PeaceKeeper Eco-Easy Nail Polish Remover

PeaceKeeper’s Eco-Easy(TM) Nail Polish Remover ($12) promises to remove even “the toughest nail polish” using only biodegradable and vegan ingredients without any synthetic or petrochemicals. The product includes “farmer-grown” ingredients such as natural fermented sugars, plus rosemary and spearmint. All after-tax profits are apparently donated to women’s health and human rights causes.

Not being able to chemically analyze the composition of the Eco-Easy Nail Polish, all we can do is turn to the ingredient list, which generally seems to support the product claims. The first and therefore most prominent ingredient is ethyl lactate, a mild solvent which generally seems to be safe enough that it is used in food additives.

The second ingredient is glycerin, again seemingly safe enough to be used in pharmaceuticals and even in food as a preservative or thickening agent.

The third ingredient is aqua, which presumably sounds fancier than water. 🙂

The fourth and fifth ingredients are mentha spicata (spearmint) and rosmarinus verbenone (a strong essential oil of rosemary).

That’s it. Five ingredients, all of them seemingly pretty harmless.

In fact, the ingredient list is so benign that it’s important to note that the nail polish remover is still dangerous if ingested. In fact, a warning notice emphasizes that the product is for external use only and advises to give lots of water and contact a poison control center in case of accidental ingestion.

We like that PeaceKeeper goes into detail about its ingredient lists on its website.

We also like the company’s No Nasty Anything(TM) policy. For the nail polish remover, that means no nasty odor, no GMOs and (as mentioned above), no synthetics or petrochemicals.

As a fan of silly puns, we even like the fact that PeaceKeeper calls itself a Cause-Metics(TM) company instead of a cosmetics company, although we do feel that the use of trademark symbols is a bit out of control.

PeaceKeeper gets props online from sites like mystyle.com for making eco-friendly cosmetics.

Now men who live with women (or perhaps men who live with other men who wear nail polish) know that ordinary nail polish remover is one of the most noxious substances you’re ever likely to encounter in the household.

If you’re looking for a way to clear a crowded room, just open a jar of typical nail polish remover and let the unlovely aroma waft forth.

A nice article on CareFair.com goes into detail about the risks of ordinary nail polish removers, especially the key ingredients acetone (which apparently can cause chronic bronchitis after repeated exposure) and toluene (which supposedly has been linked with memory loss and even birth defects).

We’re pleased to report that Eco-Easy Nail Polish Remover has none of the eye-watering, nausea-inducing odors or fumes of ordinary nail polish. From a distance, we couldn’t detect much of an odor at all. Get closer and all you smell are the pleasant scents of spearmint and rosemary (especially spearmint).

We still wouldn’t put our nose over the bottle – especially after reading that inhalation of concentrated ethyl lactate vapor can causes narcosis, which seems to be a fancy word for unconsciousness – but we wouldn’t feel compelled to flee the room if someone was removing nail polish using Eco-Easy.

And let’s just emphasize one more the importance of keeping this product away from children, who might be not realize that the product is for external use only despite the natural, biodegradable ingredients and the pleasant spearmint & rosemary odor.

Of course, a less-toxic product wouldn’t be much use if it didn’t perform as expected. We’re therefore pleased to report that Eco-Easy Nail Polish Remover does seem to do a great job removing nail polish (although we can’t say if the nail polish involved in the test qualifies as one of the “toughest” nail polishes that Eco-Easy promises to remove so well).

Where to buy:

You can purchase PeaceKeeper Eco-Easy Nail Polish Remover directly from the company’s website or offline at Whole Foods and health food stores.

Most Dangerous on the Roads?

Here are some Chinese bicyclists who have stopped at a red light. See - it's not that hard to do! (photo by Matthew Stinson/Flickr)

Who is most dangerous on the roads – car drivers or bicyclists?

From a weight and mass standpoint, cars are definitely more dangerous. In a collision between a car and a bicyclist, I think it’s safe to say the car will almost always win.

