Yesterday I was on a phone call with someone who also has a toxin-free business and one of the topics that came up was the terms that I use. So I thought that I would explain why I use the term toxin-free versus some other terms that are commonly used.
Toxin-Free vs. Low Tox and Why I Use The Terms I Use
I often use the term toxin-free. Duh, that's the name of the podcast! And there's a reason why I have chosen the term toxin-free. So first of all, let’s define non-toxic according to a good old Webster dictionary search.
Non-Toxic = not poisonous or toxic.
But if you look further into regulated definitions, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who controls the hazardous substances in the US has a very loose limitation for what is considered “non-toxic”.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission details that a product has to kill half or more of a group of lab rats to be considered toxic. How awful is that?! That means that if a product only killed 49% of the lab rats, that product could be considered non-toxic.
So that is the reason why I don't use the term non-toxic even though you may see the term plastered everywhere. It is really such a loose term which is why I have always leaned towards other terms.
If you've listened for a while, you know that I often talk about how loose our American laws are, when it comes to toxins, when it comes to products, when it comes to ingredient labels. That was one of the biggest wake up calls for me when I first started learning about environmental health. I realized how vigilant I needed to be to keep my family safe. We can’t rely on the government to keep us safe.There are new chemicals that come on the market every single day. There are new products that come on the market every single day and you may be surprised when you learn that a product doesn’t need to be approved before it is sold in stores. Nor do new chemicals need to be approved be before they are used in the products you buy at the grocery store!
The term toxin-free is a way to turn that term “non-toxic” on its head. I don't want to have products that are considered “non-toxic”. I want products, and ingredients in my products, that are “toxin-free.” The term toxin-free has been used more regularly, in the last 10 years especially to demonstrate that it the ingredients are safer and healthier than just something that is labeled “non-toxic”.
Lately I’ve been hearing the term “low tox”. I think I first heard it on Instagram and people in the toxin-free space are starting to use that term “low tox”.
When I use the term toxin-free, does that mean that I live a 100% toxin free life? No, that's impossible. There are toxins all around us. There are toxins in our water, there are toxins in our air. And even when we do try to make the most careful decisions about our products, or the things we bring into our homes, there are still going to be toxins in our lives.
Honestly, I am living more of a 90/10 lifestyle. I understand that I'm going to make the best choices that I can but occasionally, I am going to allow Doritos into my life or I'm going to get my nails done at a nail salon and I'm not going to bring my own nail polish. Now, am I going to do that every single week? No! Am I going to do it occasionally? More of the 10% versus 90% of the time? Yes. And I think that's a healthy and more realistic way to live.
So when I use the term toxin-free, I'm not talking about our life being 100%, toxin-free. We are just trying to do the best that we can and make informed decisions in all of the different areas that we can because we know there are toxins everywhere. And we can't always control all aspects of our life.
I do agree that the term “low tox” does make sense. I mean, really, we can't live 100% toxin-free. So the term low tox makes sense to me. Personally, I am not going to be using that term regularly at this time because my mission is to share and educate and help more people choose healthier, and more eco-friendly and safer products. If I use the term low tox, first of all, to somebody who is new to this kind of healthy living, and just learning, might think, “Low tox? Why would I want low toxins? I want toxin- free, right?”
The term “low tox” is not going to connect with the people that I want to serve the most. It's not going to help people find me and help people learn about going toxin-free. It's a term that I think is going to be more confusing to people that are new to living in a more healthy and clean and green lifestyle. And so while I do think the term makes sense, and we do truly live more low tox than we live toxin-free, it is not a term that I currently am going to be using regularly. It is a term that I just don't think is going to help the right people find this message.
I hope this helps you understand why I use the term toxin-free and why I'm not going to just switch to low tox.
As always, you can find me on Instagram @themeganmikkelsen and I would love it if you joined my weekly newsletter. And you can find that HERE Let's start making this planet happier and healthier, one step at a time.
