To help him accomplish this goal, New Living provided helped him choose and install non-toxic flooring materials and no-VOC paint. While paint is very important to indoor air quality, Dr. Warner was especially excited about his new floors. Marmoleum, a brand of natural linoleum, was installed in this dentist’s treatment area. This flooring option contains materials that are harvested sustainably and also help inhibit the growth of bacteria and microorganisms, helping the environment as well as people.

Dr. Warner spoke passionately, stating “I wanted to improve the environment and improve health at the same time”, He says, “and as we know, those two go hand-in-hand”. By taking care of ourselves, we also take care of our Earth, a concept that is a driving force for Dr. Ben Warner, as well as New Living.

New Living has decided to begin stocking bedding and bath linens again, but in order to make room for new stock, we are selling our current stock at prices that are 30%, 50%, even 80% off!!!

We have luxurious and natural bedding in all sizes – from crib bumpers and baby puddle pads to King sized sheet sets! We are also reducing the prices on all of our instock bath items — wash cloths, bath towels, and bath mats!

Brands include OMI, Coyuchi, Under the Canopy, Nandina, Amenity, LOOP, and Luxurious Organics Bamboo Sheets. 

Many of these products would make great holiday presents for loved ones of all ages — or get spoiled this holiday season and buy them for yourself!

***These products are all unused, not floor models. Most are still in original packaging. In addition to selling many great items to make room in our store, we are selling OMI products that have opened or partially opened packaging. This is not because these items are damaged in any way, but because of the commitment that OMI makes — and we make — to the purity of those products; We can not sell these items at full price, even if the outer packaging is ripped just a little. This is a great opportunity to get these items at a steal as they are NEVER discounted otherwise!***

These services are available at a comparable price to the leading paint and painting companies in Houston. You can call or stop by to discuss your upcoming projects.

Got a painting job? Call us first! You’ll be surprised how affordable green can be!

I’m not an “overprotective” mom. I’m not a germophobe either. But right now, I’m on high alert for protecting the BLOOD of my 3 children from chemicals and I’m angry. I’m angry that I have to protect them from CHEMICALS at all. I’m angry that I haven’t had easy access to critical information about the products I have been using to feed them, clothe them, clean my home with or sleep on with them. I’m angry that my kids are getting poisoned even though I try my best to keep them safe and keep myself informed.

There is a glimmer of hope though, I believe, because information is getting out and mom’s are taking a stand and getting involved.

They are getting involved right now to help pass a new bill has been introduced in Congress called the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 that could really make a difference in how we regulate the chemical industry.I am also hopeful because I know a lot more now thanks to groups like Healthy Child, Healthy World, Three Branches Healthy Living, New Living (of which I am partner) Air Alliance Houston, and more. I thought I was doing everything I could by giving birth to them naturally, breastfeeding, and eating a balanced diet. Little did I know……

Here’s the top 5 things I’m pissed about and I’m going to do something about it:

1. The BOTTLES I had to use when I had trouble with my milk production were likely leaching toxic chemicals like BPA and phthalates into the milk they were drinking. Read more.
2. The PJs they were sleeping in given to me by generous and loving friends and family members were treated with flame retardants that can get into their bloodstream and cause developmental problems. Read More.
3. My own BREASTMILK was probably laced with chemicals. In a study done in 2003 women from the U.S. had the highest concentration of FIRE RETARDANTS found in our breastmilk. It was 75 times the average found in European women’s breastmilk. Fire retardants effect human fertility among other things.
4. Not to mention the untested, chemicals such as stain proofing or waterproofing on the fabrics in their CAR SEATS or the lead that is in the buckles. Read more and find out what’s in your child’s car seat here.
5. The PLAYGROUND. YES. The PLAYGROUND. Laced with pesticides, pressure-treated lumber that leaches arsenic, artificial playing fields made from crushed rubber tired that off-gas VOCs and the list goes on.

Why did those chemical companies get to DUMP THOSE CHEMICALS into everyday household products, into our COMMUNITIES into OUR KID’S BODIES??????  Why haven’t these products been tested or outlawed? Who is studying these chemicals?  Who is regulating them?  Who is protecting our kids?

VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS AND YOUR TIME.

Here’s 5 things you can do:

1. Read the book, Healthy Child, Healthy World, by Christopher Gavigan or Toxic Bedrooms, by Walt Bader to find out more you can do to clean up your home and community.
2. Learn about the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 making its way through Congress right now.
3. Pass around this blogpost and tell your friends about how they can get involved, too.
4. Contact your legislators about the Safe Chemicals Act.
5. Come to New Living’s panel discussion on Wednesday, August 11th from 12 – 1 to learn about how the Safe Chemicals Act will affect our community.

I hope to see you soon.  Moms can and will change the world.  Even though we’re really busy, and tired, and working….

- Jennifer Touchet

Anyone who has ever painted a room with conventional paint knows that the smell of paint is terrible. Typically, you have to wear a mask, can’t stay in the room for a few days, and may even feel dizzy or get a headache. This is because conventional paints are filled with harmful chemicals known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which emit toxic chemicals into your home (even after the paint dries) and can be detrimental to your health. One of the worst chemicals in conventional paints is also one that is used by morticians to preserve the dead: formaldehyde.

