About Nukleus

Tuesday 29 April 2014

8 THINGS EVERY PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT CHILDREN'S RISK OF TOXINS...AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

image/GoGreenPenang/Pamela Nowicka

Every parent wants to do their best for their children. But how do you make those important choices? How do you factor in the potential benefits to your child in what you do for them? Nukleus has extensively researched this important issue...and we were concerned about what we discovered...

YOUNGER...AND MORE VULNERABLE
According to Pesticides and You, Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides
1) children are more susceptible to asthma and other respiratory problems.
2) in terms of food, children are more susceptible to environmental toxins than adults.)
image/GoGreenPenang/Pamela Nowicka
3) weight for weight, children eat more food and drink more water than adults, so they take in more pesticides and toxic chemicals relative to body weight.
4) their organ systems are still developing, so are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify hazardous chemicals.

BUT HOW DOES THIS EFFECT THE CLOTHES THEY WEAR?....CHILDREN’S SKIN ABSORBS MORE THAN ADULTS
Children are smaller than adults and so have a larger surface area to body mass ratio. The WHO’s (World Health Organisation) report Children Are Not Little Adults, says that children have a higher proportion of skin to body size. This means they have a greater ability to absorb substances through the skin than adults.

BABIES AND TODDLERS HAVE PROPORTIONATELY TWO TO THREE TIMES MORE SKIN AREA
Babies have a surface area to volume ratio three times that of adults and in toddlers the ratio is twice that of adults. Also, children tend to have more skin exposed and more cuts, abrasions and rashes than adults; this could easily lead to increased dermal absorption as a proportion of body weight.



WINDOWS  OF VULNERABILITY
Children are often at a different and increased risk from environmental hazards. Their developing organs have “early windows of great vulnerability” during which exposure to toxins can cause great damage. These have no parallel in adult physiology and create unique risks for children exposed to hazards. During these early years, exposure to even mild chemical irritants can have significant effects on respiratory development.

AND EVEN ‘INERT’ INGREDIENTS IN PESTICIDES CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS...

8) Glycophosate (Round-up): Glycophosate is one of the most commonly used pesticides. Exposure to glycophosate can cause asthma-like symptoms and breathing difficulty. Studies have linked “inert” ingredients in Round-up, to pneumonia, excess fluid in the lungs, and damage to mucous membrane tissues and the upper respiratory tract.

image/GoGreenPenang/Pamela Nowicka
image/GoGreenPenang/Pamela Nowicka
BUT MOST PARENTS ARE NOT AWARE OF THESE  FACTS AND HOW THEY CAN EFFECT THEIR CHILDREN!
SO WHAT CAN PARENTS DO TO SAFEGUARD THEIR CHILDREN FROM THE TOXIC SOUP IN THEIR CLOTHES?

THE NATURAL THERAPY PRACTITIONER
Local mum and cranial sacral therapy practitioner, Ms Mianjoo has two children, Qing Yun, 9, and his sister Huian, 3. ‘I know about issues like GMOs and pesticides in cotton because I lived in the UK. Public awareness in Europe is much higher compared with Malaysia. I understand the way they treat the cotton - bleaching it to make it white,dyeing and using chemicals in the factory, growing the cotton using so many pesticides which drain into the water sources for the local community...

‘I’m mainly concerned about the producers and the environment, though. I would go for organic cotton if it was available, but here it’s difficult. Even in the UK you have to go to special shops. It’s not readily available for the consumer.’

PINK...AND FLOWERS...SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
‘Cost is not so much an issue’, continues, Ms Mianjoo, ‘if it’s a luxury and a privilege, I’d think twice, but if it’s only ten to twenty percent more expensive, that’s fine for me. But I don’t want vey plain, or brown. Can it be pink? With flowers? Something beautiful? Why is organic dull and brown and plain?’

THE EXPAT MOMMA
An expat from the US, Laurel Stelzer, mother of Miles, 4 and Hazel, 2, has a blog, Penang Momma, offering hints and tips for expats. ‘I understand why, from an environmental perspective, people want to avoid chemicals for children and why they might choose organic cotton.’

She mulls it over. ‘Once it’s harvested, it’s very processed, probably quite a lot of chemicals unless it’s organic...I’m going to talk myself into buying! But I don’t really know what kind of impact it would have, or personal benefit to the child. And I hadn’t even thought about buying organic cotton underwear. I didn’t know it was available here. I rarely go to malls. There was a place in Gurney where I got a few things, but it’s not like I need to put my newborn in organic clothes...’

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
Nukleus is always seeking to improve our product range. As we have become aware of children’s vulnerability to environmental toxins, we have specially created a new range of organic cotton innerwear for boys and girls aged 5-12 years old.

New Oganic Chlidren's Range from Nukleus

Colourful and competitively priced, the innerwear, is available from ALL BMS OUTLETS NATIONWIDE AS WELL AS IE ORGANIC (PULAU TIKUS AND BAYAN BARU) AND JOY EARTH RETAIL SHOP.

Nukleus, the small brand with the big heart, caring for you, your children and the planet.