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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHey, You Know Those Fragrances Stores Use to Lure You Inside?
No One Seems to Know What They're Made Of or How They Affect Your Health. Have a Nice Day.Source: The Stranger
The first thing you notice upon approaching Alderwood Mall is the smell. It hits you before you even open the door, and quickly envelops your entire being. Once inside, the olfactory assault comes at you from all angles: the baking brown sugar emanating from Mrs. Fields Cookies, the warm bready pretzels arising from Auntie Anne's, the cinnamony sweetness wafting out from Yankee Candle. This is no accident.
Retailers are increasingly using scents as a way to entice customers into their stores. An article earlier this year in the Wall Street Journal noted that the fragrances that businesses diffuse through heating and air-conditioning vents have become key elements of those businesses' brands. Even hotels, apartment buildings, hospitals, and gyms have gotten into the "scent marketing" game.
Many of these scents are produced by ScentAir, a Charlotte, North Carolinabased company that claims to be "the largest and most experienced scent provider," operating in 105 countries with more than 40,000 "deployments." Phone calls and e-mails to ScentAir weren't returned, but its website details the emotional value embedded in fragrances.
... Anne Steinemann conducts research on pollutant exposures and related health effects. After studying about 50 types of fragrance products, she has begun to worry about the impacts these manufactured scents may have on our health. She says fragrances are a mixture of several dozen to several hundred primarily synthetic chemicals. What's troubling is that we don't know exactly what they're made of.
Read more: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/hey-you-know-those-fragrances-stores-use-to-lure-you-inside/Content?oid=21093207
KT2000
(20,544 posts)Anne Steinemann's site.
http://www.drsteinemann.com/
It is one thing to shop for a few hours but workers are exposed every day. Not good.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)The smell of acetone and other solvents prevents me from spending more than a minute inside one.
Some potentially hazardous chemicals, the types of products they can be found in, and how they can affect a worker include:
Acetone (nail polish remover): headaches; dizziness; and irritated eyes, skin, and throat.
Acetonitrile (fingernail glue remover): irritated nose and throat; breathing problems; nausea; vomiting; weakness; and exhaustion.
Butyl acetate (nail polish, nail polish remover): headaches and irritated eyes, skin, nose, mouth, and throat
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), (nail polish): nausea and irritated eyes, skin, nose, mouth, and throat. Long-term exposures to high concentrations may cause other serious effects.
Ethyl acetate (nail polish, nail polish remover, fingernail glue): irritated eyes, stomach, skin, nose, mouth, and throat; high levels can cause fainting.
Ethyl methacrylate (EMA), (artificial nail liquid): asthma; irritated eyes, skin, nose, and mouth; difficulty concentrating. Exposures while pregnant may affect your child.
Formaldehyde (nail polish, nail hardener): difficulty breathing, including coughing, asthma-like attacks, and wheezing; allergic reactions; irritated eyes, skin, and throat. Formaldehyde can cause cancer.
Isopropyl acetate (nail polish, nail polish remover): sleepiness, and irritated eyes, nose, and throat.
Methacrylic acid (nail primer): skin burns and irritated eyes, skin, nose, mouth, and throat. At higher concentrations, this chemical can cause difficulty breathing.
Methyl methacrylate (MMA), (artificial nail products, though banned for use in many states): asthma; irritated eyes, skin, nose, and mouth; difficulty concentrating; loss of smell.
Quaternary ammonium compounds (disinfectants): irritated skin and nose and may cause asthma.
Toluene (nail polish, fingernail glue): dry or cracked skin; headaches, dizziness, and numbness; irritated eyes, nose, throat, and lungs; damage to liver and kidneys; and harm to unborn children during pregnancy.
For a broader list of potentially dangerous chemicals that may be found in nail salons, read EPA's Protecting the Health of Nail Salon Workers (PDF).
