Safe Cypress Mulch Brand?

[Bogertophis]

I know opinions vary greatly on California's Prop 65 labeling but I for one, am GRATEFUL that there is scientific testing done to ensure products on the market are safe & healthy for use. Because without such ratings, you're at the mercy of those who would sell you anything at all, whether or not it harmed your health for life or even killed you. Many of you here are either too young or not fans of history, & don't realize that California is providing objective & essential health information about products, & that in the past much harm was done by bogus or dangerous products sold.

That's also why we have UL listed & certified products, & drugs regulated by the FDA. I'm 100% in favor of such regulations- without it many people & pets would be harmed, because some people will just sell anything for money, without caring about the consequences. Personally, I read ALL the fine print on things & make decisions accordingly. You don't have much of anything in life if you lose your health. Same goes for our pets.

When I buy bagged soil for my garden, it doesn't take much looking to see bits of plastic & other extraneous materials in there. Depending on what the product is for, there are laws regulating the amount of extraneous material that any product is allowed to contain- yes, even food, & even tiny bits of insects are in chocolate, for example. The main thing is safety though, because it is obvious that absolute purity is either not feasible or would be prohibitively expensive. So yes, we live with some amounts of contamination where it does no harm.

But potential harm greatly depends on labeling what a given product is intended to be used for. What's allowed in garden mulch is much different that what is allowed in our food. Trust me, you don't want to munch on mulch...and it's best to protect your captive pets from as much as you can also, so they too live long & healthy lives. (And you have lower vet bills...) When a product label is vague & uses words like "blend" be very skeptical & cautious about what you use it for- it's safer to assume the worst.