BCPP Diaries
Air Pollution: Ask a Scientist
Did you know our indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air? Learn about the possible sources of indoor air pollution in your home and what to do about it. Read More
In our Ask a Scientist series, we ask our BCPP Science Team, Dr. Rainbow Rubin, PhD, MPH, and Pujeeta Chowdhary, MPH, your questions.
Wintertime is a wonderful time to learn about air pollution because we spend more time indoors, where the air is more polluted (yes, more) than it is outside.
It’s also important to learn about how our fuel sources impact air pollution both outdoors and in our homes.
What is air pollution?
Outdoor air pollution
Outdoor air pollution contains a mixture of compounds, including Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Carbon Oxides (COx), Sulfur Oxides (SOx), particulate matter (PM) smaller than 10 microns, and hazardous air pollutants such as benzene.(1)
Many air pollutants are mutagenic (cause mutations to our DNA) or carcinogenic (cause cancer).
Of particular concern are nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and benzene, which is a human carcinogen with strong evidence of genotoxicity and mammary tumor formation in animal models.(3,8,11)
Indoor air pollution
Our indoor air can contain the same chemicals as outdoor air pollution from the same cause—gas combustion. Just as when gas-powered cars burn gas outside, producing NOx and benzene, so too do gas stoves inside. Recent media attention covering gas stove pollution includes the New York Times article, “Gas Stoves are Tied to Health Concerns: Here’s How to Lower Your Risk.”
Media attention on gas stoves comes from a study that found gas stoves commonly release twelve hazardous air pollutants. Benzene alone was detected in 99% of samples, with average concentrations of 0.7−12 ppmv (parts per million by volume).(6) Benzene concentrations exceeding 0.94 ppbv (parts per billion by volume) can be comparable to environmental tobacco smoke.
You read that correctly, average benzene exposure from gas stoves was an order of magnitude greater than from secondhand smoke. In other words, average air samples from gas stoves contained as much or more benzene as from breathing in secondhand cigarette smoke. Even when stoves are turned off, researchers found that natural gas leakage from stoves and ovens can result in indoor benzene concentrations that exceed the California 8-h Reference Exposure Level (the 8-hour health safety limit).
Indoor stoves also present a source of indoor air pollution due to releasing combustion byproducts such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs. A study evaluating the relationship between air pollution from indoor stoves and fireplace use and breast cancer risk found a 42% elevated risk (11-84% range with 95% confidence) in homes where synthetic logs were burned but no elevated risk in homes burning wood alone.(7)
In response to recent studies showing unsafe levels of exposure, groups are reviewing current policies and passing new health protections such as new building requirements for electric-powered appliances instead of gas-powered appliances. In response, the gas industry is mounting a response to prevent these policies.
In the meantime, there are some simple steps we can follow to reduce the concentration of dangerous compounds like NOx, benzene, PAHs, and particulate matter in our homes.
How to Reduce Home Indoor Air Pollution
- Open windows and doors for ventilation: Remember that outdoor air pollution is less polluted than indoor air pollution, so the easiest way to ventilate is to open windows.
- Ventilate by using the exhaust hood whenever your gas stove is on (and even when it’s not) to reduce your exposure to NOx and benzene.
- Reduce or eliminate the use of synthetic logs for indoor stoves/fireplaces to reduce your exposure to PAHs.
- Most of all, learn more about how our everyday actions impact the air around us through the AirNow and Spare the Air Program which alert residents when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy and share information on ways to reduce air pollution such as taking public transportation and limiting fireplace use.
Q&A
Q: How do you reduce air pollution from gas stoves?
A:
- Exhaust every time: Use the exhaust hood every time you use a gas stove- the exhaust should be used every time you turn on your gas stove to ensure that fumes are being removed from your breathing space.
- Ventilate your space: The simplest form of ventilation is to open a window or door to increase the flow of outdoor air inside. Remember, outdoor air is much less polluted than indoor air.
- Consider your fuel source: Conventional electric stoves are less expensive and safer for our air and health. If you are purchasing a new stove, consider an electric or induction stove. An induction stove can be costly but is 5-10% more energy efficient than conventional electric stoves and about three times more efficient than gas stoves.
Q: How do you reduce air pollution from our everyday environment?
A: The best way to reduce exposure to air pollutants is to remove them from indoor environments. Particle air pollution can be removed using HEPA vacuum cleaners and air purifiers in your most trafficked rooms. Check here for EPA’s tips on buying an air purifier and here for how to build a DIY air filter. Dust with a damp cloth to remove surface dust without stirring up the chemicals that collect in dust, like toxic flame retardants from the furniture. Be sure to avoid aerosol cleaners. Here are tips for finding safer cleaning products. Vapors such as NOx and benzene from gas stoves need to be removed by exhaust fans or ventilation because they are not trapped by HEPA filters.
Q: Who is most likely to be exposed to air pollution?
A: People who live in high-density urban areas, around highway traffic, and in neighborhoods close to industrial manufacturing, processing, or waste facilities are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of air pollution. Ways to improve indoor air include 1. using electric (vs. gas) stoves, HEPA air filters, and vacuums; 2. choosing unscented personal and cleaning products; 3. avoiding aerosol cleaning products; and 4. limiting the use of gas ovens, stoves, fireplaces, candles and “air fresheners.”
Q: Who is most vulnerable to the health effects of air pollution?
A: Geographic, socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic factors are important predictors of risk, with indications that Black women and low-income populations living close to freeways may be more vulnerable. Depending on the pollutant being studied, premenopausal and postmenopausal women may both be vulnerable to the cancer-associated effects of exposure to air pollution.
Infants and small children are particularly vulnerable to the disease-causing effects of indoor pollutants because they play on floors, put their hands in their mouths, and have a greater sensitivity to many indoor pollutants. In utero and early exposure to air pollution close to freeways has been associated with developmental and learning disorders.
Photo of a Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ plant
Q: Can indoor plants improve indoor air?
A: Yes, some do! In a study that measured the removal of benzene by plants, Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ plant was the most effective.
Read More
Learn more science about breast health outcomes associated with air pollution.
Recommended Watching
Indoor Air Pollution: The Dirty Secret Lurking in Our Homes
Outdoor air: Something in the Air PBS Documentary
Air Pollution in LA: Right to Breathe
Key Terms
Genotoxic: A genotoxin is a chemical or agent that can cause DNA or chromosomal damage. Such damage in a germ cell has the potential to cause a heritable altered trait (germline mutation). DNA damage in a somatic cell may result in a somatic mutation, which may lead to malignant transformation (cancer).(5,10)
Carcinogenic: the EPA considers Class A carcinogens as pollutants with adequate human data indicating the chemical causes cancer in people. Class B1 carcinogens have some human data and sufficient animal data to indicate their potential to cause cancer. Class B2 carcinogens have limited to no human data, but sufficient animal data to indicate their potential to cause cancer.(12)
Mammary tumors: Tumors or neoplasms refer to an abnormal mass of tissue in the mammary gland that forms when cells grow and divide more than they should or do not die when they should. Neoplasms may be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Hazardous air pollutants: Pollutants (i.e., benzene, lead, asbestos, vinyl chloride) that cause or may cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental impacts. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to regulate toxic air pollutants, also known as air toxics.(4)
Nitrogen oxides: A group of highly reactive gases that are abbreviated as NOx. One NOx implicated in breast cancer is NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and is the main source of nitrate aerosols, which form an important fraction of PM2.5 and, in the presence of ultraviolet light, form ozone.(3)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline. They result from burning coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, and tobacco. PAHs can bind to or form small particles in the air and are carcinogenic.
