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Sat May 17, 2008 1:04 am  |
Behind the Label: Calvin Klein 'Eternity'
What's the difference between perfume and pollution? Absolutely nothing. Perfumes may be sold as luxury items that enhance our wellbeing and sexuality, but at heart they are composed of neurotoxic solvents not dissimilar from those favoured by glue sniffers and volatile chemicals usually more at home in garages and industrial factories.
By Pat Thomas 
Date:01/11/2004
Author:Pat Thomas
As far back as 1986, the US National Academy of Sciences targeted fragrance ingredients as one of six categories of neurotoxic chemicals in need of thorough investigation. This placed perfume ingredients right up there with insecticides, heavy metals, solvents and food additives as primary causes of disease in humans. But government and industry have been slow to get their acts together.
Under EU legislation there are few restrictions and even fewer outright bans on the quantities or combinations of fragrance chemicals that may be used in cosmetics. A typical perfume contains a mixture of fragrance chemicals (often between 50 and 100) mostly derived from petroleum. These include benzene derivatives, aldehydes and many other known toxins capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system (CNS) disorders and allergic and asthmatic reactions. These substances can get into the body by inhalation or by being absorbed through the skin. When fragrance chemicals penetrate the skin they can be toxic to the liver and kidneys.
Still others accumulate in fatty tissue and leach slowly back into the system or are passed on to children via breast milk. Inhaled, they can cause sore throat, runny nose, sinus congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath, nausea, headache, dizziness, lethargy, mood swings and muscle pain. Perfume chemicals not only affect users but also those around them, and there are now urgent calls for second-hand scent to be considered in much the same light as we consider second-hand smoke.
There are environmental concerns as well, since fragrances are volatile compounds, which add to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Synthetic musk compounds, for example, are carcinogenic and potential endocrine disrupters. They are also persistent in the environment and contaminate waterways and aquatic wildlife.
The turnover of the fine fragrance market in the UK was £350 last year. Calvin Klein’s Eternity accounts for 3.1 per cent of the total market. Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration is considering a petition submitted by US environmental group the Environmental Health Network to have Eternity declared 'misbranded'. The basis of the petition is that none of the perfume's ingredients have been adequately tested for safety.
The ingredients of Eternity are fairly representative of those found in all modern perfumes. While most women perceive it as a romantic floral fragrance, the reality is quite different. Of Eternity's 41 known ingredients, 33 have no relevant safety data. Of the rest, data suggests they are toxic, irritant, sensitising (capable of causing allergic-like reactions), damaging to the CNS and carcinogenic. Accordingly, the campaigners want the label of this (and all other perfumes) to caution: ‘Warning: the safety of this product has not been determined.’
Ingredients
Benzyl Acetate: Synthetic fragrance (floral, fruity). Irritating to eyes and respiratory passages. Carcinogen, linked to pancreatic cancer.
Benzenethanol: Synthetic fragrance (sweet, floral, rose). Irritating to skin, eyes and upper respiratory tract. CNS disruption. Carcinogenic. Also affects bone marrow (the tissues that produce blood cells). Exposure can lead to aplastic anaemia, excessive bleeding, and damage to the immune system (by changes in blood levels of antibodies and loss of white blood cells)
Diethyl Phthalate: Solvent; carrier; fixative. Irritating to eyes and skin. CNS disruption. Causes fetal abnormalities. Sperm damage. Oestrogen mimic. Carcinogen
Eugenol: Synthetic fragrance (clove oil substitute). Irritant. Contact dermatitis. Also a common fungicide, pesticide and insecticide ingredient.
Ethyl linalool; linalool: Synthetic fragrance (bergamot, French lavender). Narcotic, CNS disruption. Commonly used in pesticides.
Alpha-Terpineol: Synthetic fragrance (floral). Highly irritating to mucous membranes. CNS disruption. Scientific data warns against repeated or prolonged skin contact.
Galaxolide 50: Synthetic fragrance (artificial musk). Hormone disruptor. Irritant. Carcinogenic.
Cyclopentadecanolide: Synthetic fragrance (artificial musk). Hormone disruptor. Irritant. Carcinogenic.
Benzaldehyde, 4-Hydroxy-3-Methoxy: Synthetic fragrance (vanilla). Irritation to the mouth, throat, eyes, skin, lungs, and the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea and abdominal pain. Kidney damage. CNS disruption.
Benzenemethanol: Solvent (carrier for other fragrance chemicals); synthetic fragrance (sweet, floral). Irritating to skin, eyes and upper respiratory tract. CNS disruption. Carcinogen.
Phenol, 2, 6-BIS(1,1-Dimethylehyl)-4-Methyl: Fragrance; antioxidant. Irritant. Potential carcinogen. Reproductive toxin. Also used as a pesticide.
http://www.theecologist.org/archive_detail.asp?content_id=873
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Sat May 17, 2008 4:06 am |
| I do not put perfume on my skin as it absorbs or so they say but heard years ago to spray into the air and walk in through it with eyes closed and I do have lovely smellling clothes we should not use any spray products on our skin and to save the envirnoment and perfume is my only spray i use |
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Sat May 17, 2008 8:41 am |
| I'm not surprised. I don't like perfume anyway. I keep getting perfume as a gift, besides buying a body spray or two at, say, the body shop I don't even buy it on my own. I barely use the perfume I have now. It definitely should not be overdone. |
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Sat May 17, 2008 10:55 am |
| OMG...it scares me.. |
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Sat May 17, 2008 10:56 am |
| There are so many wonderful and natural colognes and perfumes, that it's quite easy to avoid this stuff. It seems like most, if not all, of the cosmetics, skincare and fragrance for sale at department stores in one big mass of bad. |
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Sat May 17, 2008 11:26 am |
| Sassenach wrote: |
| There are so many wonderful and natural colognes and perfumes, that it's quite easy to avoid this stuff. It seems like most, if not all, of the cosmetics, skincare and fragrance for sale at department stores in one big mass of bad. |
Actually oddly enough, natural perfumes can contain even more damaging ingredients than the synthetic ones...
The article doesn't note that linalool, citronelle, etc are naturally occuring compounds in essential oils |
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Sat May 17, 2008 2:39 pm |
Isn't it awful. And being exposed to those toxins over and over again can eventually lead to chemical sensitivity. I have it pretty bad  A lot of the chemicals in perfumes are not even known to be in them. Companies don't have to list the ingredients because they are protected under the guise of proprietary formulation. This really needs to change. People have the right to know what they are putting on their bodies! |
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Sat May 17, 2008 5:37 pm |
| I also can not tolerate any perfumes with severe allergies and asthma! I run from the sales people standing with samples of their newest perfumes ready to spray as you are walking by! Because of this I am always scared to walk by the makeup and perfume counters! I think it is hard for people to imagine that something that smells so beautiful could be that toxic! |
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Tue May 20, 2008 9:06 pm |
| I agreed, I can't tolerate the smell either. However, I can use a little estee lauder on the back of my neck, just one dab last all day. |
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Wed May 21, 2008 7:07 am |
There are environmental concerns as well, since fragrances are volatile compounds, which add to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Synthetic musk compounds, for example, are carcinogenic and potential endocrine disrupters. They are also persistent in the environment and contaminate waterways and aquatic wildlife.
Are people dumping perfume in rivers and lakes? THis statement is vague and really makes no sense.
You have to take stuff like this with a grain of salt. I, for one, am not tossing out all my perfume. |
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