European Union Risk Assessments Find No Concern For Current Uses of Three Phthalates

(ContentDesk) May 25, 2006 -- The European Union recently banned the use of a number of phthalates in children's toys (www.phthalates.org/toys-info-sheet.asp), including the most commonly used one, DINP. And the EU also banned the use of DBP and some other phthalates in cosmetics (www.phthalates.org/pcp_info_sheet.asp). The question is: "why?"Not on the basis of any reliable evidence that they pose a threat to humans, the Phthalate Esters Panel has always maintained. And now the EU agrees! For the last ten years, member state scientific institutes have been conducting rigorous risk assessments of the major phthalates under the supervision of the European Chemicals Bureau. Three final reports were published April 13, 2006.

They express themselves in somewhat different ways, but are clear in their findings.For DINP as currently used, its full report flatly states that there is "no concern" for adults, children and infants. The report explicitly covers DINP's use in toys. You can find the full report at http://www.dinp-facts.com/upload/documents/document3.pdfA final report was also published on DIDP, which is a vinyl plasticizer used in flooring, wires and cabling. It expressed no concerns about DIDP as it is currently used. Full version of the report is at http://www.didp-facts.com/upload/documents/document5.pdfThe findings on DBP were also crystal clear; the report found "no concern for consumers using nail polish containing DBP".

Addressing a recently raised issue, the review panel also found "no concern for breast-fed babies." Learn more about the findings: http://www.dbp-facts.com/upload/documents/document30.pdf"We are making these reports available to state legislators who are being lobbied to support copycat versions of EU legislation banning DINP and DBP," said Marian Stanley, manager of the Phthalates Esters Panel. "We hope they will be as pleased as we are that the EU has brought this added clarity to the issue of the safe use of phthalates."The findings may have larger implications. David Cadogan, director of the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates, has pointed out in a news release that the risk assessments will be very helpful in relation to the new chemical regulations in Europe. Said Dr. Cadogan: "Once the REACH legislation enters into force, the conclusions of the risk assessments and the body of research that underpin them will be of great assistance to both producers and users of these substances.".


Website To Promote Relationship Between Local Business Communities and Local Transgendered Consumers.

(ContentDesk) January 7, 2006 -- The transgendered consumer is the forgotten consumer.
According to the Transgender Advocacy Coalition, between 2 and 3 percent of the US population is transgendered.
If this number is accurate than between 5.6 and 8.4 million Americans are transgendered. And yet,
with the exception of a relatively few online retailers, few businesses currently target this niche in their marketing campaigns.
And why should they?
While there are transgendered individuals who are willing to boldly go where no tgirl has gone before, most of the transgendered community rarely venture beyond the confines of their home, content to do their shopping online or when out and about in their male mode.

But this is not really necessary in todays competitive economy.While society may still have some issues when it comes to the transgendered society, these issues are less prevalent for business owners, managers and service professionals. Website To Promote Relationship Between Local Business Communities and Local Transgendered Consumers.
Cosmetics > Website To Promote Relationship Between Local Business Communities and Local Transgendered Consumers.

Natural Cosmetics

What is natural and organic should be better, right? For the most part it should, but as many skin care users are discovering, the use of terms like 'natural' and 'organic' is more than skin deep.

Experts believe that while awareness about the adverse effects of synthetic skin products is growing, the cosmetics industry is cashing in on the trend to advertise their products as natural, when in fact they may not be. Should we be worried? Yes, because makeup, though applied on the outside soaks into the skin and is absorbed by the body in varying degrees. In fact, research has demonstrated that close to 60 % of what is applied on the skin could be absorbed into the circulatory system. So what comes out of that foundation jar may actually be toxic.

Some natural ingredients have been reported to cause skin rashes that develop when in contact with these products. These include jojoba oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil, coconut oil and in some cases even vitamin E. Experts...

Natural Cosmetics
Cosmetics > Natural Cosmetics

A Brief History of Handbags

A Brief History of HandbagsHave you ever wondered about the origin of handbags and purses? Handbags have been essential to daily life ever since people have had something precious to carry around with them and only the items have changed over time. The very first mention in written literature comes from the 14th century, even though Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Bags were attached to what were called "girdles" which were fastened to the waist. Embroidery and jewels adorned these articles and were used to show status - the richer the person, the more elaborate the bag. More information on medieval clothing
In the 16th century, handbags took on more of an air of practicality with the use of everyday materials such as leather with a drawstring fastener on top.

During this period, cloth bags were used that were made larger and used by travelers and carried diagonally across the body. The 17th century saw more variety and both fasionable men and...

A Brief History of Handbags
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Understanding Aromatherapy

In the 1920's, a French cosmetic chemist named Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, was one day making fragrances in his laboratory, when he accidentally burned his arm. He then thrust his badly burnt arm into the nearest cold liquid, which turned out to be a tub of lavender oil. To his surprise, the pain was decreased dramatically and left no usual burn results, such as, redness, heat, inflammation, and blisters. He also noticed that the wound healed quickly and left none of the usual scars associated with burns. It was at that point that Gattefosse dedicated his life to researching the medicinal properties of what we now call nature's essential oils.

Incidentally, he was the first to coin the term aromatherapy.Essential OilsEssential oils are aromatic liquid substances extracted from specific species of trees, roots, leaves, fruits, grasses and flowers. These concentrated oils are far more valuable to humankind, than just pleasing aromas. The healing properties of the essential oils, have...

Understanding Aromatherapy
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