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Drugstores initially were places where we went to get medicine. While we may still get our prescriptions filled there, today’s drugstores also sell food, cosmetics, toys, office supplies, and home goods—and a surprising number of these items are the opposite of medicine. Many contain chemical compounds that can actually make us pretty sick if we’re exposed to them over time.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most toxic drugstore items that you should probably avoid—or at least cut back on—as well as healthier alternatives.

1 ) Tampons and Feminine Care Products

A disturbing array of toxic chemicals have been found in conventional tampons, menstrual pads, wipes, douches, and other feminine hygiene products. These chemicals, which include pesticide residues, dioxin, unknown fragrance chemicals and adhesives, have been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, allergic rash, and reproductive harm. They raise alarms because vaginal tissue is particularly porous, which means that chemicals put into the vagina are easily and effectively distributed throughout the body, says Women’s Voices for the Earth in its comprehensive report “Chem Fatale.”

Safer Alternative: Skip products marketed as “vaginal cleansers.” The vagina is designed to self-clean; douching and excess washing, in fact, can lead to infections, says WomensHealth.gov. Choose unscented tampons, as well as chlorine-free bleached or unbleached cotton tampons and pads. Reusable, washable menstrual pads are also available, as are washable menstrual cups to collect rather than absorb menstrual flow.

2) Mascara

Mercury—a potent neurotoxicant that can cause kidney damage and potentially disrupt fetal brain development if the woman using it is pregnant—is sometimes used in mascara as a preservative and germ killer.

Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the advocacy group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, says there is no reason “a known neurotoxin should be allowed” because safer alternatives exist. Unfortunately, there’s no way you would know whether your mascara contains mercury or not, because companies are not required to list it on their product labels.

Safer Alternative: To be safe, search online for “mercury-free mascara” or shop at natural foods stores. Or, try this recipe for making your own mascara.

3) Air Fresheners

Phthalates help disperse the fragrances in air fresheners into the air, where you may inhale them or absorb them through your skin.

Once these chemicals enter the blood stream, they can alter hormone levels or cause symptoms like headache, runny nose and itchy eyes.

The State of California notes that five types of phthalates are “known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm,” reports the Natural Resources Defense Council. Exposure to phthalates in air fresheners has also been associated with increasing the risk of asthma.

Safer Alternative: First and foremost, root out what is making your home smell bad. Then open the windows and let fresh air circulate.

Keep bathroom floors and the base of the toilet clean, use fans to move moist air out of bathrooms so mildew doesn’t develop, and don’t leave old food on kitchen counters or in an uncovered trash can, where it will smell as it decomposes.

To add a pleasant fragrance to your home naturally, simmer cloves, orange peel, and apple cider or pieces of apple on your stove, and enjoy fragrant cut flowers like roses and lilies.

Don’t Miss: Indoor Air Pollution Solutions: 15 Affordable Actions to Help You Breathe Clean Air

4) Lipstick

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If you’re still drinking from a plastic throwaway bottle, some kind of home water filter system should definitely be in your future. Why?

First, you’re spending way too much money on bottled water. Consumer Reports estimates that filling a 16.9-ounce bottle with tap water in New York City costs about 1.3 tenths of a cent. Buy that same bottle already full of water at a convenience store and, with the deposit, it will run you $1.00. If you refill that bottle from you tap every day for a year, you’d be out only 48 cents. Buy a bottle of water a day? It’ll drain you a whopping $365. Duh!

Second, you could be making yourself sick. Plastic bottles that contain (BPA) bisphenol A – or its alternative — may be toxic to your health . Some studies show that BPA may contribute to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, birth defects and Attention Deficit Disorder.

Third, you’re trashing the planet. Plastic bottles are made from petroleum, then packaged, shipped out, and ultimately end up as trash or litter along the road or in a river or stream.

Fourth, even when you buy bottled water, you’re probably drinking tap water, since that’s what many bottlers use to fill their bottles. So…why pay for someone else’s bottle, bottle top, filling process, and all the rest?

Fifth, you can filter tap water at home to get the quality of water that you want to drink. There are many affordable counter-top filter pitchers that do a pretty good job of filtering out some of the contaminants that might be in water.

