In our
blog group we were all on the same page regarding the need for transparency in
labels that only state “fragrance” and also how beneficial a fragrance free
policy would be. Kera mentioned the problem with companies being able to hide
behind the protections under “proprietary information” and that their refusal
to disclose actual ingredients is a major problem and should not be allowed. I discussed
the fact that it would be a great challenge to
implement a universal fragrance-free policy within institutional settings
because so many of our current personal care products have fragrance. In
addition, when we have multiple products on at once this will increase the
amount of fragrance we absorb and also emit in the environment. This is
especially concerning for vulnerable populations like children, elderly, and
those with a compromised immune system or chronic lung/breathing disorder or
allergy.
All hospitals should initiate a fragrance-free policy and
require that all staff do not use products that contain fragrance, especially
perfume or body spray products. Daisy shared her experience working at Kaiser
which currently has a fragrance-free policy. She also had a great idea for a
policy that would mandate the EPA to test products with fragrance before they
are put on the shelves. Carmen also
agreed that an ideal chemical/fragrance policy should enforce the use of
products that omit the use of toxic chemicals and strong fragrances. She
also mentioned using environmentally-safe cleaning products at all workplaces
and the need for all around stricter policies to control toxic chemicals that
are included in fragrances.
Hi Marisa,
ReplyDeleteI loved being able to collaborate with you and our other group members. I thought that everyone had really great and thoughtful ideas. I feel like all of our different experiences allowed us to contribute meaningfully to the topic and devise a policy to help lessen the negative health effects of fragrances.
Great post!
Kera
Hi Marisa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed everyone's contributions to this group assignment. To get rid of fragrances would be challenging, but to come up with a list of ingredients that would work as environmentally-safe replacements might be our best bet. Thanks for sharing!
Carmen
Hello Marisa,
ReplyDeleteI think the fragrance-free policy is doable in healthcare institutions because there is more leverage with ill people and how the odors can impact their health. I also think we are slowly moving towards that direction because fragrance is starting to impact more people. All the different perspectives we came up with can derive ideal policy to reduce fragrance exposure.