Alden Wicker
@aldenwicker.bsky.social
Freelance journalist || Author of To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick – and How We Can Fight Back (PRH) || EcoCult on Substack. || Southern VT <> NYC || aldenwicker.com
A commenter says: "That was awesome! Not only for researching an existing brand, but what to do if I want to make sure my own has the right parameters. Thank you!" ecocult.substack.com/p/how-to-ass...
How to Assess a Brand for Toxicity
So many brands claiming they're sustainable, so little time!
ecocult.substack.com
April 21, 2025 at 1:31 PM
A commenter says: "That was awesome! Not only for researching an existing brand, but what to do if I want to make sure my own has the right parameters. Thank you!" ecocult.substack.com/p/how-to-ass...
The reason why parents realized that their kids were being lead-poisoned by tainted apple sauce pouches was because of the work of a federally-funded network of CDC offices.
All the employees in that lead detection and prevention program have been fired.
www.eenews.net/articles/mil...
All the employees in that lead detection and prevention program have been fired.
www.eenews.net/articles/mil...
Milwaukee faces lead crisis without CDC experts RFK Jr. fired
"The people who were answering our questions are just gone,” City Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis said in an interview after the firings Tuesday at
www.eenews.net
April 7, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The reason why parents realized that their kids were being lead-poisoned by tainted apple sauce pouches was because of the work of a federally-funded network of CDC offices.
All the employees in that lead detection and prevention program have been fired.
www.eenews.net/articles/mil...
All the employees in that lead detection and prevention program have been fired.
www.eenews.net/articles/mil...
This is bad. The Trump administration is trying to overrule all the state-level bans on PFAS. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Trump officials quietly move to reverse bans on toxic ‘forever chemicals’
EPA bids to change chemical risk evaluations, which could expose public to higher levels of PFAS and other pollutants
www.theguardian.com
April 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
This is bad. The Trump administration is trying to overrule all the state-level bans on PFAS. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
If you're not testing it, it's got about a 37% chance of being toxic. Especially promotional products. open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
That Free Swag Bag Is Toxic
"We're in such a murky, dirty world of promotional products."
open.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 2:51 PM
If you're not testing it, it's got about a 37% chance of being toxic. Especially promotional products. open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Out: Capsule wardrobes. In: dressing in community.
What if Our Fashion Was Based in Community?
Capsule wardrobes are dumb. Community-rooted wardrobes, however...
ecocult.substack.com
March 26, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Out: Capsule wardrobes. In: dressing in community.
And yet, dermatologists won't tell you this.
Babe, Your Body Acne Is From Your Plastic Clothing
I mean, it's obvious once you think about it, right? But science backs this up.
ecocult.substack.com
March 17, 2025 at 1:41 PM
And yet, dermatologists won't tell you this.
Don't roll your eyes at the California warning labels. Turns out, they're protecting you from toxic chemicals. ecocult.substack.com/p/hey-looks-...
Hey, Looks Like Like Those California Cancer Labels Are Working
Turns out companies don't like telling customers that their products have carcinogens and reproductive toxins.
ecocult.substack.com
March 3, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Don't roll your eyes at the California warning labels. Turns out, they're protecting you from toxic chemicals. ecocult.substack.com/p/hey-looks-...
But, womp, Customs physically cannot carry this out. There are 2 million individual packages coming in every day from China. So, the effect will be slow.
In "I gotta give it to him" news, after Biden tried and failed, Trump finally closed the de minimus loophole that allowed Shein and Temu to dump toxic products on Americans and undercut quality brands. sourcingjournal.com/topics/trade...
Trump Took on De Minimis. But Will It Stick?
Trump's executive order exacted new duties on China, and prevents the country's e-commerce players from utilizing the duty-free trade provision.
sourcingjournal.com
February 4, 2025 at 3:38 PM
But, womp, Customs physically cannot carry this out. There are 2 million individual packages coming in every day from China. So, the effect will be slow.
In "I gotta give it to him" news, after Biden tried and failed, Trump finally closed the de minimus loophole that allowed Shein and Temu to dump toxic products on Americans and undercut quality brands. sourcingjournal.com/topics/trade...
Trump Took on De Minimis. But Will It Stick?
Trump's executive order exacted new duties on China, and prevents the country's e-commerce players from utilizing the duty-free trade provision.
sourcingjournal.com
February 4, 2025 at 3:35 PM
In "I gotta give it to him" news, after Biden tried and failed, Trump finally closed the de minimus loophole that allowed Shein and Temu to dump toxic products on Americans and undercut quality brands. sourcingjournal.com/topics/trade...