But to do the most thorough job, consider a whole house water filtration system. One big benefit of such a system is that it filters your entire home water supply so that the water you have in the shower or at the bathroom sink is just as clean as the water you tap in the kitchen. For example, the PelicanWater whole house water filtration system leaves in beneficial minerals while removing other contaminants that are regularly found in tap water, ultimately creating better tasting water.

When choosing a whole house system, consider the following:

1. Contaminants Filtered Check the National Drinking Water Database maintained by the Environmental Working Group. It should be able to tell you what, if any, contaminants are present in the water coming out of your tap. When you choose a filter, make sure it will trap the contaminants local to you.

2. Performance Features Water Filter Systems Review says that under-the-counter water filters will reduce contaminants in different stages. They recommend that you look for a filter that provides at least three separate stages to reduce pollutants from the water. Each stage will remove a different type of contaminant such as sediment, chemicals and residue. Also, be aware that some filters can affect water pressure. Look for systems that have a water pressure range of 55 to 65 psi.

3. Maintenance At some point, the filters on the system will need to be replaced. It’s helpful if your system has an automatic notification system to alert you to when you should change a cartridge.

4. Installation and Fit Make sure your system fits in the space you have allocated for it. And before you buy, check to see if it is something you can install yourself, or will require professional assistance. You want to make sure you can change the filters or cartridges yourself.

Sponsored by Pelican Water

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What’s Wrong With Synthetic Chemicals?

A better question is, what’s right? And the answer?  Not much!!

Some of the synthetic chemicals you’re likely to find in conventional cleaning products include:

• Phthalates – linked to birth defects in children exposed in utero; can cause headaches, nausea and other discomfort when inhaled via the artificial fragrances they’re usually found in
• Phosphorous – overloads fresh water systems; when washed down a drain, it ends up in streams, rivers, and lakes, where it can rob the waters of precious oxygen and make it difficult for fish and other aquatic wildlife to survive
• Bleach – releases powerful fumes that can cause headaches, nausea and general feelings of illness; when mixed with ammonia, can create a poisonous gas that can burn your lungs if you inhale it.

What’s a Healthier Alternative?

Responsible cleaning companies are manufacturing products that rely on plant-derived cleaning agents that use natural sources and contain essential oils, corn-based alcohol, earth-based minerals and filtered water. Though lemon oil is probably the most common essential oil used, many other citrus oils, plus essence of peppermint, spearmint and lavender, among others, may be included as well. Though there’s always a chance you might be allergic to one of these ingredients, they’re far less likely to pose serious threats that the more conventional cleansers you might currently be buying.

If you’ve never tried a green cleaner before, in honor of Earth Day our sponsor SourceSupplyCompany.com is offering at a 10% discount green cleaners that can be used on bathroom and kitchen surfaces, including chrome, stainless steel, and glass; dishwashing detergents, laundry detergents, and more.

You can find the full list of products available for purchase here.   Use promo code Earth10 for your discount!

NOTE: Sponsors allow us to provide expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinion remains our own. Thanks!

About Source Supply Company 

SourceSupply Company is a janitorial supply company with over 20 years of experience in the industry, specializing in janitorial, facility, and maintenance products. With more than 14,000 products and access to more than 300 manufacturers, Source Supply Company makes it easy for you to find the products that best meet your need while benefitting from our competitive pricing and superior service.  For more information, visit http://www.sourcesupplycompany.com. 

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Why does WVE focus so directly on toxic
chemicals? Aren’t laws like the Toxic Substances Control Act protecting us
already?

Unfortunately,
the Toxic Substances Control Act is outdated and fails to protect us from
harmful chemicals like BPA, lead, and phthalates. Of the more than 80,000
chemicals out there in consumer products, only 200 of them have ever been
adequately tested for safety.

Most
of those chemicals that have been tested have been looked at only for their
short-term impacts to adult men in industrial settings. That’s one of the
reasons why WVE focuses on toxic chemicals and women’s health: how women are exposed and the health impacts on
women–especially girls, women of color, and women of childbearing age–are
unique and have been mostly overlooked in the past.

