The environmental group behind the Mind the Store Campaign is dead set on making products less safe.
That makes me mad. As a mother, I simply don’t understand why this group is so determined to take perfectly safe and reasonably priced products and make them less so—especially when many of the products the campaign targets are for kids.
Thankfully, the campaign’s first phase (to pressure retailers to take products off store shelves) failed miserably. That’s good news for consumers as compliance with this campaign would have resulted in thousands of products being pulled from the marketplace. It’s also good news for moms because what the Mind the Store Campaign fails to mention is that compliance with the campaign would have resulted in thousands of products being subject to redesign—a redesign that would have left these products far less safe.
Yet now is not the time to sit back and relax. The Mind the Store campaign isn’t giving up, it’s simply changing course. This week, campaign director Andy Igrejas asked the campaign’s Facebook followers to call on Congress to “protect the public from toxic chemicals.”
Oh please!
Put away your Erin Brockovich costume with the plunging neckline, Andy, and stop freaking-out moms. Seriously, it’s enough. Why don’t you tell moms the truth, for once? Look, I’ve even written these simple fact-filled sentences for you:
- Products sold in stores today do not contain toxic levels of chemicals. C’mon Andy…say it again, over and over.
- For these products to be toxic, children would have to actually eat, sniff, or inject into their blood stream their fire-retardant superhero pajamas, vinyl raincoats, or wrinkle free rompers. Maybe Andy knows of these pajama/raincoat/romper-eating, sniffing, mainlining kids. We don’t.
- Phthalates make toys less breakable…which makes them safer for accident-prone toddlers. Hey, Andy, did you know kids can die of choking? Weird, huh. Apparently kids put anything in their mouths—even dangerous shards of broken toy.
- Bisphenol-A (BPA) used in the lining of canned foods keeps bacteria out—you know, bacteria that kills kids. Hey Andy, have you ever heard of the word “botulism.” Pretty nasty stuff. Why don’t you crack open a history book learn a little something about canned food—namely, that it wasn’t always so safe.
- Flame-retardants in couch cushions and housing material will give little Johnny and his mommy, daddy, little sister Susie and doggie Buster a head start in escaping their house if it catches on fire. Hey Andy, did you hear about that plane that crashed…and didn’t burst into a ball of flames. You can thank the flame-retardant materials built into the walls, seats and carpet for that. Maybe your fellow alarmists – you know, the ones complaining about…wait for it…flame-retardants in airplanes will finally shut up. Doubtful.
We get it, Andy. You pay your rent and electricity bill by selling junk science to frightened mothers. But now it’s time we mothers stopped supporting Andy’s campaign of misinformation. Moms are sick and tired of the exaggerations, the deceptions, and the outright lies being told. We have enough to deal with; to worry about; to feel guilty about. We shouldn’t have to concern ourselves with the make-believe monsters that live in Andy’s head.
If you, like me, are tired of this constant alarmism, visit IWF's Culture of Alarmism website where you'll find the Mind Your Own Business letter. You can also tweet support to stores who have successfully pushed back on the radical environmental and public-health organizations behind the Mind the Store campaign.
Follow this link to sign the letter today.