Particulate Matter: Particles in the PM2.5 size range can travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. Exposure to fine particles can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat, and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. Exposure to fine particles can also affect lung function and worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Particulate matter has been associated with breast cancer risk with the smallest particles being the most dangerous. In one study, higher exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 microns) increased the risk of dying from breast cancer by 9% (95% confidence of 2-16%).(2)
HEPA air filters: High-efficiency particulate air filters can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of compounds as small as 0.3 microns (µm) such as dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and airborne chemical particles such as phthalates, PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), flame retardants (such as PBDEs)
Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Smoke that comes from the burning of a tobacco product and smoke that is exhaled by smokers. Inhaling environmental tobacco smoke is called involuntary or passive smoking. Also called ETS and secondhand smoke.
Support our health and science articles
Science is the cornerstone of everything we do at BCPP. We’re always looking to find new ways to provide you with health-protective info. That’s why we launched this new series! Please make a gift of prevention today so we can bring you more science insights.
Footnotes
[1] Fino, A. 2019. “Air Quality Legislation.” Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-409548-9.11045-0.
[2] Guo, Qing, Xi Wang, Yue Gao, Jun Zhou, Chenyin Huang, Zhengdong Zhang, and Haiyan Chu. 2020. “Relationship between Particulate Matter Exposure and Female Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 94 (2): 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01573-y.
[3] 2012. “IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Volume 100F: Chemical Agents and Related Occupations.” Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer. https://monographs.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono100F.pdf.
[4] J Jeffrey Peirce, Ruth F Weiner, and P Aarne Vesilind. 1998. Chapter 18: Air Pollution – Environmental Pollution and Control. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
[5] Kirsch, Donald R. 2020. “Chapter 24: Therapeutic Drug Development and Human Clinical Trials.” Biotechnology Entrepreneurship, 339–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-815585-1.00024-3.
[6] Lebel, Eric D., Drew R. Michanowicz, Kelsey R. Bilsback, Lee Ann L. Hill, Jackson S. W. Goldman, Jeremy K. Domen, Jessie M. Jaeger, Angélica Ruiz, and Seth B. C. Shonkoff. 2022. “Composition, Emissions, and Air Quality Impacts of Hazardous Air Pollutants in Unburned Natural Gas from Residential Stoves in California.” Environmental Science & Technology 56 (22): 15828–38. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c02581.
[7] https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-13-108
[8] National Toxicity Program. 2016. “14th Report on Carcinogen.” Research Triangle Park, NC: United States Department of Health and Human Services. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/assessments/cancer/roc/index.html.
[9] Niehoff, Nicole M., Mary Beth Terry, Deborah B. Bookwalter, Joel D. Kaufman, Katie M. O’Brien, Dale P. Sandler, and Alexandra J. White. 2021. “Air Pollution and Breast Cancer: An Examination of Modification by Underlying Familial Breast Cancer Risk.” Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 31 (2): 422–29. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-21-1140.
[10] Phillips, David H., and Volker M. Arlt. 2009. “Genotoxicity: Damage to DNA and Its Consequences.” EXS 99: 87–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8336-7_4.
[11] Rudel, Ruthann A., Kathleen R. Attfield, Jessica N. Schifano, and Julia Green Brody. 2007. “Chemicals Causing Mammary Gland Tumors in Animals Signal New Directions for Epidemiology, Chemicals Testing, and Risk Assessment for Breast Cancer Prevention.” Cancer 109 (S12): 2635–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22653.
[12] US EPA. 2014. “Risk Assessment for Carcinogenic Effects.” US EPA. May 23, 2014. https://www.epa.gov/fera/risk-assessment-carcinogenic-effects.
[13] Vulimiri, Suryanarayana V., M. Margaret Pratt, Shaila Kulkarni, Sudheer Beedanagari, and Brinda Mahadevan. 2017. “Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity of Solvents and Gases.” Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, 379–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804239-7.00021-4.
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A Valentine’s Day gift, from us to you!
As a thank you for being an incredible community member, here is a free V-Day gift from us to you! Read More
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we want to take a moment to tell you how much we appreciate you. Keeping you and your family healthy is key to our hearts at BCPP and CSC.
Get Your Top Toxics to Avoid Tip Card
As a thank you for being an incredible community member, here is a free V-Day gift from us to you: Top Toxic Ingredients to Avoid in Cosmetics
This Valentine’s Day, want to treat yourself to something extra special?
Check out two of our partners in prevention who have some super sweet-smelling clean gifts to offer you and your loved ones:
Henry Rose
Created by Michelle Pfeiffer, Henry Rose is committed to using only ingredients vetted against the strictest standards for health and safety known today. They’re proud to be EWG Verified, Cradle to Cradle Certified and Cruelty-Free. Each Henry Rose purchase helps contribute to a minimum donation of $10,000 to BCPP. Fragrance
Goodlight Candles
Colorado-based GoodLight candles believes that clean air is important for a healthy life. That’s why they make 100% plant-based candles with clean-burning palm wax and pure essential and botanical oils, without any phthalates, synthetic fragrances, or chemicals. And GoodLight loves to share the love! Back again are their limited-edition Fig Grapefruit LOVE candles. Shop the GoodLight LOVE collection. $1 from the sale of every brand-new glass candle and 50¢ from every tin is donated to BCPP. Candles
Love Unites.
Consider donating in honor or memory of a loved one and easily send a Valentine’s Day dedication notification their way! Donate
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PFAS: Ask a Scientist
Ever wondered how nonstick pans or waterproof coatings work? The answer is PFAS. PFAS chemicals (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are useful because their strong carbon-fluorine bond—one of the strongest in chemistry—helps resist water and grease.Read More
Welcome to our new series: Ask a Scientist
With BCPP Science Team Dr. Rainbow Rubin, PhD, MPH, and Pujeeta Chowdhary, MPH
You ask. We have answers.
The environmental links to breast cancer are complex. Yet, we all shouldn’t have to be scientists to better understand the risks we face when it comes to this disease. At BCPP, our scientists are your scientists, too. We want to help answer your pressing questions and concerns.
Starting this month, we’ll offer insights from BCPP’s new leading science experts: Dr. Rainbow Rubin, PhD, MPH, and Pujeeta Chowdhary, MPH.
Coming to you first is the topic our community asks us about most: PFAS.
What are PFAS chemicals (aka Forever Chemicals)?
Have you ever wondered how nonstick pans or waterproof coatings work? The answer is PFAS. PFAS stands for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS chemicals are useful because their strong carbon-fluorine bond—one of the strongest in chemistry—helps resist water and grease. There are approximately 12,000 PFAS chemicals used in manufacturing. PFAS can be found in non-stick cookware, stain and water-resistant clothing, furniture, and textiles, as well as food packaging, rubbers, plastics, fire-fighting foam, and personal care products such as shampoo and makeup, toilet paper, dental floss, and feminine hygiene products. Their presence is ubiquitous.
Photo: Clearly Filtered
Unfortunately, the strong carbon-fluorine bond means that PFAS chemicals build up in our bodies and the environment. For this reason, PFAS compounds are referred to as “forever chemicals” and their release into our air and waterways by manufacturers has caused widespread contamination of our food, air, water, and household dust. Despite PFAS contamination of water municipalities across the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to set an enforceable limit to how much PFAS can be in our tap water legally.
What are the health effects of PFAS chemicals?