In fact, there is a ghost bike on the corner of my street that stands as testament to a child killed while riding a bike not too long ago.

New York City drivers, perpetually  frustrated by the congested roads and the slow pace of traffic, often take chances. As a pedestrian, I have been nearly hit countless times even when walking in the crosswalk with the light in my favor.

(To be honest, I have also taken stupid chances walking against the light.)

But while the majority of car drivers usually obey traffic laws, I have to say that bicycling around the city over the last couple of months has made me realize just how many of my fellow bicyclists routinely ignore the most basic traffic laws.

Bicyclists wanted to be treated with respect by car drivers, but they don’t want to have to play by the same rules. My two biggest pet peeves? Bicyclists who roll through red lights and bicyclists who go the wrong way down a one-way street.

Here's a bicyclist going the right way in a bike lane on one-way East 91st Street in Manhattan. Hint to other cyclists - if you're in the bike lane and all the cars are pointed toward you, YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY! (photo by bicyclesonly/Flickr)

The one-way street think really burns my biscuits, especially when there’s a bike lane going in the right direction only one street over. If a bicyclist rides the wrong way in the bike, his/her stupidity puts me in danger by making me veer out of the bike lane into traffic in order to avoid a head-on collision.

Like many things in life, a little respect and consideration for others would go a long way.

Give respect and you just might get respect. Play by the rules (at least the major ones), and car drivers might start to see you as another legitimate user of the streets rather than as an unpredictable, arrogant loose-cannon.

As an eco-minded cyclist, the behavior of other bicyclists particularly ticks me off because I think it reinforces in the minds of the majority that cycling is a behavior for loony daredevils and thus discourages people from biking. If more cyclists respected the rules, then the car driver or the bus rider might look over and think “Hey, that cyclist seems like a normal fellow. I could see myself doing that.”

So who is most dangerous? Car drivers by their nature or bicyclists by their behavior?

We want a lot from the powers that be – many of us want more bike lanes, bike paths, bike lockers, bikeshare programs, etc.

We’re only going to build broad support for these measures by convincing the rest of society that we’re not all self-absorbed egotistical maniacs. We need car drivers and public transport riders to see us as helping them – taking a car off the road or a body off the subway by choosing to ride our bike – not as a menace to everyone around us.

So like many other voices on the Internet, I’ll add my plea for bicyclists to slow down and take it easy. I know it’s a pain to break your stride, come to a stop and actually respect the red light, but try it!

Take a breath, watch the people strolling around, listen to the conversation or the music in the car next to you, gather your energy for the next bit of the ride.

The net result will be fewer accidents, less road rage and perhaps a few drivers in their cars and riders on the bus will even look at you and think, “That guy/girl seems alright. I could see myself doing that. Maybe I’ll try biking too!”

That would be good for cyclists and good for the planet.

PS – Brooklyn’s bike lanes seem relatively safe (at least compared to Manhattan’s streets), but separated cycle tracks would be even better! Check out the photos below to see a tiny section of cycle track being build at Grand Army Plaza near Prospect Park. Just a little bit of raised curb between cyclists and traffic can make a world of difference in the safety and comfort level of bicyclists (and maybe car drivers as well).

Protected cycle track under construction at the busy Grand Army Plaza traffic circle in Brooklyn, New York (photo by Aaron Dalton)

Protected Grand Army Plaza cycle track gives way to painted bike lane (photo by Aaron Dalton)

Quick Read — Summer Rayne Oakes has Style, Naturally

1GreenProduct.com is pleased to recommend the work of Summer Rayne Oakes, model, entomologist, environmental scientist and youngest member of the Board of Advisors for Discovery Network’s Planet Green.

To find out more about Summer, visit her website.

With all she’s got on her plate, it’s amazing that Summer also had the time to create the beautiful sustainable shopping guidebook – Style, Naturally.

The book is not only a stunner from a design/photography standpoint, it also has loads of eco-friendly product recommendations.

Some of our favorite items in the book include:

– Ecotints lip balm by Ecolips.

– Fair trade and organic fashion items from People Tree.

