I may be one of the few that can legitimately say I love my mother-in-law. She is not meddlesome and loves her granddaughter. And like most grandmothers she loves to buy my daughter gifts. Just recently, she purchased a Cabbage Patch Kids doll. When we opened the package we noticed there was a fragrance in the doll?s hair. My first question was; why would a toy designer/manufacturer put fragrance on a doll? Kim Ode of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis- St. Paul, MN) in her article Fragrance Debate: A Matter of Scents and Sensibility wrote ?Scents sell.? I think a scent in a toy makes no sense!
My point ~~ with so many children developing Autism, ADD/ADHD and Asthma what possesses the toy manufacturers to put fragrance is children?s toys? Simply, this is not a good idea! Very few of these children know or can even articulate that the fragrance is what is contributing to their disorder. I know I become irritable, erratic, nauseous, even vision impaired (among other symptoms) when exposed to certain fragrances. As an adult, it took a series of events (see upcoming blog Mommy Monster) to make the connection between the fragrance and these symptoms; children are not as savvy.
Ms. Ode also wrote, ?The American Lung Association says that an estimated 4 million children under 18 years old had an asthma attack in 2004, and that many others have "hidden" or undiagnosed asthma. Almost eight in 10 kids with asthma have significant allergies -- one reason asthma is considered the most common cause of school absenteeism. Fragrance is among the many triggers the association lists for asthma attacks.?
Furthermore, do you really want your child to develop Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Environmental Illness, Fibromyalgia or any other chronic illness along with the challenges they are already experiencing? Fragrance is a Molotov cocktail of chemicals. The more a person is exposed to toxic chemicals the more their immune systems become deficient. The more their immune system becomes deficient the more likely they will develop a chronic illness such as mentioned above. Trust me you do not want your children to go through what Nancie and I have to endure every day.
Children do not need to be in fear of their environment. They may intuitively know that if they go a relative?s house they will get sick because of the Glade air freshener used in the house but do not know the source or how to verbalize the problem they are having. Ah hah! That is why they cry and scream uncontrollably when they know they are going to particular environment. The last thing they need is to be assaulted with fragrance from a toy in their own home.
There has been uproar about phthalates (THAY-lates) in products particularly children?s products because they release toxins that cause birth defects, seizures, infertility, cancer, etc. So the concern is mainly regarding the plastics in baby bottles or toys and what happens when these plastics are heated. Phthalates are a hidden component in fragrance. Can someone hear this, FRAGRANCES OF ANY SORT DO NOT BELONG IN CHILDREN?S TOYS.
What happened to the doll? Finally, she was soaking in Earth Friendly Products? Oxo Brite the odor has diminished. She is now soaking in vinegar, if that doesn't remove the odor, she will be thrown away.
Original source: http://scentfreesavvy.wordpress.com/?p=52
