The Chicago Tribune has done a wonderful piece of investigative journalism here in its four part series looking at why fire retardant is all through our homes and in all our things - and why it shouldn't be. It's called 'Chemical companies, Big Tobacco and the toxic products in your home'The newspaper argues big tobacco companies got the stuff put in everything to deflect away from the fact that cigarettes were contributing to increased fires.
Turns out fire retardant doesn't work as it is at the moment - and it's deadly.
I now wish I could source all my stuff minus the yucky chemicals - but it's near impossible unless you're going to throw a whole lot of spare cash at the problem.. assuming you have a whole lot of spare cash.
What's interesting is that an unrelated article I posted some time ago called Your Breasts are Trying to Murder You (notice a theme?) reviews a book about the history of breasts and the chemicals they absorb. Here's what reviewer Lindy West says about the author when she had her breast milk tested:
"Williams' journey begins when, alarmed by a news article about toxins in breast milk, she decides to get her own milk tested. And, surprise! It's packed with toxins—specifically, chemical flame retardants—that Williams is funneling directly into her baby."
Turns out the stuff really is in our bodies...
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