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There's a quiet revolution under way in homes across the country. From the kitchen to the nursery room and the bedroom to the bath, more and more families are questioning the presence of chemical products in their homes and taking steps to replace them with healthier alternatives made from more benign ingredients.
"There's no question, we're in the midst of a sea change," says pediatrician and author Dr. Alan Greene. "People are starting to understand what's in these products and how their family's health is affected when, say, they breathe air filled with cleaning product vapors or absorb residues through their skin. At the same time, they're realizing that just a few simple changes can make these problems disappear. And it's often just a matter of making smarter choices when we shop."
That means opting for the many less-toxic alternatives available on supermarket shelves, including greener cleaners for a variety of purposes in the home.
When safer but effective (see sidebar) alternatives like these are purchased, they protect more than your home. They make a big difference in the health of the world around us because these products release fewer hazardous contaminants into the environment when they're used. Their ingredients tend not to poison the water or pollute the air, and that has a larger impact than most consumers realize. In Los Angeles, for example, common household products such as cleaners and cosmetics are the region's No. 2 source of air pollution after automobile exhaust.
"The benefits are so great in so many ways," says Greene. "Once people realize how good [greener] products have gotten and see that using them doesn't involve choosing between safety and effectiveness, they never go back. And that's good news for everyone."
