One night toward the end of last year I was up late, staring at my small kitchen in Hackney, doing low‑tox homework. I’d emailed Marks and Spencer’s chief executive about stocking 100 per cent organic‑cotton bras and was about to Google fluoride‑containing toothpaste that avoided hormone‑disrupting chemicals. My month‑long detox began as a fun experiment but soon consumed time, money and energy.

The root was a gift from my sister: a second‑hand manual on homemade cleaning and beauty products. As I trimmed my cupboards of chemicals, my feed filled with posts warning about “forever chemicals” that accumulate in our bodies and pass from mother to child. These tiny migrants can enter through skin, dust, food and water, and even minuscule daily doses may alter biology.

Manufacturers have paid billions in settlements, and the EU now enforces strict limits on these chemicals in food packaging. Many people are taking matters into their own hands, vetting bathroom and kitchen contents. I found the science chaotic, with ties to far‑right politics and self‑proclaimed “raw egg nationalists” like Charles Cornish‑Dale.

I also met Leah Segedie of Simi Valley, who turned personal tragedy into activism after asbestos killed her father in 2006.