There
are a number of reasons that women are more impacted by toxic chemicals. First,
women are much greater users of consumer products that can contain toxic
chemicals:

* Women use
an average of nine personal care products each day, exposing themselves to a
mixture of over 100 individual chemicals. 25% of women report using an average
of 15 products daily.

*  While
gender roles have certainly changed over time, studies show that women are still
doing over 70% of the housework in the average home, which means a higher
exposure to household cleaning chemicals.

*  Fragranced
products are more heavily marketed to women, and women are more likely to
suffer from fragrance allergy than men.

Second,
women carry the health impacts of toxic chemicals in a unique way. Women have a
higher percentage of body fat, and many chemicals tend to accumulate in fat
tissue. Women can also pass chemicals on to their children during pregnancy and
through breastfeeding.

Third,
research shows that women’s health problems are on the rise. For example,
breast cancer rates have risen from an average of 1 in 20 to 1 in 8, women’s
infertility is increasing, and puberty is occurring earlier in girls.

Lastly,
Women’s Voices for the Earth believes that women have tremendous social,
polictical, and economic power to change the systems that allow toxic chemicals
in our products in the first place. That’s why we create opportunities for
women to raise their voices, whether it’s to spread the word to friends and
family, call on companies to make safer products, or ask lawmakers to pass
policies that will truly protect us from toxic chemicals.

Don’t companies that produce the
products we use have to meet standards for health and safety?

Yes, there are certainly some standards
in place, but they’re few and far between. And the standards that do exist are inconsistent
across industries.

For example, the cosmetics industry is
self-regulated. Guess who reviews the safety of cosmetics? Not the Food and
Drug Administration, but the Cosmetics Ingredient Review panel. Guess who pays
them to do that job? Cosmetics companies!

And we’ve seen how ineffective this system
is with the Brazilian Blowout blowup. This popular hair straightening treatment
contains up to 10% formaldehyde (a known cancer-causing chemical) – but the
company was lying and labeled their bottles formaldehyde-free. Neither the
cosmetics industry nor the FDA has done anything to protect stylists and their
clients from this toxic product, although it’s been taken off the market in
several other countries.

 There’s also no standard for using the
word “natural” or “organic” on personal care products. Any company can put
those words on their labels whether their ingredients are healthy or not.

Another great example is the cleaning
products industry. There’s no law that cleaning product companies have to list
the ingredients in their products, which means that companies are allowed to
keep toxic chemicals like phthalates and synthetic musks a secret from
consumers.

This is why WVE is working on some
government policies right now – because we need strong safety standards across
the board. We’re working to pass the Safe Chemicals Act, which would actually
require that chemicals be tested for safety before
they’re placed in products. We’re also working on the Safe Cosmetics Act, which
would ban toxic chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and mutations from
personal care and salon products.

Are some chemicals more dangerous than
others? If you had to choose, what three chemicals would you urge women to
avoid at all costs?

 We’re not saying that all chemicals are
toxic, because that’s certainly not the case. But some chemicals are harmful to
our health, like chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, fertility
problems, learning disabilities, and other serious health impacts.

It can be difficult to avoid a lot of
harmful chemicals, because many products don’t come with labels and even
labeled products may not list all the ingredients. But here are three toxic
chemicals that can be avoided by checking labels or by switching your products:

BPA – linked to increased risk of breast
cancer, infertility, early puberty in girls, and other problems.

• Ditch the canned foods and opt for fresh or frozen
  fruits and vegetables instead.
• Seek out products from the few companies now using
  BPA-free can liners like Westbrae Natural, Hunt’s, Healthy Choice and H.J.
  Heinz.
• Look for plastics labeled “BPA-free.”

Triclosan
– a hormone disruptor
that’s showing up in blood and breast milk

• Avoid anti-bacterial hand soap with triclosan listed on
  the label.
• Reduce your use of disinfectant products.

Synthetic
Fragrance – can be made up of hundreds of chemicals, all of which are kept secret from consumers. Common
fragrance chemicals include phthalates (linked to reproductive and
developmental harm) and synthetic musks (which break down the body’s defenses
against other toxic exposures and are linked to increased risk of breast cancer).

