Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Smells Like Hawaii (and Benzyl Acetate): Revealing the Chemicals in Glade’s Fragrances

Abrams, Rachel. "Smells Like Hawaii (and Benzyl Acetate): Revealing the Chemicals in Glade’s Fragrances." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 June 2015. Web. 09 June     2015.
This article written by Rachel Abrams discusses the recent release of information from the fragrance company, Glade. They listed the ingredients of their candles, air fresheners, and oils on their website. This includes the chemical benzyl acetate, which is not good for people to inhale. Many people have wanted to know the chemicals in such products. “Fragrance disclosure is a really big deal and consumers have been asking for it for a really long time,” said Janet Nudelman, who is the director of program and policy for the Breast Cancer fund. When Glade released their ingredients the representatives said, “We just feel that transparency in this area is the right thing to do.” Fragrances are usually listed as a fragrance rather than each individual chemical in them.
This article can give people reassurance that their fragrance companies are trustworthy and honest because Glade publicly released the chemical ingredients in their products. This could set a precedent for future companies to be honest with their ingredients.
I think the author could have included more background on this topic other than the one quote about people waiting for this information. More statistics and facts would allow the reader to understand this better. It would also be helpful to know what is going to happen in the future and what the aftermath of this new information was. Otherwise, I think the author did a good job of writing this article.

2 comments:

  1. After reading Sally’s review on the article Smells Like Hawaii (and Benzyl Acetate): Revealing the Chemicals in Glade’s Fragrances by Rachel Abrams, I was very impressed by how well written and informative it was. There were several things that I think Sally did exceptionally well. For instance, she summarized the article in good detail, which allowed me to understand what she was talking about. Also, she threw in many good facts. This contributed to the overall success of the review because it really backed up the points she was talking about. Lastly, I really liked Sally’s critique because she praised the article’s importance, but also stated that there were some flaws. For example, she stated that she wished there were even more background information and quotes because she felt as though it would have backed up the author’s argument even more. There were a few things, however, that Sally could have done that would have helped her make the review even better. Something that stood out to me was that she really didn’t go into depth and talk about the article’s significance to our personal lives or humanity as a whole. Also, I’m not sure if the article referred to this or not, but it would have been nice to know if any other companies are using this same chemical.Lastly, something that surprised me while reading this was that even though Glade was using this chemical that is bad for people to inhale, they were honest about it and posted it on their website. All in all, Sally’s review was very well written and informative.

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  2. Shannon Hendrick
    Core Chemistry
    Current Event 13
    6/9/15

    Sally’s review on the article, “Smells Like Hawaii (and Benzyl Acetate): Revealing the Chemicals in Glade’s Fragrances,” by Rachel Abrams, was impressive. There were many aspects that Sally’s review succeeded on. For example, she was able to summarize the article with details, but also in short and precise manner so that the reader could understand the main points. She added facts about what this topic focuses on which allowed me to further understand different points of view on this debate. For instance, she used a good quote saying, “Fragrance disclosure is a really big deal and consumers have been asking for it for a really long time”. Finally, I really liked how Sally explained what the author could have done better on. I agree with her saying that there should have been more quotes, especially from experts, because that could give a better take on the topic at hand. Although Sally’s article was very well written there is room for improvement. I think that she could have added more about how this topic can affect humanity in the near future. By including her thoughts on this, people could have an idea of how serious this topic is, and they could then figure out what needs to be done to fix it. One more part of the review that could be worked on is including more about the chemical that is being used in the fragrances. She does state that it is not good for people to inhale, but if she added more about the certain chemical being used, people would better understand what they are dealing with. Overall, Sally’s article was very well written and gave a good explanation about this topic.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/business/maker-of-glade-to-disclose-chemical-details.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&_r=0

    Abrams, Rachel. "Smells Like Hawaii (and Benzyl Acetate): Revealing the Chemicals in Glade’s Fragrances." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 June 2015. Web. 09 June 2015.

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