Q: Is there a winter boot protector made with natural ingredients?
A: Knee deep in winter, most Canadians have already taken in a lungful of fumes in the name of weatherproofing. It’s almost a national ritual to be bullied into buying shoe-protecting sprays you don’t really want, then gassing your boots as far away from heat and open flames as you can get.
Most shoe-proofing sprays come with just about every warning label available, including “extreme danger,” “very flammable,” “poison” and that yield-sign-shaped explosive symbol. I’ve spotted products with all of the above that tout their 15 per cent beeswax and silicone content as if it undid all the danger at hand.
Oh sure, they all say they’re ozone-friendly and CFC-free, but guess what? Everything’s been CFC-free for, oh, two decades, so it’s just basic greenwash. I’d rather see them say low-VOC, since all those aerosols are full of smog-inducing petroleum-based volatile organic compounds that seriously pollute the air. They’re also responsible for headaches, dizziness and eye/nose/throat irritation.
Worse still, lots of shoe sprays and waxes contain bad-news PFOAs, the very bio-accumulative, environmentally persistent fluorochemicals used to make Teflon and all sorts of stain- and grease-resisting finishes. This stuff binds to your liver, kidneys and blood, and Environment Canada’s found it in caribou, belugas, seals, waterways, sewage sludge – you name it.
EC is sizing up a risk-management approach to eliminating exposures, but in the meantime, how are you to know if your brand is PFOA- or PFC- (perfluorinated chemical) free?
Look for products that explicitly say they’re free of fluorinated chemicals, like Nikwax (available at Mountain Equipment Coop, Europe Bound and other outdoor suppliers). This water-based UK line is made with purportedly non-toxic, biodegradable polymers that are part plant-, part petrol-based, though free of offending petroleum distillates and solvents (the stuff that gives off VOCs, many of which are potent greenhouse gases). Nikwax says if it were manufacturing with run-of-the mill petroleum-solvent-based or aerosol products, it would have put 500 tons of VOCs and propellant gases into the atmosphere by now.
This one’s not tested on animals either. Plus, by extending the life of your shoes (including suede), boots, coats and tents, you’re buying less gear.
Granger’s waterproofing line is also water-based, but a little digging tells you its G-Max Universal Footwear Waterproofer is made with ethanediol, aka ethylene glycol, an antifreeze that, while biodegradable, still has to be labelled as an environmentally hazardous substance.
Granger’s G-Wax Smooth Leather Waterproofing contains a petroleum distillate (hydrotreated naphtha) that’s classified as toxic to fish so shouldn’t be dumped down the drain. Avoid the company’s aerosol footwear-proofers, made with extra-flammable VOC butane and allergenic zirconium butanolate.
Zamberlan Hydrobloc Proofing Cream is aerosol-free but still petrol all the time. It’s made with petroleum hydrocarbons, waxes and paraffins melted in mineral turpentine.
You’ll find lots of silicone-based waterproofing products on the market, but unless you know they’re free of environmentally toxic D4 (aka octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane/cyclotetrasiloxane), which the feds are talking about phasing out, you’ll want to keep your distance. (FYI, Nikwax says it’s D4-free).
I don’t care how natural it is, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you to stay 10 feet away from totally unnecessary mink oil. It’s scraped from the hides of farmed minks and, according to one manufacturer, only about 3 to 10 grams can be obtained per mink. That’s a lot of dead mink on your toes. It’s still sold as a leather conditioner and waterproofing agent, and to add insult to injury, you can even buy mink oil aerosol – if you want to add hazardous VOCs to the mix.
Some shoe-proofers contain a little beeswax, but you can forgo the middlemen and unwanted chems by buffing straight-up beeswax paste on your boots and shoes. (Grassroots sells some beeswax furniture polish you could use.) It’s a great water repellant and leather protector.
First clean your shoes with a rag dabbed in 1 part vinegar, 1 part water. Once they’re dry, rub in beeswax, buff and air-dry for a few hours (preferably overnight) before heading back out into the slush. Vegans can try carnauba wax if they can find it.
Got a question?
Send your green queries to ecoholic@nowtoronto.com