• Look for cleaners, laundry detergents, and personal
  care products labeled “fragrance-free” Warning: “unscented” does not mean
  fragrance-free!
• Discontinue use of air fresheners. Click here for tips to reduce odors
  around the home.

You can check out our 15 Toxic Trespassers and Ten Steps to Reduce Exposure for more ideas on avoiding toxic
chemicals linked to women’s health problems.

How do you let people like me know what
we should look out for when we shop?

 WVE works hard to create
easy-to-understand resources for women to help them protect their health, like
our 15 Toxic Trespassers fact sheet and our Tip of the Month for avoiding
harmful chemicals. And because we know it can be overwhelming to think about
ridding your house of toxic chemicals all at once, we recommend taking it one
step at a time. When your current shampoo runs out, think about replacing it
with one that doesn’t contain synthetic fragrance. Or when pick one step to
take in the kitchen, like buying a big bag of baking soda for deodorizing
instead of a potentially toxic air freshener.

You know that here at Big Green Purse,
we believe that shifting spending to greener products and services is important
for two reasons: it’s a fast and simple way to protect yourself and your
family; and it’s a great way to encourage companies to manufacture safer
products. When it comes to cleaning products, what impact could it have if
women shifted to even one safer cleaning product, whether it be a tub and tile
cleanser or a window cleaner?

 When it comes to cleaning products,
women’s consumer power is shifting the face of an entire industry right now.
When we launched our Safe Cleaning Products Initiative in 2007, no companies
were disclosing ingredients and many were still using toxic chemicals like
phthalates, synthetic musks, and triclosan. We developed our Green Cleaning
Party Kit as a solution to some of the toxic cleaners that were on the shelves.
Until we know that products are healthy, it’s safer to make our own cleaners
with non-toxic ingredients like vinegar and baking soda.

As thousands of women participated in Green
Cleaning Parties across the country, companies started to take notice. Women
weren’t buying their products, and they were using their consumer power to show
companies they wanted a change. And companies listened. Now, many major
companies are starting to list some ingredients online, and have started to
remove some toxic chemicals linked to women’s health problems.

So you can make an impact by buying
from a company that lists all ingredients on the label, or from a company that
pledges not to use chemicals like phthalates or synthetic fragrance. Where you
spend your dollars shows what kind of safe and healthy products you want to see
on the shelves.

Could you say more about the house
parties WVE organizes? How can the Big Green Purse community get involved?

 WVE’s Green Cleaning Parties and Green
Momma Parties are a fun way to take meaningful steps to reduce your exposure to
toxic chemicals, bring friends and family in on the fun, and take action to
make a difference.

These parties help women to use that
social, economic, and political power mentioned earlier. Not only are WVE
parties fun ways to bring friends together to educate them about harmful
chemicals, they offer immediate solutions for safer alternatives, like mixing your
own non-toxic cleaners and suggestions for safer products. These parties also
give party guests the opportunity to take easy actions to raise their voices
for healthier products right there at the party, like emailing their senator to
support the Safe Chemicals Act, or calling their favorite cleaning product
company and asking them to list ingredients.

The best part is that both the Green
Cleaning Party Kit and the Green Momma Party Guide are free to download! Big
Green Purse followers can sign up on our website to host a party.

So many organizations like WVE are based in Washington, D.C. so they can lobby
Congress. How did you end up in Montana? Do you still manage to lobby Senators
and Representatives from there, or is that not your focus?

 That’s a great question! WVE started in
Missoula, MT in 1995 as a local organization that gave women the opportunity to
raise their voices for environmental change. We started out with organizing
women to fight local polluting facilities like incinerators, hard rock mines,
and large-scale pesticide spraying – and it’s always been core to our mission
that our members are part of our work and meaningfully engaged in it.

In 2004, we expanded our work to the
regional level with a successful campaign that convinced Albertson’s to display
mercury warning labels on seafood cases. And we cruised onto the national scene
when we co-founded the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and then the National
Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance a few years later.

Today, WVE is a national organization
focusing our work on eliminating toxic chemicals linked to women’s health
problems, but it’s still the heart and soul of our mission that our members are
involved in our work. We don’t need to be in Washington D.C. because we provide
opportunities for women to raise their voices no matter where they are.

