Awareness is growing about the dangers of prolonged chemical exposure in modern life leading to increased odds of cancer. Never before has mankind been exposed to so many chemicals from such a young age.

There was a recent documentary on the ABC called “Our Chemical Lives” which discussed these issues and I highly recommend our customers watch it here.

Of particular note in the show was BPA (Bisphenol A), which is a synthetic chemical developed in 1891. In the 1930’s it was discovered to be an artificial version of estrogen, but its use in drugs never took off and instead if was used in the production of plastics and epoxy resins, beginning in the 1950’s. This artificial hormone can disrupt the endocrine system in humans, and lead to higher odds of many cancers such as testicular, prostate and breast cancers.

In June 2010, the Australian Government announced the voluntary phase-out by major Australian retailers of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles containing BPA – a small step in reducing its exposure to our babies. There are still many products that do contain BPA though, and parents need to be vigilant about which plastics are coming into contact with their babies. Babies sucking on plastic toys, drinking from plastic cups are nothing to get too concerned about, but….when these products are heated or scratched, they are known to “leach” BPA. Think about those meals we have all heated in plastic containers in the microwave. We should definitely be looking to decrease our use of plastic food and beverage containers, for the health of both ourselves and the environment. Wooden toys are becoming more common, and this is a great thing. And baby wipes? Joonya customers know how important it is to make sure we are using a wipe that contains a safe ingredient list in its lotion. To think that some brands still use phenoxyethanol, whose chemical makeup includes known carcinogens, in a product that is wiped on thin baby skin, all day long, is mind boggling. In small doses it is said to be safe. But in a baby wipe? I don’t think so!

Thanks to the internet and the explosion of information at our fingertips, the modern parent is now more aware than ever of the threats from certain chemicals, and we at Joonya have a mission to share the journey we are on in discovering which products are best for our babies. Alongside the launch of our nappies, in the coming months we will also begin selling other products that we have selected based on thorough research. Not surprisingly, the leading non-toxic brands in Australia are not owned by multinationals, but rather by parents who developed these products when their own educational journey led them to desire better products. We will work with these ethical, family-owned brands to offer our customers a one-stop, non-toxic product destination for families – with an emphasis on bulk purchases to increase affordability.

We will continue to update you as we get closer to the launch date, probably in late March or April.

All the best in you and your family’s health,

Leanne & Rich x