What's under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room? I encourage you to visit the Household Products Database to find out what's in your favorite chemical cleaner.

Some things to note as you browse the Household Products Database:

1. You can look up the toxicity of any ingredient by going to TOXNET.

2. Note that in the sample products below, the manufacturers have in most cases elected not to state information about chronic health effects or carcinogenity (propensity to cause cancer). Additionally, the manufacturers for most of these products have elected not to rate the product for health, flammability, and reactivity according to HMIS®. Why are manufacturers allowed to choose whether or not to disclose this information?

Click to Read: Extended Producer Responsibility: A Materials Policy for the 21st Century (PDF)

3. Want a safe alternative? Please shop online at www.norwexhealthycleaning.com, where you will find Norwex chemical-free cleaning cloths that pick up 99.9% of bacteria, and safe alternatives that work.

HMIS®, the Hazardous Materials Identification System, is a registered mark of the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA) but is used by all manufacturers to comply with the requirements of OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard.HMIS® uses colored bars, numbers and symbols to convey the severity of hazards of chemicals. Only numbers are used in this database to convey the severity of the hazards of chemical ingredients of each brand when used in the workplace. These ratings were determined for each brand by its manufacturer and documented in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) published by the manufacturer.

• "Health" denotes the health hazard. The health rating is based on the toxicity of chemicals contained in a specific brand and its ability to cause skin and eye irritation.?
• "Fire" denotes the fire hazard, and ratings are assigned based on the flashpoint and boiling point of the materials contained in a specific brand.
• "Reactivity" denotes the reactivity hazard from exposure to materials contained in the indicated brand. Reactivity ratings are based on the material's potential to release violent energy under conditions of fire, water contact, high temperature or pressure, or proximity to activating substances.