Almost 60% of young people (18-35 years old) consider themselves to be poorly informed about endocrine disruptors, these chemicals present in many everyday products according to the results of a online questionnaire launched by Générations Cobayes, which received more than 35,000 responses.
Developed in partnership with the Réseau Environnement Santé (RES) and the Notéo institute, this questionnaire made it possible to identify the daily actions of young people and to measure their level of information about parabens, phthalates and bisphenol A. Thus 58% of 18-35, even if they have heard of it, do not know what the bisphenol A. Yet this endocrine disruptor (which can affect our hormonal system) remains present in some interior linings of cans and cans, in receipts… It was also banned in the making baby bottles and will be in food containers from 2015.
As for phthalates, which are found in particular in plastics and plastics and cosmetics, 70% of young people do not know what it is. However, the level of ignorance is lower concerning parabens (56%). Especially in the oldest segment, specifies Damien Hansens, national coordinator of the campaign “protect your hormones”. Which is quite logical since the words “paraben-free” are present today on the packaging of products, especially in cosmetics. Remember that nearly 23% of hygiene and beauty products still contain it! Not to mention the other endocrine disruptors that can be found in 40% of the products in this range. “
Lubricants in the line of sight
More transparency on everyday objects. This is what Générations Cobayes demands from manufacturers and politicians. “We now want to draw attention to condoms, lubricants and other intimate products whose often questionable composition does not appear anywhere on the packaging” continues Damien Hansens. Thus 82% of the participants in the questionnaire would like to know the ingredients that go into the manufacture of intimate lubricants. The association has therefore just launched a online petition for manufacturers.