Is WVE a membership organization, too? How can people reading this post support the
great work that you do?

 WVE’s members are what makes our work
so successful! There are lots of ways to support our work:

• Sign up for the WVE Action Network to become a member (for free!) and
  receive our email updates

• Host
  a Green Cleaning Party or a Green Momma Party

• Like
  us on Facebook and
  start spreading the word about toxic chemicals and women’s health

• Make a donation to support our work to empower women

RELATED POSTS:

Tell Tide to Clean Up Its Cleaning Products

Looking for safe and healthy baby products? Check out these suggestions from WhattoExpect.com.

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It is time to ban Bisphenyl-A. In fact, banning Bisphenyl-A is long overdue.

This toxic chemical, also known as BPA, can make kids sick. Previous studies have indicated that BPA can cause baby boys to be born with short penises that could ultimately make reproduction difficult when the boys become men. A study released yesterday in the journal Pediatrics links the toxin to behavioral and emotional problems in toddler girls.

That study tracked 244 moms in Cincinnati and their 3-year old children. The study concluded that children of mothers whose urine contained high levels of BPA were more likely to be hyperactive, aggressive, anxious, or depressed. The behavior of girls appears to be more affected than the behavior of boys in this case, perhaps because BPA mimics the female hormone estrogen, which is thought to influence behavioral development.

Moms, pediatricians, and many consumer groups have been up in arms against BPA for years. The toxin, which helps harden plastic like the kind used for baby bottles and no-spill sippy cups, is also used to line the inside of food and soda cans. Women, using the power of their purse, were able to successfully pressure the manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups to eliminate BPA; many reusable water bottle makers have followed suit.

Unfortunately, most canned foods and drinks still come in cans tainted with BPA.

It’s time to rid all food packaging of this dangerous chemical. BPA should not be allowed in food packages produced in the U.S., and it should not be allowed in food packages imported into the U.S., either.

Eleven states, including California, Minnesota and Maryland, have already put their own bans in place, while France has prohibited BPA use in food packaging, as well. The U.S. should institute a nationwide ban as soon as possible.

That decision is up to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA is already in the process of determining whether BPA should be eliminated from baby bottles – even though industry, in response to consumer pressure, has already taken that step. FDA should widen its focus to include any container used to package food and drinks.

What you can do now:

You can protect yourself and your family by:

* choosing fresh food or food and drinks packaged in glass bottles, not cans or plastic bottles

* use reusable water bottles that clearly say “BPA free”

* make sure your kids only use cups, bottles, and toys clearly marked “BPA free”

Also: Sign this petition from MomsRising asking the Food and Drug Administration to ban BPA in infant formula packaging.

Related Posts:

How to Protect Your Family from Bisphenyl-A

BPA Banned from Baby Bottles. What About Other Chemicals and Other Products?

Fresh Food Wins Again

Little Girls Are Worrying About Bras When They Should Still be Playing with Play Dough

The post It’s Time to Ban BPA appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Said Environmental Working Group, the non-profit research institute that’s been advocating BPA-free products, “The action represents a critical breakthrough in protecting infants from the hazards of the synthetic estrogen and plastics component, which leaches easily into formula and food from BPA-laden food packaging.

“The industry agreement effectively recognizes that BPA is too dangerous for infants.”

At least as far as baby bottles are concerned. Says EWG, “there is much more to be done.  Other states and the federal government must take additional steps to see that this toxic hormone disruptor is removed not only from plastic baby bottles, but from the linings of cans for infant formula and other foods and from other sources of exposure such as sippy cups and bottled water bottles.”

“Today’s deal underscores the need for the Congress and the Obama administration to overhaul federal chemicals policy to protect infants and children from exposures to toxic chemicals,” said Environmental Working Group (EWG) Executive Director Richard Wiles.

“When the public is forced to rely on state actions to achieve nationwide protections, we know the federal system is broken,” Wiles said.

In their news release, EWG reports that U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) will soon re-introduce The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act in the Senate, with companion legislation to be offered in the House, according to California Congressman Henry Waxman (D).  The legislation proposes a major overhaul of federal toxics chemical law, requiring that manufacturers demonstrate that chemicals are safe for infants and children before they enter the market.

