Not that kind of gas. It isn’t infrequent that I use the term off-gassing so let’s talk about what that means. You haven’t heard of “off-gassing?” Yes, you have, but you have heard it called “VOC.” Volatile Organic Compound. You have probably heard that VOCs are bad for you but didn’t give it much thought. I didn’t either. We have probably all heard that plastic is bad for us and if you are like I used to be, you take it with a grain of salt. I used to think it was just dirty patchouli-wearing hippies that freaked out about this sort of thing. (No offense to any dirty patchouli-wearing hippies who may be reading.) How bad can it be? It’s everywhere, right? So what’s the big deal? I can talk all day about all the ways that plastic is bad for us but in the interest of your time I’ll explain just this one today. Plastic is made from a mixture of fossil fuel (liquid petroleum gases, natural gas liquids, and natural gas) and polymerized carbon. Plastic “additives” are then added to create whatever type of plastic is needed. It’s basically a fossil fuel and chemical soup. You buy a product and bring it into your home, you take it out of the bag (because everything is sealed in a bag right?) and put it where it needs to go. Have you ever noticed a smell when you take a new plastic something out of the bag? A new small appliance, kitchen bowls or utensils, a shower curtain perhaps? How about that new car smell, new carpet smell, new mattress or furniture smell? It’s all VOCs. That smell is the chemicals that the product is made from. Even after the smell goes away it continues to release gas into the air that you and your loved ones breathe. Off-gassing is linked to over 180 human diseases and health conditions. Join me and the dirty patchouli-wearing hippies and start saying “NO” to plastic!
You want to read more about off gassing and VOCs?
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