– Casual and comfy lounging-around clothes from Prana.

– Doy Bags made from recycled juice packs by a women’s cooperative in the Philippines.

New Balance 070 Eco-Preferred Sneakers

070 Eco-Preferred Sneakers from New Balance (photo via New Balance website)

I’m not a huge sneaker-wearer, but I dig the New Balance 070 Eco-Preferred shoes.

Maybe it’s because “070” is a numerical anagram for “007“…

Or maybe because 070 is one of the eco-friendliest sneaker options this side of Proxima Centauri.

The laces, webbing, rand, quarter, tongue and saddle apparently incorporate recycled polyester.

Meanwhile, New Balance says it has reduced the amount of solvents used in other synthetic parts of the shoe.

New Balance even used rice husks as a filler to reduce the amount of rubber in the outsole of the 070 Eco-Preferred shoes. You have to admire New Balance its smart use of a material that would otherwise be considered a waste byproduct of rice cultivation. And in a sort of karmic bonus, an article on Sierra Trading Post‘s blog suggests that rice husks may actually give a shoe better grip and traction on wet surfaces.

Water-based adhesives are used to join the upper and the sole unit, and New Balance says no paper stuffing or paper wrapping are used in packaging the 070. I can vouch for the fact that the pair of 070 shoes New Balance sent me for testing and inspection had no paper wrapping, though they did contain some sort of cardboard-like insert (presumably recycled and certainly recyclable) to keep the shoe from getting totally squashed or deformed in transit. The outer shoebox naturally is also recycled and recyclable.

070 Eco-Preferred shoes from New Balance (photo via New Balance website)

So the 070 shoes are Green, but are they comfy?

In two words – You betcha.

The uppers are incredibly light and breathable, while the sole is still solid, supportive and grippy.

I can see why other eco-bloggers (Brian Clark Howard at The Daily Green, Shea Gunther at Mother Nature Network) have also praised the 070 shoes.

Note that these 070 shoes should under no circumstances be confused with That 70’s Show, since one is a pair of eco-friendly sneakers and the other is a sitcom starring Twitterer Ashton Kutcher.

I’d call the New Balance 070’s design ‘funky’, but New Balance terms it ‘efficient’ – saying all the parts are designed to fit together like a puzzle and minimize waste.

The only piece of this puzzle that I’m missing — How come the 070 shoes are made in China but still carry an $80 price tag? I don’t mind paying $80 for a pair of sneakers – especially eco-friendly ones – but I’d really rather not pay $80 if I suspect the worker in question is getting paid a pittance.

But seriously, I know that Boston-based New Balance makes some of its styles in the USA. In fact, it’s probably the only major athletic shoe manufacturer that hasn’t totally abandoned its US factories. So if US workers are good enough to make ordinary sneakers, why not give them a chance to make eco-friendly sneakers?

Where to Buy:

Purchase online from New Balance – $79.99 for both men’s and women’s 070 shoes.

FYI, New Balance offers both free shipping (on orders over $50) and free returns through its Web Express online store.

Alternatively, purchase offline through a local New Balance retailer.

EcoSMART Organic Insect Repellent

EcoSmart Insect Repellent with organic essential oils

I love summer – warm weather, short sleeves, long days, plenty of time to frolic in nature.

Of course, ‘nature’ also includes insects. And while I am generally a live-and-let-live sort of guy, I’m not eager to share my blood with mosquitoes and other biting creatures.

Lots of people feel the same way, which is why insect repellant is so popular. But the main chemical used in most insect repellants – DEET – may cause various health and environmental side effects.

I mean, DEET is pretty strong stuff. At high concentrations, it acts as a solvent that can dissolve plastics and other synthetic materials. Here’s a scientific look at the DEET molecule along with an interesting discussion about how you could ‘dissolve the world‘ with enough DEET!

Of course, I would prefer not to dissolve the world (or potentially experience memory loss, weakness, fatigue, etc.).

So what’s a Green consumer interested in preserving his own health and the health of the planet supposed to do to protect himself from biting bugs?