Once in our bodies, PFAS chemicals act as endocrine disruptors. This means that PFAS interferes with the normal functioning of our hormonal system, which is related to all parts of our body’s growth, development, and proper functioning. One of the greatest concerns with endocrine-disrupting chemicals is that even very small amounts have large biological impacts resulting in teratogenic outcomes (i.e., birth defects) and chronic disease impacts including breast cancer, endocrine disorders, metabolic disorders, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver disease, reproductive disorders, thyroid disorders, high cholesterol, and ulcerative colitis.[1,2]
In a recent study, researchers measured a group of 41 endocrine disrupting compounds including PFAS in a group of women with breast cancer from the Philippines.[3] They measured the same chemicals in a group of women without breast cancer and controlled for sociodemographic factors including age, income, employment, and region to make sure that study results were not mistakenly attributed to these factors.
They found that among the four groups of endocrine disrupting chemicals studied, PFAS were significantly associated with breast cancer risk. PFDoA and PFDA were among the PFAS chemicals with concentrations that were positively associated with breast cancer. Elevated levels of one PFAS, PFDoA, increased breast cancer risk by 13 times with 95% certainty that breast cancer risk was 3-94 times higher compared to those with lower PFDoA levels. Another PFAS, PFDA, increased risk by 9 times, with 95% certainty that breast cancer risk increases between 2-45 times due to elevated levels.
This study took place in a highly industrialized area in the Philippines, and many of the breast cancer cases had manufacturing jobs. Nonetheless, these results are important because they establish a direct relationship between PFAS exposure and breast cancer risk. This is cause for concern for the general population since PFAS has been found in 98% of the US population.[4] And though exposure levels aren’t as high in the general US population compared to the study group, the documented association between exposure and risk indicates as soon as exposure goes up, risk goes up. For this reason, there is no known safe level of PFAS exposure. This is especially the case because PFAS interferes with our endocrine system and has strong biological impacts, even in exceedingly small amounts.
Q&A
Q: I have a pre-teen daughter who is interested in period underwear, but I heard some of them have PFAS. Do you know of any safer companies in this area?
A: Yes, you are correct that many period underwear have PFAS in them. Mamavation recently released a report showing that many brands have high levels of PFAS in them. Any detectable levels of PFAS are of concern because PFAS is easily absorbed through the mucous membrane found in the cervix. The report contains several companies whose underwear had no detectable levels of PFAS at the time of testing including: Lilova, Aisle, Bambody, Intimate Portal, Period, Momibodi, and Revol. See their recommendations.
Q: How do you recommend I reduce PFAS exposure from our household and everyday environment?
A: We have a number of recommendations to lower your household PFAS exposure, reach out to our leaders to voice your concern, and grow awareness in your community about the gravity of this problem:
1. Vacuum with a HEPA filter to ensure that house dust, which harbors toxic chemicals, is efficiently removed. See more safer cleaning tips
2. Filter your water. Reverse osmosis systems are ideal for PFAS removal, although they are costly. An activated carbon filter provides some removal of PFAS from drinking water (particularly the long-chain PFAAs), and costs less. See our recommendations for water filtration.
3. Use clean cosmetics that are free from PFAS and other dangerous chemicals. Check out BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to learn about chemical ingredients to avoid, reading labels, and safe cosmetics tips. Also, you can use related apps like Clearya, Skin Deep, and Detox Me to check product safety as you shop.
4. Remove all non-stick pots and pans with a synthetic, chemical coating such as those made from TeflonTM from the kitchen. Replace with those with naturally non-stick qualities, like ceramic or cast iron, or stainless steel. See BCPP’s Safer Cookware Guide for more options
5. Avoid paper take-out containers that are lined with a film, as the film contains PFAS.
6. Eat low on the food chain by increasing the proportion of plant foods in your diet. PFAS is fat soluble, which means that these chemicals bioaccumulate up the food chain. They are most concentrated at the top, in meat and dairy foods. So, eating a plant-based diet can help to reduce the PFAS and other harmful chemicals in your diet.
7. Shop smart. Stay on the lookout for stain resistant clothes/fabrics/furniture/textiles or “performance fabrics,” as these almost always contain PFAS. If you do need waterproof features, look for items that are PFAS-free. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, contact manufacturers to request PFAS-free materials.
8. Host a watch party with friends to learn more about how PFAS contamination became so widespread. See our recommended watch list below.
9. Contact your policy makers to remove PFAS chemicals from personal care and household products and find effective ways of reducing it from air, water, and food. Sign up for emails from BCPP for action alerts and opportunities to speak up on key health legislation
Recommended Watching
To learn more about how PFAS contamination became so widespread, we highly recommend the documentary “The Devil We Know,” or the dramatized story, “Dark Waters.” The recent HBO Series “Not So Pretty” covers the topic of unregulated PFAS, and other chemicals found in personal care products.
Policy Wins
BCPP has succeeded in passing three bills to eliminate PFAS from carry out containers, textiles, and cosmetics in recent years. Accomplishments
Key Terms
PFAS: Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances
Ubiquitous: Found everywhere
Forever chemicals: Toxic chemicals that persist in our environment and resist breakdown resulting in death and disease
Exposure: Entry of a chemical into the body by means of breathing, eating, drinking, or absorption through the skin
Endocrine disruptors: Chemicals that interfere with the proper functioning of our hormonal system and thus impact growth, development, and disease
Direct relationship: Increased chemical exposure increases disease risk
What issues do you want to hear about next?
Climate change and cancer, food packaging, textiles, air pollution, or other? Send us your questions! Email the BCPP Science Team.
Support our science and health content
Science is the cornerstone of everything we do at BCPP. We’re always looking to find new ways to provide you with health-protective info. That’s why we launched this new series! Please make a gift of prevention today so we can bring you more science insights.
Footnotes
[1] Kotlarz, Nadine, James McCord, David Collier, C. Suzanne Lea, Mark Strynar, Andrew B. Lindstrom, Adrien A. Wilkie et al. “Measurement of novel, drinking water-associated PFAS in blood from adults and children in Wilmington, North Carolina.” Environmental health perspectives 128, no. 7 (2020): 077005.
[2] Pritchett, Jamie R., Jessica L. Rinsky, Beth Dittman, Ariel Christensen, Rick Langley, Zack Moore, Aaron T. Fleischauer et al. “Notes from the field: targeted biomonitoring for GenX and other per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances following detection of drinking water contamination—North Carolina, 2018.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 68, no. 29 (2019): 647.
[3] Velarde, Michael C., Alison Faye O. Chan, Ma Easter Joy V. Sajo, Igor Zakharevich, Jonathan Melamed, Gemma Leonora B. Uy, Joji Marie Y. Teves et al. “Elevated levels of perfluoroalkyl substances in breast cancer patients within the Greater Manila Area.” Chemosphere 286 (2022): 131545.
[4] Calafat, Antonia M., Lee-Yang Wong, Zsuzsanna Kuklenyik, John A. Reidy, and Larry L. Needham. “Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals in the US population: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 and comparisons with NHANES 1999–2000.” Environmental health perspectives 115, no. 11 (2007): 1596-1602.
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BCPP Year in Review 2022
In 2022, we made huge waves in the state, federal, market-based, and educational area. Thank YOU for your generous support which powered our breast cancer prevention work. Read about the many accomplishments you helped make possible this year.Read More
BCPP concludes 2022 with – not just a splash – but huge waves in the state, federal, market-based, and educational area. Thank YOU for your generous support which powered our breast cancer prevention work, and please enjoy reading about the many accomplishments you helped make possible this year.
Give your year-end gift today for breast cancer prevention!