The Toxin-Free Toddlers and Babies Act sets an upper limit of 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) of BPA in bottles and cups. The measure also proposes to bar can linings and jars found to leach 0.1 ppb or more of BPA into any liquid, food or beverage designed for children 3 and under.

RELATED:

Check out these tips for keeping your kids’ toys safe from WhattoExpect.com.

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BPA, an artificial sex hormone, has produced irreversible damage in test animals. It has been under fire from environmentalists, scientists, and, increasingly, concerned moms.

FDA, the federal agency charged with regulating food safety, has argued that BPA can continue to be used in consumer products. The agency cites 2 studies indicating that the chemical is safe, despite the fact that both studies were funded by the chemical industry.

Environmental Working Group, the consumer watchdog research institute, says, “The FDA has refused to take into serious consideration more than 100 independent animal studies suggesting the toxic chemical could be linked to serious disorders in humans, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, early puberty, obesity and learning and behavioral problems.”

University of Missouri research scientist Frederick Vom Saal today released one of the most comprehensive studies ever published on BPA. The study links heart disease and diabetes to continual, low-dose exposure to BPA — exactly the kind of exposure you would get from drinking canned sodas regularly or drinking regularly from plastic bottles.

In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, scientists report a strong correlation between levels of BPA in American adults and these diseases, both of which are increasing.

“These startling results only increase the urgency of removing BPA from products used by young children,” said EWG senior scientist Anila Jacob M.D. M.P.H. “If the adult population in the U.S. is seeing links between this toxic chemical and heart disease and diabetes, imagine what impact much higher exposure levels are having on babies whose bodies are just developing.”

The National Toxicology Program, an arm of the National Institutes of Health, has asserted that it has “some concern” for BPA¹s negative impact on “development of the prostate gland and brain and for behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children.”

“If this weren¹t so serious, it would be laughable,” said EWG VP for Research, Jane Houlihan. “Here we have an agency that time and again makes the wrong call on everything from pharmaceuticals, tomatoes and toothpaste, and we¹re supposed to take them at their word over a toxic sex hormone found in baby products.”

Until state or federal laws pass outlawing BPA in consumer products, you can protect yourself by:

* minimizing your consumption of canned food and canned beverages, as BPA may be used to line the cans; choose fresh or frozen food and bottled juices instead

* buy only water bottles or baby bottles that explicitly say they are BPA-Free

* use glass baby bottles and reusable water bottles made from stainless steel or aluminum

* avoid plastic food and beverage containers that are made with #7 plastic; you should see the number in a triangle on the bottom of the bottle.

The post How to Protect Your Family From Bisphenol A appeared first on Big Green Purse.

A new study by Environmental Working Group has found a toxic ingredient associated with birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems in the lining of over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda and other commonly eaten canned goods.

The chemical is bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic and resin ingredient used to line metal food and drink cans. BPA is also found in plastic bottles, even baby bottles, and plastic food containers.

EWG’s lab tested nearly 28 different types of food. Chicken soup, infant formula and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. For 1 in 10 cans of all food tested, and 1 in 3 cans of infant formula, a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government’s traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals. Pregnant women and formula-fed infants may be at particular risk if they’re eating or drinking canned foods or beverages.

BPA is associated with several health problems and diseases that are increasing among Americans, including breast and prostate cancer and infertility. Given that almost 20% of our diet comes from canned food, the issue is not one we can afford to ignore.

What to do?

* Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.

* Buy pre-packaged food in glass jars, not cans.

* Eat a varied diet, reducing the amount of canned food overall.

* Breast-feed children as long as possible; use powdered formula rather than pre-mixed formula from a can.

* BPA is often found in #7 polycarbonate plastic.  Choose #1,2 or 4 plastic instead. Never microwave in plastic, especially food for kids. Use ceramic, glass or microwavable dishware.

* Use baby bottles made from glass, polyethylene or polypropylene plastic.

* Throw out old, scratched plastic bottles or food containers.

* Replace plastic wrap with paper, cloth, glass or stainless steel.

For more recommendations, read the full Environmental Working Group study.

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