Last time I posted, I talked All About Phthalates and Fragrance and I asked you to try and find at least 2 ingredients that had "fragrance" listed as an ingredient. Did you find that any of the products you gathered yesterday happened to be air fresheners? You learned why synthetic fragrances were harmful, why do you think it's so hard for people to give these products up? People have been slowly conditioned to believe that "clean" has a smell. A clean room should have no scent at all. Let's look at some offending products:

Febreze®, made by Proctor & Gamble, is categorized as an air freshener. It reports to work by "trapping" odor molecules in a donut-shaped chemical. The website lists just 9 ingredients. This is PDF of what P & G propagates about their "fragrances". Note the 2nd page.

Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil is made by SC Johnson, is also categorized as an air freshener. The website lists just 1 ingredient. Digging deeper, the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) lists the ingredients as a trade secret, but I did find after 6 pages of reading, that SC Johnson states that each product contains 76% Volatile Organic Compounds, Total VOC (wt. %). VOC's are bad news.

Renuzit® Cones, made by Renuzit®, also an air freshener, only has their ingredient listed on some of their products, but only lists "fragrance" and not exactly the make up of the scent. If you peruse some of their other products you'll notice two different formulations for most of their fragrances listed on their website. Wonder why? Many products banned in Canada are allowed in the USA.

Throw out your air fresheners. The plug-in ones and the spray kind. I know you REALLY don't want to. But The Natural Resources Defense Council warns that they discovered 86% of the air fresheners that they tested had phthalates in their products but WERE NOT listed on the labels. This included products that were sold as "all natural" and "unscented". But there are some safe things you can do to replace these products.

1. Open a window- fresh air is the original air freshener.... although this is common sense it isn't always practical.
2. Use MamaSuds homemade organic essential oils.
3. Use real wax candles to burn or to melt (recommended):

• a.) Mountain Rose Herbs
• b.) Aroma Naturals
• c.) Poofy Organics Candle Melts

• a.)Amazon has many to choose from

Find something that is going to work for you. I'd love to know: What do you use as an air freshener?

I recently shared a tip about switching from store bought deodorizers to more natural options on this infographic by Arhaus. The earth friendly furniture company is trying to inspire others to make small changes in their homes that could be significant for the environment. Arhaus follows through on their mission by creating products that are inspirited by the outdoors, like their dining room tables that are made from refurbished wood with sustainability in mind. Check out the graphic for other ways to make your space "greener" and healthier!