Why Some Moms Are Boycotting Johnson & Johnson And Why You Should Too.
Johnson & Johnson has long been revered as a reputable company with quality hygiene products for babies. The company claims its shampoos are "as gentle to eyes as pure water" because as Johnson & Johnson states on its website, "when the two of you are bonding, there's no room for tears." Yet, millions of moms are crying out and urging others to boycott the brand until these two chemicals are removed from the brand's famous yellow-hued shampoo.
According to an international coalition of health and environmental group, two chemicals considered harmful to babies remain in Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo sold in the U.S. and some other countries, even though the company already makes versions without them in South Africa, Sweden and Japan. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has been fighting for nearly 3 years to get Johnson & Johnson to remove trace amounts of the potentially cancer-causing ingredients, dioxane {a byproduct of a process that makes chemicals gentler on skin} and quaternium-15, a substance that releases formaldehyde {yes, the substance used as embalming fluid}.
Baby shampoo can clearly be made without ruining the integrity of the product by eliminating those toxins or else the company wouldn't be able to sell its reformulated, healthier version in other countries, so why hasn't Johnson & Johnson cleaned them up for our American babies? As Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, puts it, "all babies deserve safer products."
In response to the boycott, Johnson & Johnson released a statement pretty much saying that "formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are safe and approved by regulators in the U.S." and it is currently "reformulating baby products to reduce the level of dioxane below detectable levels." Great, so the shampoos will still have cancer-causing ingredients, just not enough to show up on tests. Awesome.
Think Aveeno's baby line is safer? Think again. The article on msnbc.com states that, in a May 2009 report, called "No More Toxic Tub," studies by an independent laboratory, Analytical Sciences LLC, found that 1,4-dioxane was contained in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Oatmeal Baby Wash, Moisture Care Baby Wash and Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash.
Bottom line: Boycott these brands until they put our babies' safety first and pay the extra money for organic and natural brands you can trust. Our little ones are much smaller than we are, and we can't be sure what those trace amount of chemicals are doing to their developing little bodies.
I mistakenly thought Aveeno was a much better option and picked up the fragrance-free, dye-free creamy wash yesterday at Target. What can I say, it's going back today. I think I'll check out California Baby.
What natural brands do you trust on your child?









