“Chemical-free”

Ah! Everything is made of chemicals!  Even winter ice is made of H2O...
Oh, no!!!!!! Everything is made of chemicals! Even winter ice is made of H2O…

TitleA comprehensive overview of chemical-free consumer products

Authors: Alexander F. G. Goldberg1 and CJ Chemjobber2

Journal: Nature Chemistry Blog – The Sceptical Chymist

Affiliaition: 1Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; 23170 Road 40 1/2, Shell, WY 82441, USA.

Here the authors describe all of the consumer products that are utterly and completely chemical-free.  I hate to ruin the surprise, but their aren’t any.  In a snarky bit of humor, Goldberg and Chemjobber give a great perspective on an important issue chemists face – the common association of “chemicals” with “bad.”  It is a hard association to avoid when you think of the number of humanitarian and environmental crises caused by negligence and lack of oversight; however thousands of chemists are trying to make the world a better place through inventive research and we need to show the public that the work chemists do is important and can make the world a better place.

The article has been getting quite a bit of press including a spot on Popular Science.  I highly recommend taking a look at the original post on the Nature site if you want a good laugh.


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