You will not find the word "phthalate" on most product labels. That is part of the problem. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors used as fragrance solvents and plasticizers, and they are commonly concealed inside the single word "fragrance" on ingredient lists. CDC biomonitoring data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) consistently detects phthalate metabolites in the urine of the general US population, with measurable concentrations found in over 90% of participants tested.
The No Nines™ Standard™ excludes phthalates as Category 3 of nine chemical categories we will not formulate with. This post covers what phthalates are, what published research has found, how they enter your home, and why eliminating fragrance is the most reliable way to eliminate this exposure pathway.
What are phthalates?
Phthalates are esters of phthalic acid. They are a family of synthetic chemicals with two primary commercial uses: as plasticizers (making plastics flexible and durable) and as fragrance fixatives (helping scent compounds last longer on surfaces and skin).
The family includes many individual compounds, but a few are especially relevant to consumer products. Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is the most commonly used in fragrance formulations for cleaning products and personal care. It acts as a solvent and carrier for fragrance oils, helping them disperse evenly and persist after application. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) are more commonly associated with plasticized materials like vinyl flooring and food packaging, though they also appear in some consumer product formulations.
The regulatory landscape for these compounds varies. DEHP and DBP are listed as known reproductive toxicants under California's Proposition 65. The European Union prohibits DEHP, DBP, and BBP in cosmetics under the EU Cosmetics Regulation and restricts them to no more than 0.1% by weight in most consumer articles under the REACH regulation. But in the United States, there is no federal restriction on DEP, the phthalate most relevant to fragranced cleaning products and personal care.
Because DEP typically enters products as part of a fragrance blend, and because fragrance blends are protected as trade secrets under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, DEP is rarely listed on product labels even when it is present. It is hidden inside the word "fragrance."
What the research says
Research on phthalates has produced a substantial body of evidence spanning animal studies, human epidemiological data, and population-level biomonitoring. The findings are most developed in the area of reproductive and developmental health.
Anti-androgenic effects. Phthalates, particularly DEHP and DBP, have been shown to act as anti-androgens in animal models, meaning they interfere with male hormone signaling. The mechanism is well characterized in rodent studies: phthalates inhibit fetal testosterone production and disrupt the development of androgen-dependent tissues. In 2005, Shanna Swan and colleagues at the University of Rochester published a landmark study in Environmental Health Perspectives (Volume 113, No. 8) that examined this relationship in humans. The study measured anogenital distance (AGD), a marker of prenatal androgen exposure, in 134 male infants and found a significant association between higher prenatal phthalate metabolite concentrations and shorter AGD. Boys with maternal urinary mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) concentrations in the highest quartile had an odds ratio of 10.2 (95% CI: 2.5 to 42.2) for shorter-than-expected AGD compared to boys in the lowest quartile.
This finding has been replicated in subsequent cohort studies across multiple countries, including Denmark and Sweden. The consistency of the association across populations strengthens the epidemiological signal, though the clinical significance of reduced AGD in humans is still being studied.
CDC NHANES biomonitoring has detected measurable phthalate metabolites in the urine of over 90% of the US population sampled, indicating that exposure is widespread and not limited to occupational settings.
Developmental and pubertal effects. Several studies have examined associations between phthalate exposure and pubertal timing. A 2022 study in the INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) birth cohort in Spain, published in Environmental Research, found that prenatal exposure to DEHP, DEP, and DnBP was associated with earlier onset of puberty in normal-weight boys aged 7 to 10. A longitudinal cohort study in China published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (2023) found that persistent phthalate exposure was positively associated with early pubertal onset in girls (adjusted relative risk = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.12 to 3.46).
These are epidemiological associations. They demonstrate a relationship between phthalate exposure and developmental outcomes in human populations, and the direction of effect is consistent with the anti-androgenic mechanisms established in animal models. They do not, on their own, prove causation. But combined with the animal evidence showing clear mechanistic pathways, they form a coherent body of concern.
Population exposure data. The CDC's NHANES biomonitoring program provides the broadest picture of phthalate exposure in the US. Urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites are measured as part of the survey's environmental chemical exposure component. Detection rates above 90% for several metabolites, including those of DEP and DEHP, confirm that phthalate exposure is pervasive across age groups, income levels, and geographic regions. This is not a specialized occupational exposure. It is a general population phenomenon.
How phthalates get into your home
For the purposes of the No Nines Standard, the most relevant exposure pathway is through fragranced products. Any cleaning product, air freshener, laundry detergent, or personal care product that lists "fragrance" or "parfum" as an ingredient may contain DEP as a fragrance solvent. Because of the trade secret exemption, there is no way to confirm or rule out the presence of phthalates based on the label alone.
Common household sources include scented cleaning sprays, scented laundry detergent and fabric softener, plug-in and spray air fresheners, scented candles, scented hand soaps, and scented personal care products. Each of these categories can contain phthalates within their fragrance blends, and most households use several of them simultaneously.
Phthalates also enter homes through non-fragrance pathways. Vinyl shower curtains, vinyl flooring, and flexible PVC products can off-gas DEHP and other plasticizer phthalates. Food packaging is another source. But for cleaning and personal care products specifically, the fragrance pathway is the primary concern and the one most directly addressable through product reformulation.
A note on "phthalate-free" marketing claims: these are voluntary and unregulated. There is no third-party certification requirement, no standardized testing protocol, and no regulatory enforcement behind the claim. A product labeled "phthalate-free" may have been formulated without intentionally adding phthalates, but if it contains a fragrance blend sourced from a third-party supplier, the manufacturer may not have full visibility into every component of that blend. The most reliable way to avoid phthalates in consumer products is to choose products that disclose every ingredient by name, or to choose products that eliminate fragrance entirely.
What No Nines uses instead
No Nines products contain no fragrance, which means no hidden phthalates. This is a structural solution, not a marketing claim. We did not reformulate a fragrance blend to remove phthalates and then label the result "phthalate-free." We eliminated the entire category of ingredients that conceals them.
This matters most for products that contact skin directly. The Face + Body Mist and the Baby Skin Mist are both formulated with full ingredient disclosure and zero fragrance compounds, synthetic or natural. Every ingredient is listed by name on the label and on our Ingredient Transparency page. If you want to know whether a No Nines product contains phthalates, the answer is no, and you can verify that by reading the complete ingredient list rather than relying on a voluntary claim.
The same principle applies across the full product line. The Whole Home HOCl Cleaner, the Foaming Hand Wash, the Laundry Rinse: none of them contain fragrance, which means none of them contain the solvent compounds that fragrance blends typically require.
The bottom line
Phthalates are endocrine disruptors with a substantial research base linking them to reproductive and developmental effects in both animal models and human populations. The most common phthalate in consumer cleaning and personal care products, DEP, is rarely labeled because it enters formulations inside fragrance blends protected by trade secret exemptions.
The most reliable way to avoid phthalate exposure from consumer products is not to look for "phthalate-free" labels. It is to choose products that either eliminate fragrance entirely or disclose every ingredient by name. The No Nines Standard does both.
Phthalates are hidden inside fragrance. Eliminating fragrance eliminates this exposure pathway.
See our full ingredient list for every product.
Related reading: Synthetic Fragrance in Cleaning Products (how the fragrance trade secret works) and Formaldehyde Releasers in Cleaning Products.
