According to Greenpeace…. The Inside Air In Your Favorite Outdoor Store Can Be 1000X Worse Than The Outdoor Air You Are Getting Ready
During the summer months, millions of North Americans and Europeans head outdoors to go camping, hiking, walking and more… to revitalize their health with great outdoor air. In the process of packing for these healthy outdoor adventures, many of us head to the local Outdoor Store to buy all the gear needed to enjoy the great outdoors. What you don’t know is that all the brand new outdoor gear is off-gassing harmful chemicals which in the store can reach very high toxicity levels.
All that outdoor gear including: waterproof jackets and trousers, shoes, sleeping bags, backpacks, tents, hiking boots, lifejackets, gloves and even swimwear all contain chemical compounds that release into the air for quite some time after you buy them. When you are out enjoying nature you do not need to worry, but when you are in the store, or packing at home, the concentrations of these compounds can become quite high
How Bad Can the In-Store Air Get?
A recent investigation by Greenpeace has found hazardous poly-fluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are off-gassing from all the waterproof items in Outdoor Gear stores. The results show that concentrations of PFCs in the air in major brand flagship stores were 20 to 60 times higher than air samples collected in Greenpeace’s office and storage rooms, and up to 1000 times higher than outdoor air.
Exposure to some PFCs can cause toxins to build up in the bloodstream. These toxins can stay in the bloodstream for years, and they have been identified as a potential cause of kidney and testicular cancer.
So What Can You Do?
As a shopper, limit your time in the store, and make sure that you buy your new items well in advance of your next trip and let them ‘off-gas’ safely for some time before you pack them all up. As a store employee, you need to ensure that your employer properly cleans you indoor air because your repeated exposure over time can be quite hazardous.
The Positive Benefits of Cleaning The Indoor Air
Properly cleaned indoor air is a great investment. It will help mitigate airborne transmission of disease, ensuring that everything is being done to people as healthy when they leave the store, as when they arrived. Cleaning the air properly air filters can also help in the elimination of fungal spores, microbes and pollen which have the potential to spread illness as well as stimulate allergic reactions. Superior air quality means superior service –and it is also a great marketing message that can be used to set one store apart from the others.
