With the exception of natural products, virtually all scented household cleaning product use artificial scents because they are cheap and easy to produce. Pound for pound, a natural scenting agent can cost as much as four thousand times its synthetic version!

Unfortunately, some 84% of the ingredients used in today’s synthetic fragrances have never been tested for human toxicity or have had only minimal testing. In a list of 2,983 chemicals used by the fragrance industry, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health identified 884 toxic substances capable of causing breathing difficulty, allergic reactions, multiple chemical sensitivities, neurological damage, and other serious maladies.

Key among these toxins are petroleum-derived VOCs, which are the actively “smell-able” components of virtually every synthetic fragrance. Other hazardous components of synthetic fragrances include phthalates, which are added to fragrance formulas to make them more “smellable,” and synthetic musks, which research suggests may be endocrine disruptors and immune system toxicants.

Our advice? Use products that are free and clear of synthetic fragrances, or those that use only natural oils for scent. Click here to learn how Seventh Generation created its new line of natural scents.