Luckily, there are a number of eco-friendly bug repellants on the market. I had the chance to try one of them – non-toxic and organic EcoSmart Insect Repellent.

EcoSmart Insect Repellent’s formula includes organic essential plant oils including rosemary oil, cinnamon leaf oil, lemongrass oil and geranoil. The company claims the pleasantly aromatic concoction will repel mosquitoes, ticks, gnats and other critters for hours.

How well does it work? Well, let me start by saying that I live in New York City, where the air quality is apparently toxic enough on its own to kill off most insects.

In other words, I don’t have to worry about getting bitten much even when my skin is un-sprayed with any repellent.

That said, there are of course some green spaces and pools of standing water (pothole puddles?) where mosquitoes might breed and there have been cases of West Nile Virus in the city in recent years.

So when I’ve taken dusky walks in parks this summer, I have applied some EcoSmart Insect Repellent just as a precaution. Result? No bites.

(I wanted to take the repellent with me on a recent trip to test it in a less urban area, but with airline restrictions on liquids in carry-on baggage, I was afraid I would get my EcoSmart confiscated, so I left it at home. I was OK, but sure enough, my wife suffered several mosquito bites. Darn you, TSA!)

So would I recommend EcoSmart Insect Repellent to a friend?

I certainly feel like it’s much safer and more eco-friendly than DEET, especially for children. My parents – both of whom are organic chemists – seemed quite nervous about spraying my siblings and me with DEET-containing repellents when we were kids in suburbia with woods around our house. In fact, my parents switched years ago to using bug zappers and citronella candles (now classified as a mild repellent) to keep mosquitos at bay. Of course, we still got bitten some, but at least I didn’t suffer any rare neurological side effects…

From a usage standpoint, EcoSmart Insect Repellent is great. It has a pleasant smell (aromatic and lemony, but not overpowering) and asborbs quickly with no greasiness.

From an effectiveness standpoint, it worked fine in what I consider to be a low-risk setting, but I can’t say for sure how well it would perform in let’s say in a swamp where you’re sweating heavily.

I will say this: I think your choice of repellent should depend on your assessment of risks and conditions. If you live in an area where mosquitos and other biting creatures are just an annoyance, I would strongly recommend at least trying EcoSmart or some other non-DEET repellent. If you live in or are visiting an area where mosquitos carry malaria and can be a major health risk, I would think more carefully about my repellent choice. On the other hand, I would personally be very anxious about long-term applications of DEET, so if you’re planning on spending lots of time in tropical, mosquito-infested areas, I would definitely investigate all sorts of non-toxic repellent  and/or malaria prophylaxis options.

Don’t forget the risks from ticks either. Ticks are implicated in the spread of various nasty diseases including Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

So if you’re in an area where risks of tick-borne illness are high, you also want to use a repellent that works against ticks. The EcoSmart Insect Repellent claims to do that job too. DEET repellents have been shown to have some effectiveness against ticks, although sources such as the U.S. military apparently prefer an insecticide called permethrin that is actually applied to clothing (not skin).

Permethrin, of course, isn’t harmless either. Anything that can kill insects on contact probably will have some nasty qualities, and Pemethrin is no exception. The EPA says that the carcinogenic risks of permethrin for exposure to indoor treated surfaces, etc. were “above the agency’s Level Of Concern.”

In fact, prior to a Malaysian trip, I bought a permethrin spray thinking that I would treat my clothing with it, but quickly returned it to the store when I read the instructions on the spray can and saw that I would have to apply the product to clothing in an outdoor space where the clothing could be left for hours to dry. Something told me that would be a bit difficult in my high-rise Brooklyn apartment without any balcony.

