“You should not have to be a Ph.D toxicologist to be safe from so many chemicals"

“So much of what we are exposed to is poorly tested and even less regulated,” says UCLA Pediatrician Dr Richard Jackson.

The damning punchline of columnist Nicolas Kristof’s ominous February 2018 NYT opinion piece, which I recently came back across, has me worked up (all over again). Even on second glance, it cultivates that type of terrified paralysis that makes most of us want to throw out hands up in the air, sigh loudly, and do nothing. In a predictable turn of paragraphs, Kristof details his shock at the results of his “Detox Me Action Kit” lab panel, offered by Silent Spring Institute to consumers who are curious about bodily levels of several common toxic chemicals. As an educated consumer and journalist with reporting expertise in the field, Kristof expects pristine lab results. Spoiler alert: his urine betrays high levels of unexpected toxins circulating in his body, and he has readers feeling hopeless and devoid of agency as a result. “…chemical industry lobbyists have rigged the system so that we consumers just can’t protect ourselves adequately…they are running the show and we consumers are their lab mice.”

Yikes. This lab mouse would like to remind you that as a consumer, your buying power and curiosity have more potential to shift the market than you think. It’s true that we are, in the world of healthier building materials, in early stages of reform. But you can affect change with your buying power and your curiosity. Ask questions about building product ingredients and manufacturing processes whenever you are in the hardware store. If you don’t get clear answers, request more information or seek it out for yourself directly with the manufacturer. If product manufacturers are not able or willing to provide clear information on ingredients, spend your money elsewhere. Every dollar and every question counts, and we’re always here to help.