Collecting product details such as positive and negative aspects, ingredients, or materials can be important for making informed decisions about the products we use. Here are some relevant details from the search results:
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EWGs Guide to Healthy Cleaning : This resource evaluates cleaning products based on their ingredient information. They note that some manufacturers choose to describe the ingredients in their products only by their broad chemical class, such as “alcohol ethoxylate,” or by their functional class, such as “preservative,” rather than identifying specific chemical ingredients. EWG staff constructed “substance groups” that correspond to the major chemical or functional classes found in cleaning supplies. Individual ingredients were assigned to groups based on extensive review of government and industry documents.
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Think Dirty® : This resource assesses the overall risk of a given product based on the potential health impacts of its published ingredients. Each ingredient listed on the product label or manufacturer’s website is evaluated for documented evidence of Carcinogenicity, Developmental & Reproductive Toxicity and/or Allergenicity & Immunotoxicity. Evaluations are performed by a Chemistry Team and Advisory Board, all of whom have extensive experience in relevant fields such as Medicine, Biochemistry, Biology, Physiology, Environmental Toxicology, Environmental Health & Safety and Chemical Engineering, and a track record of working with Health Canada, the US Food & Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, Environment Canada, the US Environmental Protection Agency and other related government and not-for-profit agencies.
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Better Health Channel : This resource provides information on food labels. All ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight, including added water. The first ingredient listed is present in the largest amount by weight, and the last ingredient listed is present in the least amount by weight. Some ingredients used in foods are called ‘compound ingredients’. These are ingredients made by a mixture of other ingredients. If an ingredient makes up less than 5% of the food, it does not have to be listed. Likewise, any compound ingredients that make up less than 5% of the product can just be listed as the compound ingredient rather than all of its own ingredients.
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Hazardous Products in the Home : This resource provides information on identifying hazardous products in the home. Product labels can provide clues to the hazard of the product. They may not say "hazardous," but other words mean the same thing: "flammable," "corrosive," "reactive," "explosive," "toxic," "poisonous," "volatile," "combustible" or "caustic." All of these products should be handled with care and attention given to the directions on the label for safe use.
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Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 : This resource provides information on the details of kinds of quality control procedures and materials required for products.
Overall, it is important to carefully read product labels and ingredient lists to understand what is in the products we use. Resources like EWGs Guide to Healthy Cleaning and Think Dirty® can provide additional information on the potential health impacts of product ingredients.
