I study microplastics and chemicals. No one has shoes with me.

This trial also filed is based on a conversation with Tracey Woodruff, director of the program on reproductive health and the environment of the University of California in San Francisco. She studies how microplastics and toxic chemicals Impact fertility and development of the child. The above was published for duration and clarity.

I did not grow up by removing shoes when entering the house.

My husband and I started to get into the habit when we had children, and I immersed myself in my research and how to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals.

One of the things that can help reduce exposure to microplastics and other toxic chemicals is to remove your shoes before entering the house to avoid following things outside.

What’s on your shoes

A contributor to microplastic pollution is car tires, so it will be outside, and you can follow them on your feet. The degradation of garbage plastic and vehicle runoff can also climb on your shoes.

The microplastics are in the air, they are in food and they are in the water. You can breathe them, eat them and chemicals can also absorb your skin.

I co-wrote a systematic review of microplastics studies last year. We have found that they can increase the risk of effects on reproductive health, especially for the effects on sperm, as well as chronic inflammation and the potential to increase the risk of lung and colon cancer.

Then there are the chemicals used in plastic – such as phthalates, which can disrupt testosterone levels and affect fetal development.

It just became a habit

I would say that leaving shoes at the door has gradually occurred over time. It was not too hard. It has become a habit.

We have a cupboard, a bench and a cabinet for shoes.

One of my sons is very diligent to remove his shoes when he now goes to the house. He lived in Japan for a few months. He has his house slippers.

My other children also remove their shoes when they come to the house. This is part of their cultural heritage. My husband’s parents came from Japan and they removed their shoes when they were in the house. We took the children to Japan to visit parents when they were little and almost everyone did there. They identify with their Japanese heritage.

My daughter also does so in her town house with her roommates. They have one of these giant shelves with shoes on it.

At my house, we have dogs, which I admit to being a complicating factor because they follow things all the time. I don’t have a good solution to this at this stage.