Extra, extra ~ read all about it!

The headline reads: “New Online Company Offers Non-Toxic Products for Home and Health.” True Goods is honored to be featured in the October 2013 issue of our local newspaper, the Front Porch. The full article by author Laurie Dunklee is reproduced here for our readers.

The fine print list of ingredients on personal and household products can be daunting.

Which ingredients may be toxic? True Goods, a new educational website and online store, aims to remove the guesswork, according to Founder & CEO Elizabeth Wasserman. “It takes time to research ingredients and find non-toxic products. We do the hard work so our customers don’t have to,” said Wasserman.

True Goods, launching in October, is an online company that offers “a selection of household goods and personal care products that have been rigorously investigated and held to our unparalleled safety standards,” according to a company fact sheet. The company website will feature product information, articles and resources to inform consumers about what they are buying.

Wasserman started the company with mission and a passion to help people lead a safer life,” she said. Wasserman, a licensed clinical social worker, saw a need for the company while working with families and kids who were sick and often on medication.

“I saw a need for prevention, to get to the beginnings of problems before people get sick.”

Her desire to help families coincided with the need to remove toxins from her own home. “My 2-year-old daughter wasn’t hitting her developmental milestones, including language, coordination and motor skills. She had digestive problems. It became clear that in order to get her system in good working order it was necessary to remove the toxins—from her skin, her food, her environment. Once we were able to do that, she dramatically improved,” Wasserman said.

Creating a toxin-free home environment wasn’t easy, though.

“I was at Whole Foods every day, looking for shampoos and other products without toxic ingredients. I was on ewg.org, a nonprofit that researches the safety of products, every day. I thought, ‘This shouldn’t be so hard - I don’t have time for this!’ I decided to make it easier for other people to find healthy products.”

True Goods will sell household, personal and pet products, as well as specialty food items, clothing and health products. Wasserman said True Goods aims to remove barriers to change once a person has made the decision to lead a safer, healthier, more socially conscious life.

Barriers include the volumes of conflicting information available.

“It’s not clear to most people what ingredients are the worst - what to worry about and prioritize,” said Wasserman. Another barrier is accessibility to safe products. “We’ll offer the safest products, along with information. Customers can learn and shop in the same place.”

Products meet safety standards based on research.

“Our product research comes from peer-reviewed journals and scientific studies,” said Wasserman. “None of it comes from somebody’s blog. It’s never based on our opinion.”

Wasserman recommended five top items to change:

1. Switch from antiperspirant to deodorant, and make sure it’s non-toxic.
2. Pick one shampoo/body wash for the whole family. Using one good product saves money.
3. Choose a safe body lotion because it stays on your skin.
4. Get an all-in-one household cleaner. Reduce your quantity of products and spend your money on one good one.
5. Pet shampoo. Wash pets in something safe and don’t use human shampoo.

Wasserman also recommended five no-cost options to help detoxify your home:

1. Ditch the plastic. Plastics leach, especially when heated. Drink out of glass cups and heat food on non-plastic plates.
2. Open the windows for 5-10 minutes each day. Indoor pollution is more toxic because of chemicals used to manufacture furniture and dry clean clothes, among others.
3. Take your shoes off at the door to avoid tracking in pesticides, heavy metals and germs.
4. Prepare your own meals. Less packaging equals less processing and preservatives. Whole ingredients mean less fake stuff.
5. Purchase used when possible (cars, clothes, toys). Harmful chemicals could be washed out and off-gassing of manufacturing chemicals such as formaldehyde may be finished.

“Where we put our money matters.”

Wasserman says shopping healthy goes beyond our own homes and families. “Don’t put money into companies that put out toxins. Companies change because they are losing customers. Shopping allows you to be an advocate; it’s the perfect vehicle for change, for doing good in the world.”