来源：《新科学家》
原文刊登日期：2022年1月19日
More than a decade ago, the UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry offered £1 million to the first person in the world to create a chemical-free product. No one has yet claimed the bounty because it is impossible. Water is a chemical. So is your tea. Yet there is still so much confusion about everyday products, from cleaning sprays to cosmetics. While some are labelled as chemical free, others declare they are non-toxic, natural and eco-friendly. What does it all really mean? And can we believe it?
十多年前，英国皇家化学学会出资100万英镑，奖赏世界上第一个研制出无化学物质产品的人。目前还没有人认领这笔赏金，因为这是不可能的。水是一种化学物质。你喝的茶水也是。然而，从清洁喷雾到化妆品，人们对日常用品仍有很多困惑。有些产品被贴上了不含化学物质的标签，也有一些产品宣称是无毒、天然、环保的。这一切到底意味着什么？我们能相信吗？
To work out whether products contain toxic chemicals, which are harmful to us or the planet, we need to look at the bigger picture of how something is manufactured and where it ends up after we have used it. Our homes are just a snapshot of a complex global supply chain. Your handbag may not be dangerous, but direct exposure to the chromium salts used in commercial leather tanning factories can trigger chronic conditions in people involved in its production. And that chlorine bleach that gets flushed down the toilet? That is poisonous to aquatic animals.
为了弄清楚产品是否含有对我们或地球有害的有毒化学物质，我们需要从更宏观的角度来看待某些东西是如何制造的，以及在我们使用后它们会在哪里消失。我们的家只是复杂的全球供应链的一个缩影。你的手提包可能没有危险，但直接接触商业皮革制革工厂使用的铬盐会导致参与生产的人患上慢性疾病。还有冲进马桶的氯漂白剂？它对水生动物是有毒的。
Labels are so full of jargon, however, that deciphering what is good and what isn’t can feel impossible. A starting point is to not be duped by outlandish marketing lingo. Also be sceptical about labels focusing on what a product doesn’t contain, such as “paraben-free”. Real transparency is about disclosing ingredients, not distracting us from them.
然而，标签上充满了行话，区分什么是好的、什么是不好的，感觉是不可能的。首先，不要被那些稀奇古怪的营销术语所欺骗。也要怀疑标签上的产品不包含什么，如“不含羟基苯甲酸酯”。真正的透明度是披露成分，而不是分散我们的注意力。
Such greenwash isn’t yet regulated, but in the UK, the government and Competition and Markets Authority recently introduced a green claims code that suggests guidelines for “eco” brands to follow, such as better transparency. In the European Union, the Circular Economy Action Plan proposes regulations to stipulate that sustainability claims must be proved.
这种“绿色外衣”尚未受到监管，但在英国，政府和竞争与市场管理局最近推出了一项绿色声明守则，建议“环保”品牌应遵循的指导方针，比如提高透明度。在欧盟，循环经济行动计划规定，可持续性声明必须得到证明。
This matters because, although the risks are low, some chemical contaminants increase the chances of developing certain cancers, disrupt brain development or interfere with the body’s hormones. One way to minimise your long-term exposure to toxic chemicals is to streamline the number of products you use and focus on conscious consumption.
这很重要，因为尽管风险很低，但一些化学污染物会增加患某些癌症的几率，扰乱大脑发育或干扰身体荷尔蒙。减少长期接触有毒化学物质的一个方法是减少你使用的产品数量，并有意识地消费。
That said, it is practically impossible to live a life free from toxic chemicals. Robin Dodson at the Silent Spring Institute in Massachusetts, has found that people who paid close attention and actively avoided specific hormone-disrupting chemicals had a lower overall level of toxic chemicals in their blood. But even though Dodson herself took steps to avoid such chemicals, when she tested her own urine for 10 of the most common hormone-disrupting chemicals found in household products, some were present at surprisingly high levels.
然而，过一种没有有毒化学物质的生活几乎不可能。马萨诸塞州寂静的春天研究所的罗宾·多德森发现，密切关注并积极避免特定荷尔蒙干扰化学物质的人，其血液中有毒化学物质的总体水平较低。尽管多德森自己也采取措施避免这些化学物质，但当她在自己的尿液中检测家用产品中最常见的10种扰乱荷尔蒙的化学物质时，有些化学物质的含量高得惊人。
Ultimately, it shouldn’t be our responsibility to navigate this. But until long-term effects on people and the planet are investigated, we should choose brands that are fully transparent and call for clearer labelling from the rest.
归根结底，这不应该是我们的责任。但在对人类和地球的长期影响进行调查之前，我们应该选择完全透明的品牌，并呼吁其他品牌提供更清晰的标签。