30th Anniversary, 30 Faces of Prevention
Happy 30th Birthday, BCPP! All year long, we reflected on our many victories that have shifted laws and the marketplace to better protect us and the lives of people we love. In March, we celebrated 30 Faces of Prevention: 30 individuals who’ve demonstrated their commitment to breast cancer prevention over the last 30 years. Throughout the year, we continued to celebrate these legacy-bearers, honor star fundraisers and Board members, highlight our science community, and showcase new movers and shakers in the breast cancer prevention movement. To date, we’ve raised over $46,000 in honor of BCPP’s 30th anniversary. Thank YOU for being a Face of Prevention!
VICTORY! Stopping J&J’s Global Sale of Toxic Talc-based Baby Powder
On August 11, 2022, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) finally committed to stop ALL global sales of its talc-based baby powder by 2023! This is such important news given the widespread concern that use of talcum powder in the perineal area is linked to ovarian cancer. It comes following the shocking revelation that J&J was aware since the late 1950s that the talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder was sometimes contaminated with asbestos, a chemical linked to mesothelioma and other life-threatening cancers. We are proud to be a core organizing committee member of this multi-year campaign, led by our partner Black Women for Wellness. This victory is a long time coming; it is the result of a global movement of health and justice organizations, investigative journalists and concerned people, like you, who took action to hold J&J accountable for the sale of their toxic talc and their targeted marketing of the product to Black and Brown communities. See the full J&J campaign timeline and path to victory.
VICTORY! 2 New CA PFAS Bills Ban Toxic PFAS from Clothing & Cosmetics
In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two BCPP-cosponsored bills that will remove toxic PFAS chemicals from textiles and cosmetics. The Safer Clothing and Textiles Act (AB 1817) bans the sale in CA of any textile articles containing PFAS, and the No PFAS in Cosmetics Act (AB 2771) bans PFAS chemicals from beauty and personal care products sold in California. These two bills will greatly reduce PFAS pollution in our bodies, drinking water, waterways, and environment. They will make a big difference for all our health, as these laws will ultimately get PFAS out of the personal care products and clothes that end up everywhere. Plus, given the size of the CA market, these bills will impact the entire country and provide models for other states to pass similar health-protective bills.
#SaferBeauty4All + “Not So Pretty” Docuseries
We continued building support for our historic federal Safer Beauty Bill Package, a package of 4 free-standing bills addressing critical gaps in cosmetic safety: protections for women of color and salon workers; fragrance & flavor ingredient disclosure; supply chain transparency; and a ban on the worst chemicals in beauty & personal care products. BCPP and our partner NGOs, businesses, and influencers collectively reached over 700,000 people during our week of action! To date, we have 154 endorsing organizations, 21 Representatives who signed on as co-sponsors, conducted 30+ lobby visits, made 1,352 phone calls, and sent 3,708 letters to Congress. In addition, HBO Max released a provocative 4-part docuseries, Not So Pretty, that featured BCPP’s Sr. Director of Program and Policy, Janet Nudelman, and included a call to action on behalf of the Safer Beauty Bill Package. The series will raise awareness and generate even more advocacy support for the cosmetics reform bill package.
VICTORY! No More PFAS in Burger King Wrappers
Fast food giants like Burger King use toxic PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals in food wrappers to make them grease-resistant—and when people eat food contaminated with PFAS, they absorb these harmful chemicals. This past quarter, we celebrated the victory of the Burger King campaign in conjunction with our partners at Mind the Store. Thanks to your support and letters to Burger King, Burger King will phase out PFAS from its packaging worldwide by the end of 2025.
NEW: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Website
We unveiled a brand-new look and complete website refresh for our program, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC). Since 2004, CSC has educated and engaged millions of consumers throughout the nation to move the $100 billion cosmetics industry toward a new standard: ingredient transparency and safer products for everyone. In addition to creating a modern, streamlined look for CSC’s brand, our highly trafficked site features a totally new interface and dozens of new resources. This includes our newly updated and freshly redesigned Red List Chemicals of Concern technical guides.
Release of CSC’s First-Ever Non-Toxic Black Beauty Project
On October 18th, BCPP unveiled our Non-toxic Black Beauty Project, housed on our Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website. CSC’s Non-Toxic Black Beauty Project spotlights the nation’s top Black-owned clean beauty companies and offers the first-ever database of CSC-verified safer Black beauty products. The plethora of resources that accompanied this release include: a new Red List of Chemicals of Concern in cosmetics, including chemicals contributing to 13 diseases and chronic health conditions of particular concern to Black women; an annotated bibliography summarizing the science linking toxic chemicals in cosmetics to negative impacts on Black women’s health; top tip cards; shareable graphics; factsheets, and more! A total of 700+ products from 80 incredible Black beauty businesses met our rigorous product safety assessment and will be spotlighted as top Black-owned beauty brands.
Outdoor Events Recap: CAO, Ridge Hike, Peak Hike, NEPP, Sacred Treks
This year, our climbers, trekkers, and hikers went above and beyond in their efforts to raise funds for breast cancer prevention. The 23-member 2022 Climb Against the Odds team faced up to 100 mph winds but broke through their fundraising goal and raised a staggering total of $417,772! After a 2-year hiatus, Ridge Hike organizer and breast cancer survivor Caroline White hosted our first springtime Ridge Hike for Prevention, signing up over 260 locals who raised $195,000+. Breast cancer survivor and New England Peaks for Prevention founder Deb Cole led a full team up Mt. Washington and fundraised $100,000+ for prevention. On the other side of the equator, longtime BCPP supporter and Sacred Treks organizer Cathy Ann Taylor guided an adventurous group of 10 through the hills of Patagonia; the small but mighty team raised over $90,000! And finally, BCPP hosted our signature Peak Hike for Prevention, where 171 in-person and 39 virtual hikers fundraised over $168,000 for prevention. Big thanks and many cheers to these trail heroes and partners in prevention! Check out all our upcoming 2023 events and sign up today
BCPP X Ecologic Non-Toxic DIY Videos
We set up shop in the test kitchen of our incredible partners at Ecologic powered by Jabil to bring our community easy home recipes for safer beauty and cleaning products. We filmed and disseminated three short DIY video explainers covering how to make your own home products, including: DIY Non-Toxic Hand Soap, DIY Non-Toxic Body Wash, and DIY Non-Toxic All-Purpose Spray Cleaner. Starring BCPP’s very own Director of Marketing and Communications, Erika Wilhelm, each video and accompanied blog post also highlights commonly found toxic chemicals and other scientific insights. These videos have been viewed over 200,000 times and growing!
Paths to Prevention-Spanish Translation
This year, we translated our first set of fact sheets and social graphics into Spanish to draw out key Paths to Prevention takeaways in a consumer-friendly way for Latinx communities. The Spanish alcohol fact sheet and breastfeeding fact sheet are now available on our website for download.
BCPP Website: Environmental Justice
Have you seen our new Environmental Justice hub? The new website feature highlights how systemic racism furthers the disproportionate exposures to chemicals linked to breast cancer and other diseases for communities of color, low-income communities, and tribal and indigenous communities across the U.S. The new page also uplifts BCPP’s justice and equity work.
Welcome to BCPP: New Team Members
2022 has been a significant year of capacity growth for our small but mighty team at BCPP. We are thrilled to celebrate the introduction of BCPP’s four newest staff hires! Wendy Cook joined us as BCPP’s new Sr. Engagement & Partnerships Manager. Nyisha Green-Washington is our newest Sr. Organizing Manager and will be focused on helping make the next stage of Paths to Prevention a reality. Dr. Rainbow Rubin has stepped into the leadership role as BCPP’s Director of Science and Pujeeta Chowdhary is our new Science and Education Manager! Find out more about these incredible new BCPP staff members in the months to come.
And Lastly!