A new study shows 50% more microplastics in brains in 2024 than in 2016.
"The scientists also examined the brains of 12 deceased patients diagnosed with dementia, and found that they had three to five times more microplastics than normal brains."
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
"The scientists also examined the brains of 12 deceased patients diagnosed with dementia, and found that they had three to five times more microplastics than normal brains."
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
In a first, scientists find microplastics are building up deep in our brains
A new study shows that microplastics are making their way into our brains, and that their numbers are rising.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 3, 2025 at 8:22 PM
A new study shows 50% more microplastics in brains in 2024 than in 2016.
"The scientists also examined the brains of 12 deceased patients diagnosed with dementia, and found that they had three to five times more microplastics than normal brains."
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
"The scientists also examined the brains of 12 deceased patients diagnosed with dementia, and found that they had three to five times more microplastics than normal brains."
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Trump gagging the EPA and threatening to fire its employees is really going to Make America Healthy Again. How is RFK going to take down pesticide makers without any support from the pesticide regulation agency? www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
EPA employees told to pause most external communications and cancel meetings with outside parties
The agency joins several across government at which the Trump administration has issued at least a partial gag order. An agency spokesperson has denied that a pause is in place.
www.govexec.com
February 3, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Trump gagging the EPA and threatening to fire its employees is really going to Make America Healthy Again. How is RFK going to take down pesticide makers without any support from the pesticide regulation agency? www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
What in the AI slop garbage is THIS. www.journee-mondiale.com/en/i-tried-m...
Melania Trump's Eco-Friendly Winter Fashion Tips | Sustainable
Discover how Melania Trump's approach to sustainability can inspire eco-friendly fashion choices for winter 2025. Learn about luxurious yet sustainable style tips, digital sustainability in fashion, a...
www.journee-mondiale.com
January 30, 2025 at 7:08 PM
What in the AI slop garbage is THIS. www.journee-mondiale.com/en/i-tried-m...
Americans across the political spectrum agree that there are far too many toxins in our food, air, water, and homes. So here's how Trump has already made America Healthy Again in the past week....
January 29, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Americans across the political spectrum agree that there are far too many toxins in our food, air, water, and homes. So here's how Trump has already made America Healthy Again in the past week....
Reposted by Alden Wicker
It is damn near impossible to grow 100% of a balanced diet on your own and unthinkable if you don’t have a lick of experience. You wanna cut down your produce bills w a couple raised beds, maybe learn to can? Sure. You want to opt entirely out of the preexisting food system? Lol. Lmao. Enjoy scurvy.
January 29, 2025 at 5:36 AM
It is damn near impossible to grow 100% of a balanced diet on your own and unthinkable if you don’t have a lick of experience. You wanna cut down your produce bills w a couple raised beds, maybe learn to can? Sure. You want to opt entirely out of the preexisting food system? Lol. Lmao. Enjoy scurvy.
Reposted by Alden Wicker
This is such great news. For so long Amazon has had a chokehold on ebooks. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...
Indie Bookstores Will Soon Be Able to Sell E-Books
Bookshop, a site that lets independent, bricks-and-mortar bookshops sell their books online, is launching an app that will allow the sales of e-books, too.
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This is such great news. For so long Amazon has had a chokehold on ebooks. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...
Reposted by Alden Wicker
"Customers only care about one thing: barely functioning AI crammed into every facet of their lives... Doesn’t that sound fun? Just living in a constant state of fear that all of the information you have access to is anywhere from a little to very wrong?"
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our...
Our Customers Demand Terrible AI Systems
We’ve been banging our heads against the wall, trying to think of the new “it” thing our customers want. At one point, somebody suggested improving...
www.mcsweeneys.net
January 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
"Customers only care about one thing: barely functioning AI crammed into every facet of their lives... Doesn’t that sound fun? Just living in a constant state of fear that all of the information you have access to is anywhere from a little to very wrong?"
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our...
Just because we don't want to waste all the apples from the old trees everywhere! "New England states top list for fruit and vegetable intake. 64%+ of adults consume fruits daily (led by Vermont at 66%), 84%+ eat vegetables daily (led by Maine at nearly 87%)." www.traceone.com/resources/pl...
