Green Cotton

Organic cotton shower curtain featured above in www.greenearthmarket.com

By Shana

The LA Times reported this morning that PVCs and other toxic chemicals are released from shower curtains according to a new study. This article is very timely as it falls just a few days after Green Cotton’s post on greening shower curtains and serves to confirm once again problems associated with certain plastic, vinyl curtains.

In this latest study, researchers tested the ‘chemical composition of five unopened polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, plastic shower curtains bought from Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart. One of the curtains was then tested to determine the chemicals it released into the air.’

As noted in the previous post, certain shower curtains contain high concentrations of PVCs and subsequently phthalates. Phthalates are linked to reproductive effects and other detrimental side effects. In addition, varying concentrations of organotins, compounds based on tin and hydrocarbons were found in the curtains tested in this study. In fact, one tested curtain released measurable quantities of as many as 108 volatile organic compounds into the air, some of which persisted for nearly a month.

To last 24 hours is one thing, but a whole month? I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not want to expose my bare skin in a hot shower for a whole month to waves of toxic chemicals.

Stephen Lester, science director for the center conducting the study and co-author, notes that seven of the identified chemicals — toluene, ethylbenzene, phenol, methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene, acetophenone and cumene have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous air pollutants.

Potential health effects from exposure to the chemicals include developmental damage and harm to the liver and the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems, according to the report.

Phthalates and organotins, which are not chemically bonded to the shower curtain, frequently are added to soften or ‘enhance’ the curtain. Lester further notes that chemical additives evaporate and cling to household dust more easily than the chemicals in the curtains themselves. Volatile organic compounds also evaporate more easily than the less harmful chemicals.

The LA Times writes, ‘vinyl chloride, which is a major building block of PVC, is a known human carcinogen that causes liver cancer,’ according to study co-author.

Furthermore, “[PVC] is a mess when you create [it], it’s a mess when you get rid of it, and it’s off-gassing when you’re using it,” says Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

So what is the solution?

See Green Cotton’s post on ‘Greener’ Showers Start with the Curtain’ for more details, but essentially, 1) don’t buy PVC curtains, 2) use shower curtains as long as you can and 3) buy green where-ever possible—organic cotton, recycled cotton, bamboo or other sustainable fibers.

Photosource: designspongeonline.com

By Erin Dale

My mother recently replaced her shower curtain. I caught her carting the old one toward the trash. “Wait!” I cried. “Can’t you at least recycle that thing?” Shrugging, she said, “I doubt it, but it’s disgusting and needs to go.” I cringed. It’s going, all right… to its new home, the landfill. “I hope you at least replace it with a fabric one,” I said. “Oh, I already replaced it. I just bought the same thing again.” Livid, I groaned “Mom, I wish you’d talked to me first!”

Is a shower curtain really worth obsessing over? Consider this: most shower curtains are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the nastiest of all consumer plastics. Producing it is energy-intensive, and the manufacturing releases carcinogenic dioxins and other harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. According to Christie Matheson in “Green Chic,” “About seven billion pounds of PVC are discarded annually in the United States and most recycling facilities won’t accept it, because recycling it is highly labor-intensive and potentially hazardous.” My town’s facility won’t take PVC; I checked.

So now my family has a brand new, perfectly smelly PVC shower curtain that will also get nasty and need to be tossed, and get even worse when it winds up in a landfill, leaching its harmful chemicals back into the ground… just like the last shower curtain, and all the others that have been innocently replaced over the years (see typical landfull below).

Florida landfill featuring plastics….photosource: static.flickr.com

The simple solution would have been to find an eco-friendly shower curtain, as there are plenty of options out there. However, this seemed too daunting for my mom. For some quick shopping tips, I found organic hemp shower curtains at rawganique.com.

According to this site, hemp is a durable and naturally antifungal and antibacterial materials for curtains. I’ve owned a few hemp products over the years (not a shower curtain, yet), and my only complaint is that the material tends to get ratty. I wonder how long it would take before I’d need to replace a hemp shower curtain? The good news is that, when I do need a new one, hemp is biodegradable.

Something less labor-intensive, perhaps, would be a curtain made from organic cotton. Cotton may not be as strong as hemp, but I’m sure it would wash a little easier (and it’s also biodegradable). Pristineplanet.com has a decent selection of organic cotton and hemp shower curtains, starting at $26 (nice) and going up to $139 (yikes!).

Matheson recommends gaiam.com for linen shower curtains. This would have to be my favorite choice; linen is always classy and gorgeous, and the site promises the curtain will last through many washings (for $59, one would hope so!). Linen is also more mildew-resistant than cotton.

For something tough that may never need replacing, try curtains made from pack cloth, a urethane-coated nylon fabric. Nylon, like PVC, has an energy-intensive manufacturing, but it will outlast a PVC curtain. Satara-inc.com boasts, “It may be the last shower curtain you ever own!” Theirs retails for $50, so purchasing one will definitely save money over the years; however, these are less attractive than the more pricey curtains made from organic fabrics.

You’ll notice, in general, that these sustainable curtains are far costlier than PVC choices, but PVC is costlier when it comes to your – and the planet’s – health. And don’t forget the perk of owning a fabric shower curtain— no more plastic-y smell! If you, too, already have a PVC shower curtain, don’t run out and replace it with an organic one. Use what you have (as long as you can stand the fumes!). Then decide on a product that’s worth it.

What do you think? Have you tried an organic or eco-friendly shower curtain?

What was the result? Does your town recylce PVCs? Let us know greencottonblog@gmail.com