Today we are going to talk about two elements commonly created or used as part of creating supplies you find in your kitchen: chlorine and dioxin. Most people know that paper, in its natural state, is light brown in color. In order for it to be that bright white we are used to seeing, it has to be bleached. When paper is bleached at a paper mill, the waste left over is sent into our lakes and rivers. I think many people think that this sort of dumping must surely be illegal, or something that hasn’t happened in a few decades. NOPE! It’s still happening now, and it is terrible for the environment.

Aside from the negative impact to the environment, it also has a negative impact on people. Check out the image below to learn more about what chlorine has been linked to:

Wowzers. That’s pretty rough, people. I didn’t realize all of this until I started doing research for this post, and I’m pretty freaked out by it.

Next, let’s move on to dioxin. According to my source, “The term ‘dioxin’ describes a group of highly toxic chemicals which are produced by several industrial processes that use or burn products containing chlorine, including incinerators and “kraft” paper mills. Dioxins are among the most potent toxic chemicals known.” The effects on humans are very serious, with compelling scientific evidence linking dioxins to cancers, and disruptions in hormonal, reproductive and immune systems.

So what does this have to do with products you may find in your kitchen? Well, your parchment paper,  your coffee filters and your baking cups have all been bleached! That had never even occurred to me until recently. And I didn’t know that I had any alternatives to buying the bleached products. But now I know that I do!

The company is called If YouCare, and they offer an awesome line of products for those of us who want to ditch the chlorine and not contribute to the creation of dioxin with our purchase choices. The company offers the following products:
•   Parchment Paper
•   Baking Paper in sheets
•   Baking Cups (various sizes)
•   coffee filters (in a variety of sizes/shapes)
•   100% recyclable aluminum foil
•   cooking twine
• unbleached cheesecloth
• 100% biomass firelighters (so cool!) We received samples of all their products and have been thoroughly enjoying using them. I’m so excited to know that I can make a different choice. I do wish that their website had a place where I could look up my closest retailer, though (or where I could purchase online). So far, I haven’t found these products in my local store, so I’m not exactly sure how to get more when I run out! UPDATE: I have now learned that these products are available at all Whole Foods stores, and you can search for a retailer near you online! http://ifyoucare.com/store

Win it!: Right now I have a chance for you to win a set of the baking products (baking cups, parchment paper roll, parchment paper sheets) along with a t-shirt from the company. You are going to love these!
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