House Parties Launched to Detox Homes for New Parents
Organization Women’s Voices for the Earth seeks to reduce exposure to unregulated toxic chemicals
Contact:
Sian Wu, swu@colehourcohen.com, 206-701-4734
Cassidy Randall, cassidyr@womensvoices.org, 406-543-3747
MISSOULA, Mont. –The national women’s health nonprofit Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) has come out with a fun way to get rid of toxic chemicals lurking in the home: throw a party. The organization has been working closely with parents concerned about disconcerting news that unregulated toxic chemicals, including carcinogens, can be found in everyday personal care products, cleaners, and other common household products. As a result, WVE developed the Green Momma Party. Designed for baby showers, parents’ groups, or get-togethers with friends, a Green Momma Party educates parents about reducing toxic chemicals in the home while empowering them to become advocates for safer products at the same time.
“I’m a new mom myself, so I know the feeling of wanting to make sure you’re providing the safest environment possible for your kids,” said WVE executive director Erin Switalski. “But detoxing your home can be overwhelming – and cost prohibitive. So we’ve developed this party to give parents the resources they need to make changes they can afford and do easily. And by having a party, it’s fun!”
People can sign up online to host a Green Momma Party and download WVE’s free Green Momma Party Guide, which includes steps for hosting a party, non-toxic tips for each room in the house, economical do-it-yourself recipes for safer products that have been pre-tested by parents and verified by scientific experts, and more. The result is reducing the family’s exposure to toxics in conventional products, while having fun and educating friends and family about the importance of making green choices in the home.
But the party is about more than just making personal choices; the party-goers will have the opportunity to collectively take action to demand safer products in the marketplace.
“We need regulations that ultimately protect the public,” says Switalski. “We can make personal choices that will result in a healthier home, but it is impossible to remove every hidden toxic hazard in the home without strong laws.”
It is estimated that between 80,000 and 85,000 chemicals are in use in the environment in United States, yet only about 200 of these chemicals have been tested for safety. Women’s Voices for the Earth believes that all products, especially those for vulnerable populations like babies, should be safe and non-toxic.
WVE’s Green Momma Parties build on the success of the organization’s Green Cleaning Parties launched in 2008, which empowered people to make their own homemade cleaners as an alternative to conventional cleaning products. That effort resulted in thousands of people holding green cleaning parties in every state in the U.S., as well as internationally. Since then, major cleaning product manufacturers such as SC Johnson & Son, Clorox, and Reckitt-Benckiser have begun disclosing chemical ingredients and made efforts to phase out chemicals of concern.
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Women’s Voices for the Earth is a national organization that works to eliminate toxic chemicals that impact women’s health by changing consumer behaviors, corporate practices and government policies.