Also, from an eco perspective, if permethrin kills ticks or mosquitos on contact, presumably it can also kill harmless or beneficial insects. Indeed, here’s what the EPA has to say on the topic:

Permethrin is highly toxic to both freshwater and estuarine aquatic organisms. Most agricultural, public health, and down-the-drain scenarios modeled resulted in exceedances in the acute risk quotient (RQ) for freshwater and estuarine fish, invertebrates, and sediment organisms. The agricultural and public health scenarios also showed the potential for chronic risks to estuarine and/or freshwater organisms. Further, there is a potential concern for direct effects to a variety of aquatic organisms.

and

Permethrin toxicity data show that the compound is highly toxic to honeybees, as well as other beneficial insects.

So…that sucks.

It seems to me that years ago, studies suggested that only high concentrations of DEET were truly effective at repelling mosquitoes, but I think more recent research has painted a different picture.

I found several studies cited online suggesting that natural substances from the Tauroniro tree or lemon eucalyptus oil also work quite well at repelling mosquitoes. Note that with some natural products, such as the lemon eucalyptus oil, you may need to reapply frequently for good protection.

Whatever product you choose, prevention and awareness are important components of protection from insect bites. You can often avoid mosquito bites by wearing long-sleeves and long pants (easier said than done in hot, humid climates) and staying indoors at times like dusk when mosquitoes tend to be most active. Some tick bites can be avoided by tucking pants into socks, staying away from tall grasses and wearing light colored clothing (to spot ticks crawling on clothes before they get to exposed skin).

Ultimately, the choice of the best insect repellent is a difficult question and one that each person has to decide for herself after weighing environmental risks and health risks from insect-borne illness and the repellents or insecticides themselves.

EcoSmart uses organic, essential oils to kill and repel insects

For myself, I’ll continue to use EcoSMART Organic Insect Repellent most of the time, but if I find myself in a situation where I’m extremely worried about the effect of a particular insect on my health, I may (guiltily) fall back on short-term use of a more toxic insect repellent or insecticide.

Meanwhile let’s hope that research bears fruit on efforts to find a vaccines for Lyme disease and  malaria. Information on availability of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever vaccine is somewhat contradictory, but the Encyclopedia Brittanica seems to suggest that such a vaccine does exist.

After all, it’s the pathogen the insects carry that’s most worrisome – not the insect bite itself. If I were protected against the pathogen, I would certainly shy away from the synthetic pesticides and rely exclusively on natural insecticides and repellents.

Meanwhile, I heartily encourage all readers to do their own research and try to stay abreast of the latest studies on the efficacy of natural alternatives to synethetic repellents and insecticides like DEET and permethrin.

Protecting our health is important, but we shouldn’t be cavalier about damaging the ecosystem or hurting beneficial insects and aquatic organisms in the process.

Where to Buy:

You can purchase EcoSMART Organic Insect Repellent directly from the EcoSMART website ($7 for 6 ounces) or in a 2-pack from Amazon.com.

EcoSmart Value Bundles provide savings on natural, organic insecticides and repellents

EcoSMART also sells a variety of insecticides based on organic plant oils including a Flying Insect Killer (peppermint oil, cinnamon oil and sesame oil – $8 for 14 ounces), Ant & Roach Killer (rosemary oil and cinnamon oil – $8 for 14 ounces – also supposedly works on silverfish, spiders, pill bugs and other crawling insects) and a Wasp & Hornet Killer (peppermint oil and a dash of 2-Phenethyl Propionate, $8 for 14 ounces).

I would certainly give any of these insecticides the first shot at handling any insect problem before using any insecticide that might have toxic effects on humans or other animals. I’d also point out that with some good preventative efforts (tight-fitting screens on windows, prompt trash removal, cleaning up crumbs and spills), you should be able to reduce the presence of insects in your home without any pesticide at all.

FYI, all the EcoSmart products the company sent me for review were labeled as Made in the U.S.A.

Note that EcoSmart also makes products using natural ingredients to tackle garden fungus and weeds.

If you want more information on EcoSmart products, I highly encourage you to check out the company’s informative website and/or read EcoSmart’s valuable blog that’s chock full of useful tips on protecting yourself, your home and your plants from various insects. I like how EcoSmart points out first how many insects are really benign — a refreshing viewpoint from a company that makes insecticides and repellents.