Thank you for taking action on food safety and sending thousands of letters to Congress, demanding the removal of harmful phthalates from food and closing of the GRAS loophole that allows toxic chemicals to leach into our food.
Become an Ambassador and learn how to become amazing event organizers like Caroline White, Deb Cole, Cathy Ann Taylor, and Amy Ana (congrats on 2 years hosting Fishing for the Cause!). We want to make our Peak Hike bigger and better, so let us know if you are interested in hosting your own local branch!
Giving Tuesday Results: Thanks to the outpouring of support from our generous community, we raised $86,500 as part of our #GivingTuesday triple matching gift challenge, sponsored by Innersense Organic Beauty.
Join our first public webinars about the Non-toxic Black Beauty Project: Register here
Your support powers and makes our prevention work possible—thank you!
Your generous giving makes all this work possible. Thank you so much for your support to move prevention forward. We wish you happy holidays and a joyful new year!
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Safer Holiday Meals Guide
Seven Safer Holiday Meal Tips for minimizing your exposure to health-harming and environment-harming toxic chemicals that can get into your celebratory meal – from store packaging to the utensils on the table. Read More
I’ll Take My Yams Without a Side of Heavy Metals, Thank You
Post by BCPP Senior Policy Manager, Lisette van Vliet
With the year-end holidays right around the corner, it’s time to think about those yummy holiday meals we’ll be feeding our families…and some of the hidden toxic exposures they may bring.
While I love a good meal as much as the next person, as someone who works on the toxic chemicals used in food packaging and upstream materials that contact our food during the production phase, the major feast holidays are always a tense time of year. So much harmful exposure is happening through food, and most people are completely unaware.
Yet, I don’t simply want to inform people in a way that comes across as “nothing you eat is free of toxic chemicals.” And, most importantly, I don’t want to puncture our joy at sitting down with loved ones for a good meal. We all need time to relax, socialize, celebrate, and indulge!
That being said, it’s a bit like – this major offense against human health is happening, every day, and it’s time to throw up the window and yell we’re mad as hell. The truth is, the FDA is doing a terrible job of regulating the chemicals used to make food packaging and other materials that contact the food we eat and the beverages we drink. Clearly that’s a downer, not to mention a rather unappetizing problem to think about. In particular, when you’re trying to organize a big, festive, and celebratory meal.
So, let’s skip to the good news – YES, there are choices that can help minimize your exposure to chemicals linked to breast cancer, learning disabilities, and many other debilitating chronic diseases. Admittedly, not everyone can partake. Some of these choices may not be affordable, or available in your neighborhood. These are arguably problems that are just as much an environmental injustice as living next to a polluting factory.
Granted, I also acknowledge that not everyone starts from the same point of departure: some of you may need to go to greater lengths to reduce your risks because of your pre-existing vulnerabilities, such as living with a breast cancer diagnosis, or other health condition.
Still, back to the good choices. Without trying to be comprehensive or forensic about it, here are my seven suggestions for minimizing your exposure to health-harming and environment-harming chemicals that can get into your celebratory meal – from store packaging to the utensils on the table.
2. Getting some new cookware?
Check out our Safer cookware guide to help you avoid buying cookware with the toxic ‘Forever’ PFAS chemicals.
3. Don’t cook your turkey (or other food) in anything plastic.
If you are roasting meat, stay away from plastic roasting oven bags. Plastic is made from many chemicals, and we don’t know nearly enough about them, let alone how they interact to make by-product chemicals that can leach into the meat.
4. Go easy on the sweet potatoes.
A recent report by the Healthy Babies Bright Futures organization found that lead, arsenic, and cadmium levels are high in some fresh carrots and sweet potatoes. For those of you already serving these foods regularly to your kids, Healthy Babies Bright Futures recommend that parents vary the source by choosing from different brands, varieties, or stores each week to avoid accidentally serving a high-metal source often.
5. Serve your luscious steaming gravies from glass or ceramic containers with metal ladles (or use a ceramic cup or jug).
Stay away from plastic cooking utensils and plastic food receptacles – especially for hot, fatty, liquid foods like gravies. Scientific testing found nasty chemicals in some utensils. Because the production stream for recycled plastic, from which these utensils are sometimes made, can recirculate toxic chemicals into new products, it’s worth avoiding if you can.
6. Serving Coca-Cola?
Spare three minutes to tell Coca-Cola executives to lead their company away from the use of cancer-causing chemicals in their plastic bottles, hosted by our friends at Defend Our Health.
7. Want to do more?
Add your voice to those asking for a better food safety system for all! None of us can shop or cook our way out of this problem of toxics in food packaging and production. Take a few minutes and join our actions for changing the system of safety for chemicals in food and beverage:
- Tell Congress to protect our food from phthalate contamination.
- Support the Toxic Free Food Act to stop companies using secret toxics.
At Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, we’re working hard to create the systemic change needed to ensure the government is protecting us all from dangerous chemicals in our food, so we as consumers don’t have to think about this stuff. However, until that day comes, consider taking some of these steps.
And of course, I hope you enjoy your holidays!
Best wishes and good cheer,
Lisette
Give the Gift of Prevention this Holiday Season
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Non-Toxic Holiday Gift Guide 2022
Shop with confidence that your holiday gifts are good for you, our planet and those you love! Our partners in prevention are offering socially responsible gift ideas that share our commitment to protecting the health of all people and our planet. Read More
Gifting made clean
Shop with confidence that your holiday gifts are good for you, our planet and those you love! Our partners in prevention are offering socially responsible gift ideas that share our commitment to protecting the health of all people and our planet.
Happy gifting from these fabulous businesses bringing you products that support our life-saving work to prevent breast cancer.
Innersense Organic Beauty: Organic Hair Care + Clean Beauty Products
Innersense Organic Beauty was founded by beauty professionals, Greg and Joanne Starkman, with the mission to create clean, safe, sustainable, and professional hair care products for all hair types. Whether you’re treating yourself or giving the gift of healthy hair, Innersense has curated gift picks for head-turning hair all season long. Good for you, kind to the planet, shop gifts that give back.
Use code: JOY15 at checkout for 15% off your total purchase in December. Hair
Fontana Candle Co.
Fontana Candle Co. is the candle company that cares. They’ve made it their mission to create clean burning candles with simple, all-natural ingredients. You won’t find any petroleum byproducts, stabilizers, fragrance oils, or harmful dyes. Fontana candles are the first to be MADE SAFE certified! They have all your seasonal favs, without the toxics: Peppermint Twist, Fir Needle & Pine, Spiced Latte, and Frankincense & Myrrh.
Each Fontana Candle Co. purchase made in December helps contribute to a minimum donation of $2,500 to BCPP. Use this link, or code BCPP15 at checkout for 15% off your order through 12/31/22. Candles
Balega
Balega is committed to supporting the fight against breast cancer. Featuring the same unrivaled fit and stunning comfort for which all Balega socks are renowned, Grit & Grace collection not only supports your run, but also an incredible cause.
$1 per pair of Balega Grit and Grace socks will be donated to BCPP, up to $30,000! Socks
Earth Mama Organics
Spread the joy of the season with Earth Mama’s unique hand-picked collections. Let them unwrap a rejuvenating gift of self-care – because we all truly need it (unlike that perpetual robe or tie!). And because they’re mindfully formulated, cruelty-free, and obsessively clean, you’ll be giving peace of mind too.
Earth Mama Organics purchases made in December help contribute to a $2,500 donation to BCPP. 4 Mamas
Juice Beauty
Juice Beauty, antioxidant-rich skincare & plant-pigment makeup, has been cleaning up the Beauty space since 2005. Vegan, cruelty free, sustainable, made with certified organic ingredients and delivered from farm to beauty. Clinically validated formulas, authentically organic ingredients so every organic drop feeds your skin.
