What is in this article?:
- CleanWell Founder Larry Weiss, MD, talks triclosan
- Q: How is triclosan harmful?
- Q: What about triclocarbon? What is this and how is it different from triclosan?
- Q: So triclosan really isn’t necessary? Not even to fight germs?
- Q: Until government action occurs, where do we go next in eradicating triclosan from products?
- Q: How are sales? Are people responding to CleanWell’s products, message and mission?
Larry Weiss, MD, has been studying the antibacterial triclosan and its health impacts for years, which prompted him to start CleanWell, a manufacturer of all-natural thyme-based antibacterial liquid hand sanitizers and soaps. Weiss talks about how triclosan affects people and the planet and how the nation's notion of hygiene should shift.
Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in hand sanitizers, liquid soaps, toothpastes, and a host of other consumer products, has come under major fire lately. Along with potentially disrupting human sex hormones and hindering fetal development, triclosan—along with its close chemical counterpart triclocarbon—may have severe environmental impacts, as it breaks down into dioxins and makes its way into water sources to harm marine life. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering reassessing its stance on triclosan in response to a petition submitted by 82 environmental and public health groups led by Beyond Pesticides and Food & Water Watch.
Larry Weiss, MD, has been studying triclosan and its health impacts for years, which prompted him to start CleanWell, a San Francisco-based company that makes all-natural thyme-based antibacterial liquid hand sanitizers, soaps and sanitizing wipes. Weiss talks with NewHope360 about how triclosan came to be in consumer products, how it affects the population and planet, and how consumers, retailers, manufacturers, and policymakers play a collective role in shifting our nation’s notion of hygiene.