Women Beware! Know the Possible Dangers of Feminine Care Products!

Did you know that there may be pesticide residue in tampons? Conventional tampons may be grown with cotton that has been treated with pesticides. How the heck is that possible?
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I am blessed with the good fortune of knowing Sheila Hollender, one of the co-founders of the company, Seventh Generation -- an iconic business that has courageously and positively been impacting our world for over 20 years. At Seventh Generation, "they know your home is your world" and have steadfastly been developing naturally safe and effective products to protect it. I was one of their addicted consumers way before Sheila and I met!

At a recent lunch in New York, Sheila told me about their line of feminine care products and why she is on fire to spread the word about them.

Did you know that there may be pesticide residue in tampons? Conventional tampons may be grown with cotton that has been treated with pesticides. How the heck is that possible considering that the average woman uses a tampon approximately 11,000 times in her life. Well, tampons are made from cotton and/or rayon and cotton growers consume 25 percent of the world's supply of insecticides. Apparently, five of the nine most commonly used pesticides have been labeled as possible carcinogens, a fancy word for cancer agents! Pesticides in tampons?! Whoa... that's a concept that makes me want to run and take feminine cover!

In response to this potentially terrifying situation, Seventh Generation has developed a complete line of certified organic cotton tampons and non-chlorine bleached pads.

Here are Seventh Generation's reasons why the women of the world deserve a healthier, safer and more environmentally conscious choice:

1) Organic cotton is produced without the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides or fungicides, which: Prevents the contamination of the air, water and soil around the world; improves the health of wildlife and ecosystems; and protects human well-being. Organic growing methods also prevent topsoil erosion, improve soil fertility, protect groundwater and conserve energy while protecting the health of farm workers.

2) Chlorine-free organic cotton tampons contain no rayon or cotton-rayon blends, and therefore prevent all the negative health and environmental effects associated with deforestation, wood pulp production and the manufacture of viscose rayon, including pulp mill pollution and increased risk of TSS.

3) Chlorine-free organic cotton tampons are not bleached with chlorine, which means they add no dioxins, related compounds or other AOX pollutants to the environment or to the resulting products themselves.

4) Chlorine-free organic cotton tampons contain no synthetic fragrances.

Despite the critical importance and overwhelming relevance of these facts, their use in the marketing of organic cotton tampons is not permitted. Manufacturers are prevented from making claims about the improved safety of their products by FDA regulations, which subject such claims to a high level of scrutiny whose threshold of proof is difficult if not impossible to meet.

However, references to the environmental benefits of organic cotton tampons may be made. Research conducted by Seventh Generation has found the following "environmental savings statements" to be true:

•If every woman of menstruating age replaced one 16-count package of regular absorbency conventional cotton tampons with our organic cotton tampons, we could prevent 17,000 lbs of pesticides from polluting our rivers, lakes and streams.

•If every woman of menstruating age replaced one 16-count package of super absorbency conventional cotton tampons with our organic cotton tampons, we could prevent 21,000 lbs of pesticides from polluting our rivers, lakes and streams.

As you know from my prior blog on menopause, I am no longer in need of feminine care products, but I do have a step-daughter I love and adore, girlfriends whose health I care deeply about and a concern for our world that impacts every breath I take.

Ladies -- let's get the word out about this issue and continue our commitment to make healthy choices that respect our body, mind and spirit! Please visit http://www.letstalkperiod.com for more information.

www.debbierobins.com

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