Many thanks to reader Erin for bringing this to my attention! On Amazon.com, many Moleskine notebooks and planners are now are listed with the California Proposition 65 warning. (Click here to see.) When looking at the Moleskine products info page on Amazon, scroll down to Product Details to see if the California residents warning is listed.
Erin said in the same email that Ecosystem planners are not being made for 2012, which is even more disappointing now to not have them as an alternative to Moleskines.
I don't know much about California's Proposition 65, can anyone educate me?
**Edited: Many thanks to New Kid for posting Moleskine's link to this issue. According to Moleskine, all of their products made since August 2010 are Proposition 65 compliant:
http://www.moleskine.com/prop65.php
They have PVC in them. Carcinogenic.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Is that something that's used in the binding?
ReplyDeleteThis might help: http://www.moleskine.com/prop65.php
ReplyDeleteThanks New Kid, that is great info directly from Moleskine themselves!
ReplyDeleteIt's not since August 2012, but August 2010. You might wanna change that in your text ... ;-)
ReplyDeleteFixed, thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteIt must be me and the fact that I have spent too much time concentrating on Filofax products but I find Moleskine very difficult to understand in terms of their product range. It's the same with other planner makes though!
ReplyDeleteOne day I might understand them... one day!
All plastic on planners is PVC (covers, spirals). This is not to say there's no way around it, but one has to search a bit and ideally express one's concerns to companies!
ReplyDeletePVC does not get recycled and outgases from production through disposal. It's a serious endocrine disruptor, hence the cancer warning. It's the second most-produced and by far most toxic plastic worldwide due to dioxins released in the process of production, incineration, and leaching from landfills - picture this on a massive global scale! It is so cheap and widespread that the vinyl industry has a huge stake in it - the American Vinyl Institute's website FAQ is full of propaganda and incorrect "facts" about PVC, without references or supporting evidence.
As long as we keep buying PVC we support this industry. I'm glad you brought up this topic, Laurie, and I hope at least some people will stop buying this modern-day asbestos (once commonly used like PVC today).
I just read Moleskine's comment on DEHP, which only confirms my suspicions of industries using PVC, denying its toxicity.
ReplyDeleteIf you read carefully, Moleskine states to have discontinued the use of DEHP but does NOT state to no longer use PVC. If you don't know that DEHP is a plasticizer, which now has been replaced by a different, undisclosed plasticizer (= phthalate!), then you may think Moleskine's products are environmentally safe now.
The fact that Moleskine does not even mention their use of PVC does not make them trustworthy in my eyes, especially given this opportunity for them to address what materials they DO and Do NOT use. I feel that they count on consumers' lack of awareness and brand loyalty.
Also note their argument speaking pro-DEHP; if this substance was as safe and without ecological drawbacks as they make it sound to be, then why not insist on their case and keep producing it?
ECOSYSTEM notebooks and planners are almost the same design as Moleskine's at similar prices, without PVC (I emailed them) and 100% post-consumer recycled paper, with several colour options. A much smaller NYC company that Moleskine could learn from...
Hello, I just sent this in an email reply to Laurie, but I just noticed this post, so I thought I'd copy it here:
ReplyDeleteI took a look at the moleskine link, and the wording is very crafty. 'Compliant' to Prop 65 just means that now their products carry the
warning, not that they stopped using the chemical. The chemical in question in this case is DEHP, which is a type of phthalate. Here's
the wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bis%282-ethylhexyl%29_phthalate
The moleskine page says they were already looking for alternatives to DEHP, but then goes on to defend it and say it's harmless. I think if they were already using an alternative, they would say so. I think it's also interesting that they emphasize how Prop 65 doesn't ban the
chemical. Individual states can't do that, and banning chemicals in the US is notoriously difficult. The EU classifies it as "generally
safe" but then restricts its use in children's products and medical equipment and recognizes its production as hazardous. Not exactly a
ringing endorsement.
Granted, DEHP is pretty ubiquitous, but then again so is BPA. And there might not be a ton of studies addressing the safety of DEHP, but
the evidence against phthalates in general is pretty clear:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate
So at the end of the day, if it's harmful, I'd rather not use it, and even if it's not directly harmful to me, it still seems like pretty nasty stuff from an environmental perspective. And I'd rather not support a company that's so misleading on their website about their use of the chemical.
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox. It's just one of my pet peeves when products that seem like they should be relatively straightforward to
produce end up being made with a bunch of toxic chemicals.
Erin
Thanks so much for all of this information everyone! I do believe that corporations have a social and environmental responsibility and it's very interesting to learn more about this issue.
ReplyDeleteCrap, so no plastic anything?? That's rotten-I sure love me some spiral bindings!
ReplyDeleteHow maddening and frustrating to know that money is more important than life. To realize that anything we might purchase may be killing us and our earth.
ReplyDeleteRori - my Day-Timer spirals are metal... BTW, I once emailed Rickshaw bags and asked them if they would make a cover from a swath of vinyl I have and, instead, received a very informative email regarding PVC and how it hurts the workers and more. Ugh. And I have some fabulous satchels from PaperChase and others in vinyl. I'm not going to throw them away, but I won't buy more. Also, I DID throw away my last Moleskine planner because the stench wouldn't go away. Seems as though the journals don't have the same warning, and they don't smell. Don't know why. It made me think that the culprit was in the printing, but I guess not.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm a Day-Timer fanatic. I carry my two-pages-per-day pocket size, along with the staple-bound month planner, in a super-soft red leather Fossil wallet. I carry pens in the change compartment. It's so lovely, has extra pockets for post-its, too. The two-pages-per-day swaps out every month and has a tab for EVERY day. I highlight days gone by so I can find the new one easily. Smooth paper. Portable. FAB.
And ridden with chemicals.
ReplyDelete