Listen to the 18-minute interview here
To live without scent, I walk a line between the synthetic and organic worlds. How do we understand what we're sold as consumers? Read labels, check Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), ask questions. Use your nose, pay attention to what you're smelling. Zero odor will be rare, but many unmasked ingredients have a benign smell. Not all odors are harmful. We're all different, so we have to figure out our own ingredient boundaries. Some smells indicate products that are unhealthy for all people, like the "new car smell." Fragrance and essential oils cross over my safe line into very harmful.
We're all human. Hygiene is a priority. If body odor is a problem, fragrance is not the solution because body odor is still noticeable while the sharp fragrance is offensive.
What is personal pollution? It's the fragrance cloud permeating from us and odor trail we leave behind.
Personal Pollution Checklist. Reduce or remove scent:
- applied to our bodies
- in our homes
- in our cars (Car Talk Q&A)
- in our workplace (CDC--Indoor Air Quality)
Here's a heads up. Avoid getting coated with room deodorizing sprays in public restrooms, diffusers at stores, and by scent marketing where fragrance spews from HVAC systems in mall shops. Is your gym a safe-breathing location or scent marketed? A hug from a fragranced person will linger on you all day.
For more reading:
"Road Tripping, Fragrance-Free Lessons Learned From the Passenger Seat."
"Fragrance-Free or Unscented?"
"How To Go Fragrance-Free, Part Four: Soap, Deodorant, Moisturizer"
"Advertising Sells Americans a Stinky Deal Part One: Personal Pollution and Hurting Others"
