Newswise — A shopping trip to a big-box retailer can be lots of fun. But for people allergic to polyurethane, there’s a good chance that the huge selection of merchandise includes some potentially dangerous items—even some that the stores themselves label “eco-friendly.”
Visit the bedding section and you may find memory-foam contour pillows and mattresses. These frequently contain polyurethane foam which not only exudes an unpleasant odor for several days after purchase, but also can cause serious irritation to the eyes and lungs. Sleeping on these mattresses and pillows can expose one to highly toxic chemicals such as Tolulene Di-isocyanate (TDI) used in manufacturing ; online forums are filled with reports from consumers who experienced a set of symptoms ranging from itchy eyes and skin to difficult breathing, irregular heartbeat, and more.
Pillows and mattresses may present the most immediate threat to consumers’ health, but the sheer versatility of polyurethane—used in foam seating, wheels and tires, adhesives and sealants, carpet underlay, footwear outsoles, simulated wood, paints and varnishes, tennis racket handles, watch band wrappings, and even surfboards—ensures that it can be found all over the typical big-box store.
“A stroll through the aisles of the typical large retailer reveals an array of supposedly safe products that are anything but eco-friendly,” says Bill Doyle, President and CEO of Vystar Corporation. Vystar is the creator of Vytex® Natural Rubber Latex (NRL), a patented, all-natural raw material that significantly reduces antigenic proteins found in over 40,000 products made with natural rubber latex and that are believed to cause latex allergies. “In big-box stores,” Doyle continues, “I have found labels advertising specific products as eco-friendly—labels that were themselves coated in eco-unfriendly polyurethane.”
Vytex NRL is produced through patented processes using green chemistry that significantly reduces the antigenic proteins in liquid latex. Because the non-rubber impurities are removed, products made from Vytex NRL retain the positive attributes of NRL but without most of the allergy-causing proteins. Vystar is working with manufacturers across a broad range of consumer and medical products to bring Vytex NRL to market in adhesives, surgical and exam gloves, condoms, balloons, and natural rubber latex foam mattresses, pillows and sponges. The result may be a new line of products both better for the environment and healthier for consumers. For more information, visit vytex.com.
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