Its not always nice to be right

New studies have shown the extent of dangerous compounds which can spread into even the brains of children, even babies. This shocking news is perhaps not anything we should be all too surprised by. Extreme pollution levels on a regular basis, even on Hong Kong’s best day we see high levels of pollution relative to clean air. We have to try and protect a developing brain from the effects of this pollution, the dangerous compounds which end up being found in the brains of even unborn babies is truly sad. Long have we held the belief that our product is a surefire way to keep a child from the harms of chemicals from other products, like dangerous paints. This news brings into sharp focus how important this is, but also, how many other things must be done to ensure child safety.

“Toxic air pollution particles have been found in the lungs, livers, and brains of unborn babies”

This comes from an article, linked HERE, which cites the work of Eva Bongaerts et al. and is predominantly focused on maternal exposure to pollutants during pregnancy. The findings at the end of the study are alas as interesting as they are grim. Pollutants inhaled by a mother can cross the placenta and enter a fetus’ circulatory system. The important investigation found that even in the fairly early stages of development, before 20 weeks, where organs grow and develop in a baby, black carbonaceous pollutants were numerous and widespread. Small black blotches of air pollutant particles on a not yet fully developed fetus.

The brain in particular of a child, is growing and developing at such a rate, that any disruption, big or small is most undesirable.

?

What does eicó have to do with all this? Like pollutants from the air, VOCs which occur naturally in a lot of products can be harmful in large volumes. Formaldehyde, APEO and even lead are also dangerous with too much exposure. So, why would we accept exposure, when an alternative exists. Why would we let vulnerable people, old, young or anything in between, be willfully exposed to these pollutants when we can stop it. Here’s the thing, as a citizen, there is perhaps not a lot that you can do about the industrial pollution, there’s not a lot we as individuals can do to clean the air today, without changes in policy and development of technologies, we can vote, buy sustainable products where possible, but I doubt the air quality will improve by these actions. However, in the immediate term, right now, today there are things you can do which will improve your local environment, improve the quality of your air inside you home in the immediate future. Here are some options. Get a snake plant, or to be honest, any leafy green indoor plant. Even small desk top appropriate ones perform a significant amount of some sort of air cleaning. Taking in carbon and pumping out oxygen, improving the air quality in its vicinity. Perhaps you could go so far as to get a larger plant and put it in any outdoor space you have, like a balcony or rooftop. An overall improvement of air quality is great, and an indoor plant is not an insignificant contribution to your health, even on a psychological level, seeing green leaves is calming to the mind and should not be taken for granted in todays world where one could go weeks without ‘touching grass’ as the young people say. More important and almost certainly more impactful in the short term however, is the adoption of products which simply do not contain high levels of harmful chemicals. At eicó we are really driven, genuinely interested in improving the health of our customers, keeping them from the dangers of harmful products which are rampantly used without much caution in large parts of the world.?

The new sustainability legislation from the EU read more HERE is probably going to be a net positive, but its not going to help us here in Asia and its not going to strongly affect the ingredients available to manufacturers of products like paint. Until there is legislation which bans or at least controls/discourages harmful chemicals, we strongly encourage looking out for yourself. In what way we can we will help, eicó is a trusted brand with an unwavering stance on safety, health and sustainability. Any eicó product you purchase is free from these chemicals which cause so much damage and harm to you and your family.