U.S. States With the Healthiest Diets
To determine the U.S. states with the healthiest diets, researchers created a composite index based on 10 key food and health factors.
www.traceone.com
January 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Just because we don't want to waste all the apples from the old trees everywhere! "New England states top list for fruit and vegetable intake. 64%+ of adults consume fruits daily (led by Vermont at 66%), 84%+ eat vegetables daily (led by Maine at nearly 87%)." www.traceone.com/resources/pl...
At least five different companies have created a synthetic fiber with an additive that makes it break down in the presence of bacteria. But no large brand is using them.
Something is up.
open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Something is up.
open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
"Biodegradable" Polyesters: Are They For Real?
An update: I was a little bit too gullible before.
open.substack.com
January 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
At least five different companies have created a synthetic fiber with an additive that makes it break down in the presence of bacteria. But no large brand is using them.
Something is up.
open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Something is up.
open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Reposted by Alden Wicker
Hear me out: you take the hard-won products of journalism, science, art and creativity, you use vast amounts of electrical energy during a time-sensitive energy transition to re-jumble the words and sentences, and then you present the outputs as being better and more trustworthy than the original
January 26, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Hear me out: you take the hard-won products of journalism, science, art and creativity, you use vast amounts of electrical energy during a time-sensitive energy transition to re-jumble the words and sentences, and then you present the outputs as being better and more trustworthy than the original
Reposted by Alden Wicker
"Anything under 5% of a textile's weight doesn't need to be listed—enough to hide carcinogenic or reproductive toxic chemicals."
@aldenwicker.bsky.social
From the archive: originally published 26/7/24
www.landclimate.org/...
@aldenwicker.bsky.social
From the archive: originally published 26/7/24
www.landclimate.org/...
Are toxic chemicals in fashion under-regulated? - Land and Climate Review
Bertie speaks to Alden Wicker about her book 'To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick - and How We Can Fight Back'.
www.landclimate.org
January 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"Anything under 5% of a textile's weight doesn't need to be listed—enough to hide carcinogenic or reproductive toxic chemicals."
@aldenwicker.bsky.social
From the archive: originally published 26/7/24
www.landclimate.org/...
@aldenwicker.bsky.social
From the archive: originally published 26/7/24
www.landclimate.org/...
I'm glad someone else is talking about this!
The endless plastic in American homes makes modern house fires burn hotter, faster, and more toxic than their predecessors, Zoë Schlanger reports:
What Happens When a Plastic City Burns
Most modern couches are basically blocks of gasoline.
www.theatlantic.com
January 16, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I'm glad someone else is talking about this!
Reposted by Alden Wicker
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but almost every single fashion company is actually just selling Chinese cashmere."
Great piece by
@aldenwicker.bsky.social: The Big "Mongolian" Cashmere Scam open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Great piece by
@aldenwicker.bsky.social: The Big "Mongolian" Cashmere Scam open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
The Big "Mongolian" Cashmere Scam
You think you're sipping on Veuve, when you're actually drinking André.
open.substack.com
January 14, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but almost every single fashion company is actually just selling Chinese cashmere."
Great piece by
@aldenwicker.bsky.social: The Big "Mongolian" Cashmere Scam open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Great piece by
@aldenwicker.bsky.social: The Big "Mongolian" Cashmere Scam open.substack.com/pub/ecocult/...
Reposted by Alden Wicker
i think it’s unfair to expect regular people to know precisely how journalism works so i will say the answer to “why did they sit on that story for so long” is often “because of lawyers”
January 13, 2025 at 9:10 PM
i think it’s unfair to expect regular people to know precisely how journalism works so i will say the answer to “why did they sit on that story for so long” is often “because of lawyers”
Yikes. An Australian toddler's Temu hoodie caught fire instantly from a spark from a firepit, melting her skin. WTF was that hoodie made of??? www.news.com.au/national/que...
www.news.com.au
January 10, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Yikes. An Australian toddler's Temu hoodie caught fire instantly from a spark from a firepit, melting her skin. WTF was that hoodie made of??? www.news.com.au/national/que...
Reposted by Alden Wicker
If you've lost power due to the wildfires around LA and are using a portable generator, remember to keep it outdoors and make sure your carbon monoxide alarms are working.
January 8, 2025 at 3:05 PM
If you've lost power due to the wildfires around LA and are using a portable generator, remember to keep it outdoors and make sure your carbon monoxide alarms are working.