There is a problem brewing in America that is becoming an epidemic, and lots of people complaining. Unfortunately, there is no real action being taken that I can find.

Myself and others are tired of breathing artificial chemicals, particularly those lingering scents that came out on the market for consumer products in the last year or two. We don't have to purchase the products to be exposed – I can walk outside my house and get to breathe the newly advertised scents from my neighbors' dryer vents………in my yard. I can go to the supermarket and breathe the heavily scented laundry and consumer products oozing scents out of the boxes. It is so bad that myself and others have the pleasure of getting burning eyes, burning throats, swelling in our nose and throat, headaches, and some unfortunate customers…….have to experience asthma or COPD symptoms. It affects my concentration to the point where I could say that I have ADD for several hours until the chemical clears. The problem with scents/chemicals oozing out of peoples' clothes right now is so bad that on the beaches here in Florida, we smell that nauseating scent all over the beach, even when we go out to the ocean edge. Restaurants, public places? I just read a web blog complaining that their "beach town" is being overrun with this artificial, nauseating scented mess. It is all over. I am trying to be brief, but there is lots more that I could write about the issue.

I have done lots of research:

1. Taxpayers unfortunately pay too much tax these days (I am against personal income tax). However, if they take money from us to fund regulatory agencies, I expect some results. No U.S. government agency is overseeing the consumer products mentioned, including laundry. These consumer product corporations are not required to list the chemicals, either. I have contacted a large corporation producing laundry products, and was not given the chemical formulas for all their products. "Fragrance" – what is that? They do not disclose all of the ingredients because they are "proprietary."
   
2. Found no safety data published for these products, unlike pharmaceutical products with published safety data. However, when that chemical hits my nose, lies on my membranes, and is absorbed into my bloodstream, there is a chemical exposure issue. There are even ads on television for scents that "ooze" from your clothes. How about folks who do not want to be exposed to these chemicals? I found data supporting that ingredients in the laundry products are unsafe in a study out of Washington State U. in 2006.
   
3. I got an "apology letter" from the EPA recently for not regulating the emissions from these products into neighborhoods from the dryers. Myself and others literally cannot walk around the neighborhood to get fresh air – instead, we get sick. It is a major form of pollution right now.
   
4. I was reading that companies are now formulating cheap fragrances for consumer products intentionally to affect peoples' mood. They can make you eat more, purchase more, and there are some fragrances that blunt your ability to smell. Where is the FDA, or similar agency, involved with approving or at least investigating companies putting out fragrances that affect mood? Isn't that like a drug? They supposedly mask "bad smells." I have experienced that one, but again, no chemical name on the product packaging to identify it. I have experienced loss of concentration for several hours after exposure to the laundry products. Did I ask to be exposed to this stuff because I have to breathe air?????
   
5. Have you ever met anyone who says that they have fibromyalgia, migraines, COPD, asthma, and allergies? Combined, you are looking at over ½ of the American population. For all of these disease states, it is recommended to stay away from unnecessary chemical exposure and fragrances. (I don't have a medical quote on that one, but would be easy to find).
   
6. Cats and dogs have at least 50 times the ability to smell as humans. Some measurements are as high as 500 times that of a human. I was reading a recommendation to not allow your cat to use scented cat litter, or to allow pets in areas with artificial scents because it "stresses them." Myself and other humans have also experienced extreme sensory stress from these consumer products. It is hard to describe. Would only imagine what pets are experiencing with "plug-in" scented products in households – but of course, kitty can't talk. Would be interesting to interview an expert on smell/sensory.
   
7. Just read an article saying that 80,000 new chemicals have been introduced into American products recently, and no one knows exactly what the effect is on us. If plutonium has a nice smell, and "fragrances" are not regulated, can I package some and sell it? Hey, as a consumer product company with no real regulation on me, I can produce whatever I want to, regardless of the effect on the greater population. Why so strict on pharmaceutical companies? They spend millions of dollars generating safety data to be thoroughly reviewed by the FDA, and look for final approval pending notice from the FDA. Consumer product companies? So far, my research indicates that they don't look for approval. So, Mrs. Smith's dryer next door is spewing out chemicals from detergent, "softener," and dryer sheets, and I breathe the whole concoction as I work in my garden next door. Sort of like an asthma inhaler, but the company who made those products does not have to get FDA (or government) approval.

We wish that everyone would get on board with eliminating unnecessary chemicals in our environment. Lots of helpful hints out there on the internet:

1. laundry – don't need masking fragrances to be clean. Just use unscented soap in small amounts, or none at all. Recent Wall Street Journal article on this has a quote that the rubbing action of the washer may be enough for most peoples' clothes, with no detergent. For smells, pour in ¼ or ½ cup of white vinegar and/or baking soda. Both are cheap and natural, and more effective at odor elimination than potentially harmful masking chemicals.
   
2. "Laundry softener" – you only need that if you use lots of detergent per the manufacturers' instructions. If you use a small amount of soap, guess what, no stiff clothes.
   
3. Plenty of natural laundry products out there without any harmful junk in them, unscented, that are reasonably priced.
   
4. A smell in the house that you don't like? How about opening a window? Or spraying some white vinegar on the area? Or shaking some baking soda on it? Or maybe just getting to the root of the problem and cleaning the source