pegs on their noses but it may be altering the sex of fish!
Shower gels and other bath products produced by mainstream companies contain loads of really harmful chemicals. Harmful for sensitive skins and harmful for the environment. Sodium lauryl sulphate is on of the main ingredients and it is a known skin irritant. Another is any chemical from the parabens family. These are known to disrupt endocrine function in many organisms.
Phthalates and nonyl phenols are also endocrine disrupters. These can be produced at such a high level that they reach dangerous levels in the environment. Endocrine disrupters have a serious effect on wildlife. Reproductive and immunological effects have been recorded in marine mammals living in water with organochlorine contaminants and egg shell thinning and embryonic abnormalities occur in birds exposed to DDT and PCBs. Much press attention has been focused on the 'fish that change sex' ~ the induction of the estrogen biomarker vitellogenin in fish living near a number of effluent point sources from sewage treatment plants or pulp mills.
New products such as the Elave range, which contain no known irritants and no substances known to cause environmental damage may be the future. These products may not smell as fragrant or foam as much, but they are much less harmful to the skin and the environment.
Shower gels and other bath products produced by mainstream companies contain loads of really harmful chemicals. Harmful for sensitive skins and harmful for the environment. Sodium lauryl sulphate is on of the main ingredients and it is a known skin irritant. Another is any chemical from the parabens family. These are known to disrupt endocrine function in many organisms.
Phthalates and nonyl phenols are also endocrine disrupters. These can be produced at such a high level that they reach dangerous levels in the environment. Endocrine disrupters have a serious effect on wildlife. Reproductive and immunological effects have been recorded in marine mammals living in water with organochlorine contaminants and egg shell thinning and embryonic abnormalities occur in birds exposed to DDT and PCBs. Much press attention has been focused on the 'fish that change sex' ~ the induction of the estrogen biomarker vitellogenin in fish living near a number of effluent point sources from sewage treatment plants or pulp mills.
New products such as the Elave range, which contain no known irritants and no substances known to cause environmental damage may be the future. These products may not smell as fragrant or foam as much, but they are much less harmful to the skin and the environment.