Juice Beauty is honored to be making a December donation of $2,500 to BCPP to continue the mission of prevention. Skincare
Meliora Cleaning Products
Meliora (meh-lee-OR-ah) is Latin for “better.” At Meliora Cleaning Products, they make people- and planet-friendly home cleaning products so you know what you’re using is better for your home and the planet. Everything they make is single-use plastic-free, MADE SAFE Certified to ensure product ingredients are safe for you and your family, and made in Chicago.
This December, Meliora is proud to continue supporting BCPP with a guaranteed minimum annual donation of $5,000. Cleaning
Primally Pure
Primally Pure’s Natural Deodorant (like all of their products) is made without dangerous chemicals that have been linked to various diseases, including cancer. They’ve spent years researching and formulating with safe, effective ingredients to create a gentle + non-toxic deodorant that actually works. They always have and always will believe that fewer is better when it comes to ingredients – and their best-selling natural deodorants are no exception.
Primally Pure is proud to continue supporting BCPP with a guaranteed 2022 donation of $12,000. Skincare
Credo Beauty
Find the perfect Selfcare Gift among Credo’s assortment of best-in-clean beauty products, safer for you and the planet. With 100+ brands to choose from, from skincare to makeup, body care, hair and fragrance, there’s something for everyone. Credo is a longstanding BCPP partner and works closely with BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Each Credo purchase helps contribute to a minimum donation of $20,000 to BCPP. Clean Beauty
Lemongrass Spa
Refreshing and sweet, the Peppermint Stick Collection is the perfect gift for anyone on your list. Pure peppermint essential oil is used in this winter-fresh collection. Available in Room Spray, Prebiotic Hand Soap, Foot Mask, Lip Butter, and Hand & Body Lotion.
Lemongrass Spa purchases made in December help contribute to a minimum donation of $2,500 to BCPP. Peppermint
CSC Verified Non-Toxic Black Beauty Database
BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics first-ever List of Top Non-Toxic Black-Owned Beauty Brands features Black entrepreneurs making safer beauty products, free of the toxic ingredients linked to breast cancer and health concerns that disproportionately impact Black women. This project brings health equity to the forefront by providing a searchable database of 700+ clean beauty products to help Black women and girls live their healthiest lives and prevent breast cancer.
Purchases you make go directly to uplifting these small non-toxic Black-owned businesses. CSC Verified
Klean Kanteen
Klean Kanteen creates solutions to single use products and uses business as a force for good. Your purchase from this family and employee-owned business allows them to donate directly to organizations like BCPP working to make the world a better place.
Klean Kanteen has been a partner of BCPP since 2004, donating over $335K in cash and product to BCPP via 1% For The Planet to support this amazing work! Bottles+
Henry Rose
Created by Michelle Pfeiffer, Henry Rose is committed to using only ingredients vetted against the strictest standards for health and safety known today. They’re proud to be EWG Verified, Cradle to Cradle Certified and Cruelty-Free.
Each Henry Rose purchase helps contribute to a minimum donation of $10,000 to BCPP. Fragrance
The North Face
For over 15 years, The North Face has partnered with Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. The Explore Fund is proud to support BCPP’s work for breast cancer prevention in the outdoors.
In connection with the NEW Pink Ribbon collection, $50,000 goes to support BCPP’s mission. Collection
Give your year-end gift for prevention
Help BCPP continue our vital work of prevention in 2023 by gifting a year-end donation! For 30 years, BCPP has been the leading national nonprofit working solely on preventing breast cancer through eliminating toxic chemicals and other environmental links to the disease.
Your critical dollars ensure that we can continue:
1. Working with communities most highly impacted by toxic exposures linked to breast cancer.
2. Translating science into education and action.
3. Pressing businesses to make products safer.
4. And passing health-protective laws.
The time to prevent breast cancer is now. Every dollar has an impact and together we are building a healthier tomorrow. Give your year-end gift today!
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Celebrating Native American Heritage Month
This Native American Heritage Month, learn more about the rich history and cultures of the first Americans, whose voices and contributions are all too often unheard, unseen, and unacknowledged. Read More
It is virtually impossible to miss the fact that this Thursday is Thanksgiving, followed by Black Friday, the “National Day of Shopping.” Unfortunately, far fewer of us know that, more importantly, this Friday is Native American Heritage Day and November is Native American Heritage Month.
“Native American Heritage Month was established in 1992 to honor and recognize Native Americans as the first people of this nation and to celebrate both their cultural heritage and their importance to our past, present and future.”
Native American Heritage Day is a day of celebration, acknowledgement, and teaching for many indigenous groups, such as Native Hope.
For some, such as the United American Indians of New England, it is a National Day of Mourning, recognizing the devasting impact the arrival of European settlers had on North America’s indigenous peoples and their cultures.
Breast Cancer Prevention Partners honors indigenous cultures and communities, and we acknowledge the brutal history of oppression the first people of the nation endured, and against all odds, survived; as well as the ongoing oppression and racism of today.
Resources
We encourage you to learn more about the rich history and cultures of the first Americans, whose voices and contributions are all too often unheard, unseen, and unacknowledged. Here are a few resources to get your started. Explore them today, this month, and all year long:
Native American Heritage Month video
Smithsonian Magazine Do American Indians Celebrate Thanksgiving?
National Park Service: Native American History Month
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Get Out and Vote! For your Health
Breast cancer affects people across the political spectrum. That’s because chemicals are equal opportunity offenders, exposing people on both sides of the aisle to an increased risk of breast cancer and other diseases that are on the rise. Still, more elected officials need to hear from people in their districts that getting chemicals linked to breast and other cancers out of everyday products, and out of our air, water, and industry altogether, matters!Read More
By BCPP Director of Science Rainbow Rubin, PhD, MPH
You deserve a say in what goes on in our world. This November 8th, it’s important to use our voices to shape a healthier future for our neighborhoods, cities, states, and country by casting a vote for elected officials who care about preventing breast cancer as much as you do.
Breast cancer affects people across the political spectrum. That’s because chemicals are equal opportunity offenders, exposing people on both sides of the aisle to an increased risk of breast cancer and other diseases that are on the rise. Fortunately, new laws across the country that would more strictly regulate chemicals and keep toxic products with cancer-linked chemicals off of store shelves are receiving strong bi-partisan support. Still, more elected officials need to hear from people in their districts that getting chemicals linked to breast and other cancers out of everyday products, and out of our air, water, and industry altogether, matters!
The good news is that a recent survey of voters commissioned by the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) showed that Americans overwhelmingly want government and industry to ensure that products on store shelves are free of harmful chemicals, and they are willing to pay more for that peace of mind.[1]
The survey found broad agreement that the government should require products to be proven safe before they are put on the market. More than 90 percent of those surveyed support this requirement, and two-thirds strongly agree with these ideas.
The poll also found:
- 76% are concerned about the impact that chemicals and plastics have on climate change.
- 54% say chemical regulations are not strong enough, while 21% say they are about right and 10% say they are too strong.
- 93% agree (57% strongly) that it is important to remove harmful chemicals from where we live, work and go to school even if it increases the costs for some products and similar numbers agree that it is important for companies to keep harmful chemicals out of everyday products, even if it increases costs for some products.
Voters are concerned about all the chemicals they were asked about in the survey, and expressed the most worry about chemicals ingested through water, food, and food packaging. And about half (49%) wrongly assume that the chemicals in food and consumer products have been tested for safety, which is not true.
