Now I am no over the top, "save the environment before we immediately die" type of person. In fact, I often find myself neglecting my actions quite a bit; however, I do my best to be conscientious. As a college senior in an environmental studies program at Virginia Commonwealth University (Hopefully moving on to wildlife biology/ecology in graduate school), I do find myself exposed to quite a bit of literature involving possibly impactful chemicals used in everyday life. Just the other day while working in my senior thesis class, I was exposed to a fellow students project on a chemical called triclosan. This chemical is in many soaps, shampoos, toothpaste etc. While not largely (I say largely because there is some correlation) directly impactful upon direct contact, it has many latent affects like: Altering hormone regulation in animals, contributing to the development of antibiotic-resistant germs, and harmful to the immune system. Now there are definitely worse chemicals out there, but this awareness came full circle when I decided to look on the back of a scent free companies shampoo that I was using prior to hunting (I don't want to give the name). It was a bit shocking to see that sure enough "triclosan" was right there in the ingredient; I was an unbeknownst user of this environmentally harmful chemical. A chemical that is banned in Europe and will be banned in Minnesota as of 2017, is currently being used on my skin. Gives you a little to think about. But my post is not to give anyone a lecture on chemicals. This post is to raise the question of should outdoor companies be more on the leading edge of "greener" products? As outdoorsman and land stewards, I believe we should be more responsible and conscientious of what we use and demand from our limited outdoor companies. The same as someone bases their decisions on whether a company is a wholesome, religious company, should we not do so if they are an environmentally friendly company? We are the keepers of the land. We are the keepers of the animals. We should be more involved, even more so at the forefront in the movement for cleaner living. All too often I see or hear fellow hunter neglect the environment that provides them with the wonderful sport and wholesome leisure that is hunting. At times, this is brought about by an inadvertant dismissal of an issue because someone who may be a "city slicker" or have different core values than themselves. I believe that because we are the ones using and benefitting from the land, we should be 100X's more focussed on issues that may affect our favorite places that we enjoy. In doing such, should we not require this from the companies that provide us with the tools to do so? I don't know about you but I greatly appreciate when I see a company makes an effort to cater a product to myself, as well as the environment. But this is just something I thought of while showering up before heading to the stand. Happy hunting.
Very well said and thanks so much for the heads up !! I have recently discovered that a lot of my health problems are related to the chemicals that are used in "every day use" products . I couldn't really see how but had thought some of my scent free soaps had been causing me some problems but hadn't researched any of the ingredients ...... I'll be sure to check them out now !! Kind of hard to believe that they would use unnatural chemicals in a product that deer are not supposed to notice and hunters believe that they can use them and go unnoticed.
Funny you mention this. Not "funny" per say. It was just a couple of months ago they had a story on the Nightly News about that very product and the hazards associated with it. I'm thoroughly convinced now to not use that chemical. Thank You for the info and Happy Hunting to you.