KT2000
(20,544 posts)unfortunately they are often operated by people from other countries and all they have are dust masks!
reflection
(6,286 posts)And I always drop a capture hood just to the side of each station, one that leads to an exhaust fan. The owners complain sometimes, because of the added cost, but I never budge off the design. Those chemicals are no good. If the owner elects to do away with them, I make them sign a release form absolving me of any claims due to deviation from design. You hate to dig in your heels but sometimes it's necessary.
pnwmom
(108,925 posts)was going to her senior prom, but after that we both vowed -- never again! What a stinky place.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)And we get the fragrance package. It's only 40 bucks extra. It smells so good for months. We have neighbors in our community getting it now too. It is wonderful and highly recommended. No headaches or anything. Just a wonderful fresh smelling house. Selling a house? Do this and you will get top dollar!
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Contain chemicals that cause cancer, then it probably contains chemicals that cause reproductive harm to a developing fetus.
Or maybe it contains both.
And then people wonder why one out of eight American women gets breast cancer, our pets live to be eight years old, and then die of rare bone cancers, and other atrocities of modern life.
KT2000
(20,544 posts)ask for a complete list of ingredients in the product. Then, look up those ingredients on the internet. Try these:
http://www.healthandenvironment.org/tddb
http://www.extonet.orst.edu/
Bette R. Daize
(43 posts)...you will only see it listed as "fragrance." Companies are not required by law to list the chemicals that make up their fragrance as it is considered to be proprietary. That is no accident. Companies are given a free pass on this matter so there is no way you can be an informed consumer. Unless maybe if you pay to have a lab analyze it but maybe then you would be sued by the company for trying to steal their formula. Understand that the ingredients, mostly petrochemicals, are rarely tested for safety. Anyone who pays for that crap is giving companies permission to play Russian Roulette with the health of themselves and their loved ones. And not to mention coworkers who have no desire to be exposed to someone else's toxic soup but have no way to avoid the fumes for 8+ hours a day. Aren't we exposed to enough pollutants as it is in this modern life?
KT2000
(20,544 posts)of this. People have to start asking for that information though, even if they will not give it. Eventually consumers will realize they have something to hide.
A lot of products will have partial lists and that may get them started in learning about how chemicals are affecting the public's health.
We can't sit back - we are all being impaired by these products.
Bette R. Daize
(43 posts)But I wouldn't waste my time requesting information from companies that they shouldn't be ashamed to list in the first place.
Buy organic products that do list their ingredients. And we have to learn to read the labels carefully. "Natural" means absolutely nothing. And products that are "70% organic" means just that. The other 30% could still be the worst toxic chemicals imaginable. All this is meant to mislead, so reject it.
We do have the power to change this.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)You almost had me.
malaise
(267,827 posts)writing about the smell of everything and predicting just this day.
Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)that it sells faster on the market.
As someone who associates smell with memories as much, if not more, than sight, I'd believe it.
llmart
(15,501 posts)but then that might be too "old timey" for some
csziggy
(34,120 posts)That will produce a nice smell with little work and give the same feeling.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)and had coffee made in a big commercial pot.. We sold it that day
More than a couple of realtors asked for my recipe for the cinnamon rolls
I bought my house because of the secluded location, but the owner's corn bread muffins are still etched in my mind--sitting there on the counter, fresh from the oven.
Cher
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Petitioned the FDA to place warning labels on Calvin Klein's Eternity perfume.
One member of the Network, Barb Wilkie, undertook a complete study of the ingredients in just that one perfume. The reuslt was a book that was over 170 pages long, and detailed the health impacts of over fifty separate chemicals.
Among the many items in the perfume is this one: 3,7 Dimethyl-trans-2,6-octadien-1-yl-acetate, about which the MSDS stated, "The toxilogical properties of this chemical have not been investigated." Part of the same MSDS also proclaims that an individual should "avoid contact with skin or eyes."
There are fewer than 500 hundred chemicals that have been investigated with enough thoroughness in enough research studies that any human would have general knowledge of what the chemical compound was, whether the chemical in question was benign or toxic, and if toxic, what its effects would be.
Most chemicals fall into the same category as the chemical named above. And then that person would know even less with regards if Chemical A can and should be used in conjunction with Chemical B. Yet if one perfume contains over 50 significant chemcials, a thinking person realizes how we really are in the dark as to what these things are doing to us.
