85,000 chemicals are in use in the United States

...and only 9 have been banned. Even asbestos, a confirmed carcinogen, is not a banned substance in the US! In 1989, the EPA did briefly prohibit it, but just two years later, the asbestos industry took them to court...and won. We're now the only developed country in the world that still allows asbestos in building products.

The European Union has already banned thousands of the chemicals that US manufacturers are still putting in our everyday products. The EPA has their hands tied from protecting our health for a number of reasons, mostly in the name of economic growth (recent article in my link in bio today). So for now, it's up to us consumers to drive industry change by asking questions and demanding better products. The idea that something must be safe because it's being sold for use in our house, is unfortunately just not true yet. But, awareness keeps growing, people are voting on non-toxic products with their wallets, are asking more questions, and I am still very hopeful that we can drive change.