Super Eco

Photo credit: hberends, SXC

I dare you to drink your kid's shampoo. Or bubble bath. No, wait! Stop! Not really. You may not want to, and you may not even want it in the house after hearing that a bunch of widely-marketed baby- and kid-specific shampoos, bubble baths, and lotions were tested and found positive for toxic ingredients not listed on the label. Those ingredients? Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of nonprofit health and environmental organizations, tested a raft of popular kid's products and brands. Of 28 products tested, 82% had formaldehyde, considered a toxic substance, indoor air pollutant, and air contaminant and linked to a host of effects including cancer. Of 48 products tested, 67% had 1,4-dioxane, a synthetic industrial solvent that is toxic, affecting the central nervous system, kidneys and the liver. It is a known eye and respiratory tract irritant and is considered to be possibly carcinogenic to humans.

Brands that tested positive for formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane include Baby Magic, Johnson's, Aveeno, CVS, American Girl, L'Oreal Kids, Equate, Gentle Naturals, and others. The full list of specific tested products can be found here.

Only one tested product was found to not contain either toxic substance, a hair relaxer called Dark & Lovely Kids Beautiful Beginnings No-Mistake Nourishing No-Lye Children’s Relaxer System. Of course, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is quick to point out that the absence of these particular substances does not make a product safe: it may contain other toxic ingredients.

Notably absent from the list are products and brands specifically marketed as "organic" or "natural," and that are likely safe. This list of companies—that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics—making children's products is a good place to start shopping, especially if you own anything from the toxic list above.