Fragrance Disclosure by @SCJGreenChoices: Does It Go Far Enough?

Want to know what’s in your air freshener fragrance? Now you can–up to a point. Last week, SC Johnson announced that they would disclose fragrance ingredients for the 200 candles, scented oils and air fresheners in product lines such as Glade. But there’s a catch.

The company has long disclosed dyes and waxes, but the new policy of transparency now extends to “fragrance,” which can contain hundreds of different chemicals.

Unfortunately, SC Johnson chose only to label the top 10 (or the highest concentrations) of chemical fragrance ingredients. “Fragrance” can include hundreds of chemicals in one product, such as 2-t-butylcyclohexyl acetate, 2,6-dimethyl-7-octen-2-ol, allyl caproate, ethyl 2,2-dimethyl hydrocinnamyl, ethyl hexanoate and benzyl salicylate, all of which rank highly hazardous on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database.

Janet Nudelman, the director of program and policy for the Breast Cancer Fund, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “It’s a good first step but it doesn’t go far enough.” The organization applauded the move while asking for broader measures, low levels of chemical exposures can be equally toxic.