And with corporations claiming a greater hold over "modern day science" every moment of every week, we cynics know that two research studies now proudly proclaim that "mercury is good for the developing brains of babies." (A proclamation that real scientific investigators from back in the 1930's would certainly have a problem with, if htey were still around to take up the cause.)
tritsofme
(17,325 posts)brer cat
(24,402 posts)I have asthma, but even if I didn't the scents would drive me away.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)the smells wafting from all that dye make my eyes burn and my nose run..
They use formaldehyde to set the dye..
brer cat
(24,402 posts)I couldn't stay in the lab with the formaldehyde long enough to do my work. I temporarily removed (sounds better than stole) the frog I was to dissect, took it to the dorm and ran it through a washing machine. It actually helped some, although some of the parts were a bit hard to identify.
I avoid fabric stores also, but I don't know if they still use formaldehyde.
Wella
(1,827 posts)All to make you spend money.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)for Hillary.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)One word names are de rigueur.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)if you can taste they don't want your business: they want repeat customers
DRoseDARs
(6,810 posts)Fecal matter? Really? Out of the mouth of a 17-yr-old boy? Right. Quote what he said or don't quote him at all.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)I can't even go into the mall without having autistic sensory overload because of the god-dammed perfume!!!
tabbycat31
(6,336 posts)(Bath and Body Works). We were given a (concentrated) bottle of room spray (for sale at the store) and instructed to spray it in the hallways to attract customers. Security was onto us and we had to do this when a guard was not nearby.
This came from corporate, not from the individual stores. We had complaints (mostly from security) but we were powerless.
Bette R. Daize
(43 posts)...is nothing short of an ASSAULT.
Unfortunately, it appears to be standard practice when it should be a crime.
And by the way, if I was house hunting and entered a house that was spewing chemical imitations of comfort foods, I would not go any further than the front hall. I would consider it a toxic waste site and exit immediately.
Don't you think it is time to push back on this industry that is both totally frivolous and dangerous?
tabbycat31
(6,336 posts)I don't know if you've worked in retail in the 21st century, but unless you're working for a Mom and Pop, everything is controlled by corporate. We could pass customer feedback up the chain but rarely would anything get done.
If we didn't spray outside in the halls, we would lose our job.
Bette R. Daize
(43 posts)The big picture is what matters.
However, trying to fight the laws that allow these toxic fragrances are nearly pointless as an army of chemical industry lobbyists will spring in to action.
The way to fight back is with the wallet. Don't buy the crap. If they can't and/or won't list all the ingredients clearly on the label, avoid it. If it doesn't sell, they will stop producing it. Educate your friends and family about the hazards of these products.
As for the stores that spew fumes to "lure" customers, refuse to patronize them and don't hesitate to tell them why. Tell your local mall owners you are forced to shop online now because the fumes are unacceptable in their properties.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,280 posts)I hate them, especially the food-scented ones, like vanilla or cinnamon. I've found a few pine-scented ones that aren't too bad but most of those scents make me want to Yankee Candles are the worst.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)now I have to stay out of fabric stores and even doctors' offices. I get a headache each time I go to the Doctor.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,280 posts)Especially scented candles.
Renew Deal
(81,802 posts)And all of the cashiers wear musk vests.
Initech
(99,915 posts)hollysmom
(5,946 posts)I actually shop in stand alone outlet stores (or used to, they are all moving away from the warehouses now going to outlet malls. ) I live where there used to be an IFF International fragrances and flavors plant - thankfully not gone, when the wind came this way I started getting sick. I have a sensitivity to scents now. Have to buy fragrance free everything but - about 15 years ago, I started getting anxiety attacks in malls. I liked to shop in Macy's but avoided the sprayers, Now I can't go near that place. I think the anxiety attacks are due to scents in the buildings, I tell people they are feeding them chemicals to make them irresponsible spenders, ha ha . Oh and please someone tell people that scented candles are not good christmas presents for everyone. - My sister-in-law - who does not listen to me - gives me 2 things every Christmas - scented candle s and pierced earrings ( no holes in my ears never were , never will be)