Can Eco-friendly be toxic?
Yes definitely!
Re-purposed plastics and synthetic products can make Eco-friendly be toxic, even more than the original product.
When I was very ill with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to needed to study and research the toxicity of everything that I bought to get healthy. My body would not tolerate any more toxins.
Once I started feeling better I booked myself a trip to Mexico and went to buy some new luggage. The baggage that I wanted to buy was recycled from plastic bottles. So I spent many hours researching to see if that was less toxic or more toxic than regular polyester and plastic materials. My research showed that it was often more toxic because of the solvents and chemicals used in the process. In the processing of recycling they use a lot of chemicals and solvents. This actually adds to the toxicity of the product as well as having an environmental impact. I did buy that luggage and it didn’t have a chemical smell, so probably was not so toxic as many new products.
Eco-friendly is not the same as non-toxic.
These are two different categories focused on two separate things. Eco-Friendly is concerned with the impact on the environment. There is a lot of recycling or re-purposing of materials. These can be even more toxic than the original.
‘Threads for Thought’ brand used to sell organic clothes at Whole Foods but now sells Eco-friendly clothes. The clothes they have now are very polyester feeling and not very nice. Polyester and plastics are toxic. They may be more or less toxic depending on materials used and if they have aged long enough to off-gas most of the toxins. It is very difficult to regulate what comes in from there.
Even though it is sold as ‘sustainable’, I am not buying it. If I am going to pay a lot for my eco clothes, they will be organic!
Eco-friendly can be toxic. There is not really any regulation for the recycling process. I would rather have my children playing on an untreated wood play-set than on a recycled plastic playground. Trees are recyclable so let’s just build it from wood.
Re-purposing items cuts down on toxicity because the older a synthetic substance is the less toxic it is by means of the off-gassing process.
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