Cross-Dresser

From personal experience, I've found that people who are really into fashion are really intense about it. Scarily so at times. I've known some to place it above all else, as if they would "die for fashion!" First, I don't think that this is normal, acceptable or healthy. Secondly, new research suggests that it's not healthy for everyone else either.

A Greenpeace investigation has discovered a chemical called nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) in clothing made by 14 major brands, including Adidas, H&M, Converse and Abercrombie and Fitch. Oh, and NPE just happens to be highly toxic. NPE breaks down to form nonylphenol in water, which disrupts hormone levels and has been known to cause fish and amphibians to change gender.

Due to its persistence in the environment, nonylphenol builds up in each level in the food chain, much like the bioaccumulation experienced with DDT. And in case you are rather apathetic toward fish and frogs,this bioaccumulation means that humans receive the highest dosage of toxins and can suffer from hormone imbalances as a result of eating contaminated fish and drinking contaminated water.

NPE is banned from use in textile production in the EU but in China and other Asian countries such as Vietnam (where many global clothing brands source their products from -big surprise) lax restrictions mean that NPE is widely used in the dyeing process.

Some of the clothing labels named in Greenpeace's study have retaliated, with many disputing the significance of the findings. H&M have claimed that the because the methods used for testing NPE levels are "uncertain", studies such as Greenpeace's that rely on a low threshold of contamination are not viable. 'Since the level of the findings stated [by Greenpeace] are very low, you cannot show that our products contain nonylphenol ethoxylate,' the company said in a statement to the journal Ecologist.

Adidas has also pointed out that the NPE levels found by Greenpeace in their own products were all below 100mg/kg. In comparison, one Converse t-shirt in Greenpeace’s study was found to have 27,000mg/kg. 'The concentration was well below our own threshold,' Katja Schreiber, an Adidas spokeswoman, told the Ecologist. Schreiber did, however, add that the findings were, 'a clear sign that we need to continue to work in decreasing the amount of chemical substances in our products.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "cross-dresser" if you ask me.

American Wasteland

It's been a while since I've posted anything, and all I've got to show for it is another book. While spending my summer as a "sustainable agriculture intern" at Gorman Heritage Farm, I found some time to read this book, which delves into just how Americans manage to send so much (eatable) food to the landfill every single day.

Jonathan Bloom's chronicle of waste from farm to fork shows just how lengthy and extended out food production and distribution process is, and how waste occurs with every step. From waste in the fields (some crops are actually not harvested due to low market prices or "suspect quality") to mishaps in transportation to distributers and then retailers, a gros amount of veggies don't even make it to your grocery store. And then, in order to maintain an image of bounty and peak freshness, retailers cull what they've bought, with the belief that the consumer won't buy unless it's perfect. And to be honest, this is partly true. Society has conditioned consumers to think of fresh fruits and veggies as only meeting a certain standard to be edible. This means that cucumbers that are too long or to short, and peppers that are "misshaped" and pears that have harmless spots are thrown out while perfectly edible, simply because they will be passed over by the consumer in search of "pretty food."

Then Bloom examines waste at the level of the individual. At restaurants (which waste large amounts of food in the form of day-old bread, leftover specials and mistaken orders, themselves) diners are served enormous portions of food that they often leave on their plates to be thrown in the trash. And survey research shows that many of those who do take a doggie bag of leftovers, often just throw them away at home later. And speaking of leftovers, apparently the distaste for reheated meals extends beyond the restaurant, with the rest of that cassarole being thrown out the night of, or its moldy and long forgotten guise being thrown out the week later.

He also points out that our shopping and cooking habits aren't exactly conducive to using up all of our food before it becomes inedible. Our large refridgerators accomodate our overfilled shopping carts, laden with food that will not be eaten before it goes bad, or will be lost and forgotten in the fridge while you go out an buy some more. Given that fewer and fewer households cook the way they did in slimmer times (think 1930s Depression era) we often don't know how to use what we have creatively and will buy special ingredients for a recipe we make once and don't know what to do with the rest. And then there's our confusion with "sell by" and "best by" dates on the label.

Throughout his work, Bloom hits on the many ways americans waste almost half of the food we produce/buy (a Rose Bowl full of food every day) and the consequences such waste has. In addition, he also explains just why not all this edible food is not going to those who need it. Health code laws, underfunded agencies and the sheer bulk and perishability of the food that is discarded make it impossible for it to get to the hungry.

Ending his book not with lament, but with a positive, procative approach to what we can do to reduce potable food waste, Bloom's work is enlightening as well as empowering. Too many downers in books covering environmental issues nowadays, if you ask me.