Aerosol air fresheners never seemed like a good idea to us, although we did use them once in a failed attempt to cover up the evidence of a previous tenant's pack-a-day habit. But now there's real reason to pause: the San Francisco Chronicle reports that recent testing from a group including the Natural Resources Defense Council found phthalates, which function to make PVC plastics flexible. (We have no idea what they're doing in air fresheners, but we're beginning to think we need a resident Apartment Therapy chemist.)
Props to Walgreen's for pulling three of the products with the highest phthalate levels off the shelves, and shame on the Consumer Specialty Products Association, whose spokesperson, Bill Lafield, made a particularly disingenuous comment.
According to the Chronicle, Lafield said that air fresheners "contribute to the quality of life. Fragrances have been used for centuries, dating back to when the Chinese and the Egyptians used incense and fragrant oils. They obviously have a value, or consumers wouldn't buy them."
...just like cigarettes? Something tells us that the only benzene, formaldehyde, and phtalates in early Chinese incense and Egyptian oils were naturally occcuring and at trace levels. Let's remember that we're talking about a product that contains phthalates, which, according to lab studies, interfere with hormonal systems, disrupt testosterone production, and cause malformation of sex organs. To say that air fresheners "contribute to the quality of life" is specious, but an understandable response to an attack on a $1.72 billion industry.
The article lists a several good ways to keep things smelling fresh:
• Keep things clean.
• Use baking soda to absorb odors.
• Make your own potpourri.
• Open a window.
• Bake something (This suggestion is particularly appropriate for week 2 of the cure!)
Read the NRDC press release here.
Trader Joe's sells an air freshener that contains nothing but citrus oils. It smells like a freshly peeled orange and works like a charm on stinky rooms.
view Hillary Johnson's profile
Love that stuff!
I was just spraying some noxious "Oust" crap in the bathroom at work this morning, wondering what kinds of terrible chemicals I was strewing around the room. I'm generally not a fan of any kind of "make the air smell better" product, unless it's the bathroom at work -- 5 people who spend 60 hours a week in close quarters and share a tiny unisex one-stall jobber. There are some things I really don't want my coworkers knowing about me.
view the opoponax's profile
this is a surprise to people?
view Sassy in SF's profile
I wasn't aware that people think of phthalates mainly as being in PVC plastics--how I became aware of them is by their presence in a huge number of beauty and personal-care products. Since manufacturers are allowed to keep ingredients off the label if they're "proprietary," phthalates are generally hidden under the generic label "fragrance." I suppose this is why it doesn't surprise me that products that are basically nothing but "fragrance" would be high in phthalates. Some perfumes sold in the US are more than 50% phthalates by volume.
This is why I only buy EU-manufactured beauty and cleaning products. Safer, and less disgusting!
view diana's profile