Although safe to use on the recently deceased, formaldehyde can effect the health of adults and children in a variety of negative ways. Multiple studies have found links between the use of paint and childhood cancers. A University of California study found a significant association between rooms painted and an increase in leukemia by 65 percent. Furthermore, mothers who used paint during pregnancy were three-times as likely to have a child with acute lymphobalstic leukemia. There have been several other studies that have uncovered links and associations between formaldehyde and cancers among adults. Studies of paint workers have revealed that they are at a higher risk for cancer of the bladder, lungs, pancreas, liver, and stomach because of their exposure to formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals in paint.

The formaldehyde in paints has also been linked to skin irritations, eye irritations, bronchitis, and can cause problems in the central nervous system. The U.S. National Cancer Instituted found in a 2009 study that the longer funeral workers spent embalming bodies with formaldehyde the more likely they were to to develop certain types of cancer – particularly those who were involved in embalming for more than 20 years. Formaldehyde can also trigger asthma – a condition which has increased nearly 600% since 1980.

To keep yourself and your home from smelling like the dead and causing health problems that could put you six feet under, it’s important you look at the label of all the paints that you buy to see how much formaldehyde it contains. While formaldehyde is federally regulated, many paint companies still carry it at “safe” levels – even though medical evidence suggest the safest level of formaldehyde is none. Read the labels of the paints you purchase, buy paints that don’t contain any VOCs (typically called No VOCs or Zero VOCs), and make sure that the colorants put into the paint don’t contain any VOC. No VOC paints not only are absent of formaldehyde, but they don’t have any other Volatile Organic Compounds making them safe to use! Most who use them say there is very little smell and never feel dizzy or develop the headaches that they once did with conventional paints. Using non-toxic No VOC paints will help you stay away from formaldehyde in your home and in your body for a very long time.

Further Reading

CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Fact Sheet on Formaldehyde

U.S. EPA on Indoor Air Quality and Formaldehyde

Environmental Health Perspectives on the Links between Formaldehyde and Asthma

National Funeral Directors Association on Explain Recent Studies about the Risk of Formaldehyde

Celebrate freedom from toxic chemicals and petroleum in your bedroom.

Did you know the mattress industry is not required by law to disclose the chemicals that are in your mattress? Yet we spend almost a 1/3 or more of our lives on our mattresses and usually we are half naked.  Human skin is absorbent so the toxins from flame retardants and formaldehyde in the adhesives are absorbed through your skin and inhaled into your lungs.  Your mattress may be the cause of restless nights or health problems.

DECLARE YOURSELF free from the lack of transparency and demand to know what is in your mattress.  If you’re ready to toss or better yet RECYCLE your old one, you can purchase a non-toxic mattress that is free from dangerous flame retardants and has third-party certifications such as Greenguard that verify their safety.   Additionally, you can check the validity of manufacturer’s claims based on certifications for certain raw materials such as Certified Organic Cotton.

A few weeks ago, I was in a national chain store that sells products for people’s backs and I asked the sales staff exactly what was in the Tempur-pedic mattress because of my asthma. They told me it was “proprietary” but that I could be “assured it was safe”.  How comforting and NO THANK YOU!

Your mattress can emit dangerous VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the air in your bedroom and your home for weeks and even years after you purchase it.  Some of the short term symptoms have been associated with some mattresses are: rashes, headaches, breathing difficulties and blurred vision.  Other people have reported side effects such as fatigue, nausea, and difficulty concentrating.

In 2006, a study was performed on memory foam mattresses in which chemical emissions were collected over a 96-hour period.   In total, memory foam mattresses emitted 61 VOC chemicals and traditional innerspring mattresses emitted 39 different chemicals.  In addition to known chemicals such as formaldehyde and toluene, some of these chemicals are solvents.  They are found in the adhesives used to bond together mattress layers and wood frames.   A few that were identified are:  styrene, isopropylbenzene, limonene, trimethylbenzene, nitrobenzene, ethylbenzene and dichlorobenzene.   Many of these chemicals are listed as Class C carcinogens or are classified as harmful by the EPA, the California Health and Welfare Agency, and the International Agency of Research of Cancer (IARC).  Yet, we take these mattresses to our bedrooms unaware that our health may be jeopardized because we have never been made aware of the potential risks.

I had a very nice innerspring mattress before I knew anything about the chemicals in mattresses and I used to wake up every morning with a little rattle in my chest and I never knew why.  That rattle disappeared when I switched to an all natural latex mattress.

Over 70,000 chemicals are on the market today that have never been tested for safety and they are showing up in our bedrooms and our bodies.  Fortunately, there is currently proposed legislation to require testing for safety before a chemical is released into the market.  One way you can help is by supporting the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 through the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families organization.

If you want to know more about mattresses, we invite you to attend our next workshop called, “What is a healthy mattress and how to shop for a mattress” this Saturday, July 10th at 9:30 am at New Living at 6111 Kirby Drive,  RSVP to jennifer@newliving.net  713-521-1921.

Jennifer Touchet