“People assume that what they buy is safe and that almost always isn’t the case,” said Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, who directs the University of California at San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and the EaRTH (Environmental Research and Translation for Health) Center. “The good news is this survey reveals overwhelming support for the government to do a better job of protecting people from harmful chemicals.”
“At a time when most issues are politically polarized, the issue of keeping people safe from harmful chemicals finds widespread agreement among Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters,” said Celinda Lake President of Lake Research Partners, which conducted the poll.
Our legislative track record confirms the same finding that health is something we can all get behind. That’s why so many of the 18 local, state, and federal laws we’ve championed over the past decade and a half received strong support from Democrats and Republicans alike.
By speaking up about what’s wrong and saying, “NO!” to cancer-causing ingredients in our products, we can create positive change for current and future generations. Let’s continue to show up and use our voices to create a healthier, safer, and more just world for all. Together, we can eliminate the preventable causes of breast cancer.
This November, make your voice heard by voting for leaders who will protect your health and safety by ensuring chemicals linked to breast cancer are no longer welcome in our consumer products, workplaces, and communities.
[1] Woodruff, T. (2022, October 11). Poll: Voters Agree on Need for More Protections from Chemicals. Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. https://prheucsf.blog/2022/10/11/poll-voters-agree-on-need-for-more-protections-from-chemicals/
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Breast Cancer Prevention Month Gift Guide 2022
This Breast Cancer Prevention Month, our partners in prevention are bringing you clean products that value YOU and the environment.Read More
Put your dollars towards businesses and products that put your health first
We call October Breast Cancer Prevention Month. For over 20 years, October has signified the month to promote awareness of breast cancer and shop in support of finding a cure. Yet, 1 in 8 women in the US will still be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. That’s why we continue to shift the conversation from awareness to prevention.
This Breast Cancer Prevention Month, our partners in prevention are bringing you clean products that value YOU and the environment.
At BCPP we only partner with socially responsible companies that share our commitment to protecting the health of all people and our planet.
Check out these fabulous businesses bringing you products that benefit and help fund our life saving work to prevent breast cancer for as many folks as possible. *Smart, safer shopping made easy*
Innersense Organic Beauty: Organic Hair Care + Clean Beauty Products
Greg and Joanne Starkman founded Innersense Organic Beauty to offer professionals and consumers effective, clean formulas with high-quality organic ingredients. Innersense is proudly a B-Corp certified company and award-winning global leader in hair care with an inclusive range of non-toxic, sustainable and cruelty-free products for all hair types.
Use code: BCPP15 for 15% off your total purchase for the month of October. Innersense Beauty
Fontana Candle Co.
Fontana Candle Co. is the candle company that cares. They’ve made it their mission to create clean burning candles with simple, all-natural ingredients. Each of the ingredients used in their candle making process were hand-selected after careful research, including beeswax, coconut oil, natural essential oils, and wood wicks. You won’t find any petroleum byproducts, stabilizers, fragrance oils, or harmful dyes in their products. Fontana candles are the first to be MADE SAFE® certified!
Each Fontana Candle Co. purchase made in October helps contribute to a minimum donation of $2,500 to BCPP. Use the link, or the code BCPP15 at checkout to receive 15% off your order through 12/31/22. Candles
Balega
Balega is committed to supporting the fight against breast cancer. Featuring the same unrivaled fit and stunning comfort for which all Balega socks are renowned, the Grit & Grace collection not only supports your run, but also an incredible cause.
Make a difference today! $1 per pair of Balega Grit and Grace socks will be donated to BCPP, up to $30,000! Socks
Earth Mama Organics
Founded by a nurse and herbalist, Earth Mama Organics has been raising the bar for radical transparency in personal care products for over 20 years. Their long-standing partnership with BCPP and support of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is central to Earth Mama’s core mission to Do No Harm to people or the planet.
10% of every purchase made from earthmamaorganics.com in October goes to support BCPP with a maximum of $5,000. 4 Mamas
Odacité Skincare
The story of Odacité begins with the audacity of French-born founder, Valérie Grandury, and her personal journey of healing following a breast cancer diagnosis. Odacité’s made clean in California personal care products are a skin-compatible fusion of raw nature and clinical actives.
Odacité will donate $25 to BCPP for every Skin Confidence Trio sold in October, for a minimum annual donation of $2,500. Skincare
Meliora Cleaning Products
Meliora (meh-lee-OR-ah) is Latin for “better.” At Meliora Cleaning Products, they make people- and planet-friendly home cleaning products so you know what you’re using is better for your home and the planet. Everything they make is single-use plastic-free, MADE SAFE Certified to ensure product ingredients are safe for you and your family, and made in Chicago.
2% of every Meliora Cleaning Products’ web site sale is donated to BCPP for the month of October, with a minimum of $5,000! Cleaning
Vibrant Body Company
Vibrant Body Company is disrupting the Intimates category with its Certified Clean First Layer – Bras, tanks and underwear that are certified to be free from harmful substances like pesticides, flame retardants, chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, carcinogenic dyes. Always wireless. Always the most comfortable and supportive.
For the month of October, Vibrant Body Company will donate 20% of all purchases up to $25K. First Layers
CSC Verified Non-Toxic Black Beauty Database
BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics first-ever List of Top Non-Toxic Black-Owned Beauty Brands features Black entrepreneurs making safer beauty products, free of the toxic ingredients linked to breast cancer and health concerns that disproportionately impact Black women. This project brings health equity to the forefront by providing a searchable database of 700+ clean beauty products to help Black women and girls live their healthiest lives and prevent breast cancer.
Purchases you make go directly to uplifting these small non-toxic Black-owned businesses. CSC Verified
Credo Beauty
Credo has the largest assortment of best-in-clean beauty products, safer for you and the planet. With 120+ brands to choose from, from skincare to makeup, body care, hair and fragrance, there’s something for everyone. Credo is a longstanding BCPP partner and works closely with the organization on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Each Credo purchase helps contribute to a minimum donation of $20,000 to BCPP. Clean Beauty
Primally Pure
Primally Pure’s Natural Deodorant (like all of their products) is made without dangerous chemicals that have been linked to various diseases, including cancer. They’ve spent years researching and formulating with safe, effective ingredients to create a gentle + non-toxic deodorant that actually works. They always have and always will believe that fewer is better when it comes to ingredients – and their best-selling natural deodorants are no exception.
$1 per order (on all breast health products) all month long will go back to BCPP, up to $12,000! Skincare
Lemongrass Spa
At Lemongrass Spa Products, offering clean, safe skincare and giving back to their communities is at the heart of the company mission. The Pink Healing Balm is a special ointment offered in October that protects skin from dryness and irritations. Formulated with skin-softening shea and apricot kernel oil, shea butter, frankincense, rose and peony, the balm melts onto skin to soften and repair.
For every purchase of the Pink Healing Balm Stick and the larger six-ounce jar, $2 or $3, respectively, is donated to BCPP with a minimum commitment of $3,500 in 2022. Healing Balm
Klean Kanteen
Klean Kanteen creates solutions to single use products and uses business as a force for good. Your purchase from this family and employee-owned business allows them to donate directly to organizations like BCPP working to make the world a better place.
Klean Kanteen has been a partner of BCPP since 2004, donating over $335K in cash and product to BCPP via 1% For The Planet to support this amazing work! Bottles+
Crunchi
Crunchi®️ is a revolutionary line of high-performance, safe, and toxin-free cosmetic and skincare products that are redefining beauty. Thankfully, you no longer have to compromise your beauty for your health or your health for your beauty.
