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"Just about all of the product testing we do at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) is aimed at ensuring that you--the consumer-save money and get good value and quality when you&amp;#039;re making purchases. Protecting the health, safety, and well being of your family is also always top of mind. In looking back at the past 12 months, we feel a sense of pride that we evaluated not only thousands of consumer products, but also conducted a variety of investigations that yielded important discoveries. Here are a few highlights from 2009: I&amp;#039;m sure you&amp;#039;ve noticed that everywhere you shop, bed and bath linens and clothes made from bamboo are being touted as environmentally friendly. But in our May 2009 issue, GHRI&amp;#039;s Textile Director Kathleen Huddy alerted our readers that the intense chemical processing that the bamboo plant must go through in order to become a fiber is not very environmentally friendly. And, in fact, the final product is no different from rayon and has lost its antimicrobial and breathability properties. It wasn&amp;#039;t until three months after we warned you about bamboo that the FTC charged four companies with making false &amp;quot;green&amp;quot; bamboo claims.  For years now we&amp;#039;ve been hearing about the bacteria lurking in the sponges we all use to clean up the kitchen. But just what to do about it was never conclusive until our battery of tests, showcased in our November 2009 section on food safety, revealed that only a five-minute soak in a solution of one gallon of water plus 3/4-cup of bleach kills 99.9 percent of bacteria, including E. coli and Salmonella. Carolyn Forte, director of our Home Appliances and Cleaning Products department, conducted, with the help of an independent lab, what we believe is a first-of-its-kind study, evaluating six cleaning methods-the dishwasher, microwave, washing machine as well as bleach, ammonia, and vinegar soaks-to see which removed the most bacteria. Finally, consumers know what gets a sponge really clean! Nothing sounds more nourishing than sending your children off to school with homemade soup. And shunning juice boxes and using a refillable insulated container seems like a good way to save money in these economically challenging times. But in tests of 19 different thermal bottles and jars marketed for kids, Sharon Franke, director of our Kitchen Appliances and Technology Lab, found that only one (the Sigg Thermo Bottle Fashion Line), could keep food both hot and cold long enough to be sure there&amp;#039;s no risk of illness-causing bacteria growing inside. And while the Sigg performed safely, the fact is, it&amp;#039;s a rather large thermal container that&amp;#039;s more appropriate for teens than elementary schoolers. A few products did maintain hot temperatures adequately, including the Thermos Funtainer Food Jar, but the bottom line is that you shouldn&amp;#039;t assume that thermal containers keep food safe just because manufacturers say they do. Our advice for parents: If your child isn&amp;#039;t going to be eating within two hours of leaving the house, pack a sandwich (in an insulated lunch box with a ice pack) or pay for a school lunch and definitely let the cafeteria provide a cold beverage.  In conducting a study of all-natural nail polishes, Birnur Aral, director of the Health, Beauty, and Environmental Sciences Lab here at GHRI, came across Honeybee Gardens Odorless Nail Polish Remover, which contains aloe, horsetail-extract, and vitamin E. While the nail polish remover&amp;#039;s packaging promoted it as acetone-free, upon closer examination, Birnur realized that the product contained methanol, a chemical that could be even more harmful than acetone! Methanol is toxic at lower doses than acetone. With acetone, you need to inhale or swallow it in order to experience ill effects ranging from coughing to coma. Methanol can be harmful if you absorb it through the skin (which could certainly happen when using it to remove nail polish). Our message to consumers: Remember &amp;quot;natural&amp;quot; doesn&amp;#039;t mean hazard free. These are, of course, just a few of our influential findings from 2009. In 2010, we&amp;#039;ll continue to be on the lookout for important health and safety issues and concerns-as well as practical solutions for dealing with them. In the meantime, happy holidays to all! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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