Before the birth of my first child, my husband and I did ALL the research.  We read books on pregnancy, fetal development and the birth process. The desire to bring our child into the safest world we could create for him was really the driving force behind these preparations.  We searched for mattresses that weren’t treated with harmful chemical flame retardants, diapers that were good for his bottom and for the earth, and baby bath products that were safe and natural.

All these plans lead to the most wonderful day of our lives – October 5, 2008 – the birth of our sweet little boy Thomas.  It was an overnight labor and unexpectedly complicated birth but, he was here – healthy and beautiful – and we were blissfully exhausted.

The hours after Thomas was born were chaotic. As we transitioned into parenthood, our carefully prepared efforts for a controlled, peaceful experience were not quite the reality.

The bag I packed with organic cotton onesies, natural vegetable-based and unscented soap was missing (maybe it was in the car or still at home?), and in our hazy euphoria with Thomas in our arms we didn’t think much about it. I was surprised when the nurse took Thomas to the sink for his first bath so quickly.  My plan indicated that Thomas be washed with just water, or at least with the soap that we carefully chose for him but, before I knew it, out came the bottle of Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo – a product I knew to come up short of the natural standards I had set in advance - and Thomas was sudsy and washed and returned to me quickly.  I remember feeling like I wasn’t in control of what was happening and disappointed that my trusted hospital didn’t have the same standards of safety that I had.

Didn’t they know that J&J Baby Shampoo contained the carcinogens formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane, as well as chemical numbing agents to ensure their “no more tears” promise, and a list of chemical ingredients I couldn’t pronounce, let alone know the safety data on?

Just yesterday I read that, in response to pressure from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and its allies, Johnson & Johnson will be phasing out the formaldehyde-releasing preservative called quaternium-15 in all of its baby products worldwide. This is great news, no doubt about it. But I cannot understand why they allowed these harmful ingredients in what is marketed as a pure, mild product in the first place. Why does it take two years of consumer activism to get a company like J&J to start living up to their promise – especially when they already sell less-toxic formulas in other countries? How can they be a “#1 trusted” company if their track record shows that they are willing to keep toxic chemicals in their product for a savings of pennies per bottle? And lastly, when will this phase-out happen, and in the meantime, how many newborns will have their first bath in a stew of carcinogens?

Thomas’ first bath was like his ‘baptism’ into our toxic world and I know now that while there are opportunities for me, as his mother and protector, to limit his exposure to chemicals that may be harmful to his developing body, I can’t “shop my way” into a toxic-free world for him.  As long as untested, unregulated and unlisted chemicals were allowed into our consumer products, our children will be guinea pigs in this experiment in free-market consumerism.

I’m frustrated with the broken system that allows toxic chemicals into products intended for our most vulnerable population.  Children bear a higher toxic body burden than adults, and are more vulnerable to damage from toxic chemicals.  The only way out of this toxic mess is for parents and others to band together to support the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, and demand products that are known to be safe before they enter the market, that fully list the components and ingredients used to make them, and to have government oversight enforcing these safety standards.

Join me in demanding change by asking your U.S. Representatives to actively support the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011. And while you’re at it, please give J&J your two cents too!

Erin Boles

Interim Executive Director of Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, and Mom