By Stacy Malkan

As if it weren’t challenging enough to decipher complicated labels and memorize chemicals to avoid, consumers have another hurdle to overcome in choosing safe cosmetics: Many products on the shelves today are contaminated with hidden toxic chemicals that aren’t listed on labels. Here are three examples:



By Elizabeth Barker

Danny Seo offers up some suggestions for greening your your floors.

Two women investigate the effects of pesticides on our lives.

Pesticides have infiltrated our lives in ways we rarely think about. Ever since World War II-era manufacturers realized the wonders of synthetics, we’ve relied on chemicals to make our apples spotless, our lawns green, and our homes critter-free. But what are the risks of living with these toxins?

Today, two women share the results of their investigations into that very question. In a collection of striking photos, Laurie Tümer exposes the ways that pesticides get around. And in an essay that’s both personal and analytical, Audrey Schulman describes how pesticide manufacturers get to police their own products—and how her young sons may be paying the price.