This October, Crunchi is proud to support BCPP with a guaranteed minimum donation of $2,500. Clean Beauty
Ecologic: Packaging the Earth can live with
As a proud partner of BCPP, Ecologic keeps you and the earth healthy with ground-breaking sustainable products, connecting you to an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Ecologic reduces plastic use one eco.bottle at a time.
During October, enjoy 50% off Ecologic products from Home Depot! Three cents of every Ecologic unit sold goes directly to BCPP, with an annual minimum donation of $3,000. Packaging
Henry Rose
Created by Michelle Pfeiffer, Henry Rose is committed to using only ingredients vetted against the strictest standards for health and safety known today. They’re proud to be EWG Verified, Cradle to Cradle Certified and Cruelty-Free.
Each Henry Rose purchase helps contribute to a minimum donation of $10,000 to BCPP. Fragrance
Naturepedic
Since 2003, Naturepedic has been leading the organic mattress revolution with Safe Healthy Sleep™ options for the whole family. Naturepedic’s GOTS certified organic mattresses and sleep accessories are handcrafted with organic cotton, wool and latex. They’re also MADE SAFE® certified non-toxic, which means no chemical flame retardants, polyurethane foam or harmful materials.
This October, use code BCPP10 for 10% off. Then, Naturepedic will donate another 10% to BCPP! Healthy Sleep
Intelligent I-N
Intelligent I-N is a women-owned company motivated by a mission to lead the beauty industry into a cleaner, safer, more earth-conscious future. They are dedicated to creating wildly effective, super-natural haircare, skincare, & body care while maintaining rigorous standards and meticulous selection of plant-derived, clinically proven, active ingredients that are always cruelty-free and responsibly produced. Rooted in their love for plants and the planet. I-N is dedicated to doing the best they can, until they can do better.
Intelligent I-N is a longtime supporter and advocate of BCPP. During the month of October, every I-N purchase will help contribute to a $2,500 donation to BCPP. In addition, BCPP is the recipient for I-N’s consumer round up campaign through the end of 2022. Intelligent Beauty
Everviolet
Everviolet creates beautiful and comfortable intimate apparel for the evolving needs of women. Born out of our founder’s experience with breast cancer, the wireless yet supportive collection is made with luxe sustainable jersey and ultra-soft lace. With a strong eco-promise, Everviolet is deeply aligned with BCPP’s mission and a proud partner.
Throughout October, Everviolet will donate 10% of sales of our Vela Wireless Bra and Brazilian Panty to BCPP. Intimates
CRYSTAL
CRYSTAL™ Deodorant, the leader in natural deodorants for over 35 years, is proud to support Breast Cancer Prevention Partners’ efforts to prevent breast cancer and protect people and the planet from toxic chemicals in our environment. CRYSTAL™ products are proudly made without aluminum chloride, parabens, artificial fragrance, and are vegan and cruelty free.
This October, CRYSTAL is proud to support BCPP with a guaranteed donation of $2,500! CRYSTAL
The North Face
For over 15 years, The North Face has partnered with Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. The Explore Fund is proud to support BCPP’s work for breast cancer prevention in the outdoors.
In connection with the NEW Pink Ribbon collection, $50,000 goes to support BCPP’s mission. Collection
GoodLight Candles
GoodLight Candles believes that clean air is important for a healthy life. That’s why we make 100% plant-based candles with clean-burning palm wax and pure essential and botanical oils, and without any phthalates, synthetic fragrances, chemicals, or petroleum-based paraffin. And when you buy GoodLight, you are supporting small, certified-sustainable farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia who are working to create a healthier planet for us all.
In addition to being a sponsor of the annual Peak Hike, GoodLight creates a limited edition line of LOVE candles each year to support BCPP. GoodLight contributes 50 cents from the sale of each LOVE tin and $1 from the sale of their larger LOVE candles to BCPP. Clean Candles
REMINDER: These products come from fabulous companies that financially support our efforts to prevent breast cancer, so purchases you make also support BCPP!
You can also donate directly to prevent breast cancer.
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Create Your Own At-Home Non-Toxic Hand Soap
A DIY hand soap recipe for people who want to have more control over what ingredients they interact with. The DIY hand soap below can be whipped up with just a few simple, non-toxic ingredients, and is just as effective as store-bought options.Read More
Combine three simple ingredients to create a safe and non-toxic alternative to store-bought hand soaps
Created in partnership with our partners at Ecologic
Ask any 8-year-old why it’s important to wash our hands and you’ll likely get some variation of the same answer: Because, obviously, germs are bad, they’ll tell you. Everybody knows that!
We’re taught from a young age that good hand washing hygiene is an effective way to prevent the spread of illness and bacteria – to keep ourselves healthy and safe – a fact that’s even more relevant amid a global pandemic. As people are washing their hands and cleaning their homes more frequently to protect themselves from Covid-19, many consumers might be wondering what’s really in the hand soaps and cleaning products they’re using. And, even more importantly, do they work?
Begin your sustainability journey with Ecologic’s 16oz reusable sprayer and pump eco.bottle 4pk kit
Conventional hand soaps, like many cleaning and personal care items, contain bacteria-fighting chemicals that have been linked to health concerns including hormone disruptions and increased risk of cancer. Common hand soap ingredients include:
- Fragrance or “parfum” can cover dozens of unlisted chemicals like phthalates, benzyl acetate and methylene chloride.
- Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent which has been found to be a potential endocrine disruptor, and is harmful to the environment.
- Parabens are chemicals that prevent the growth of mold and bacteria and are added to body wash to stabilize the product and extend its shelf life.
If you’re reaching for your nearest bottle of hand soap to scour the label right about now, you’re not alone. Here at BCPP, we have been dissecting ingredient lists for years to spread awareness and advocate for safer consumer products. Get our top tips on how to choose safer cleaning products!
Together with our partners at Ecologic, we’ve developed numerous DIY recipes for various personal care and cleaning products for people who want to have more control over what ingredients they interact with. The DIY hand soap below can be whipped up with just a few simple, non-toxic ingredients, and is just as effective as store-bought options.
Recipe
Ingredients:
– 1 ½ cups water
– 2 tbsp castile soap [removes dirt]
– Optional: 40 drops of essential oil* of choice [smells good]
*No undiluted essential oils should be applied to the skin. When choosing essential oils, there is evidence of concern for breast cancer/endocrine disruption with lavender and tea tree oil.
Directions:
1. Measure ingredients and pour into the pump bottle (use funnel if needed). Shake gently to combine.
2. To use, rinse hands with water, massage soap into skin, rinse and pat dry.
Need a dispenser for your new homemade hand soap? Check out Ecologic’s line of eco-friendly refill kits.
Three ingredients – that’s it. No need to squint at a product label or make any guesses on hard-to-pronounce chemicals. Making your own hand soap will give you the peace of mind that you’re getting clean hands without added chemicals.
Not ready to make your own hand soap? No problem! Next time you’re browsing store shelves or shopping for products online, use these tips to help you find the best and safest options:
- Read the labels: look for products with as few ingredients as possible and try to avoid products with fragrance and the other chemicals listed above.
- Look for products with the MADE SAFE® seal: MADE SAFE makes it easy to identify safer products with a special seal.
Use online tools like the browser extension Clearya to help find safer products.
We at BCPP are dedicated to raising awareness and driving positive change. That’s why we’ve developed numerous DIY recipes for safe alternatives to everyday household and personal care products, including the one above. For more tips and information visit bcpp.org/tips or follow us on social media on Facebook or Instagram @bcppartners.
Did you know?
Castile is an olive oil-based soap that can be found in many everyday soap and cleaning products. But it’s safe and effective all on its own. Originally from the Castile region of Spain, this soap has been used for centuries. Essentially, it’s just plain, good soap.
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