Environmental laws and regulations exist for a reason; often, it's because some ecosystem, creatures, or people once suffered for the lack of protection.
History is full of stories of products that crippled, maimed, and killed the people who made them. So it was with Fake Silk, the title of a book by Paul David Blanc about cellulose viscose, used to make everything from car tires to kitchen sponges.
Users generally suffered no ill effects, but the workers exposed to it did, and manufacturing processes released toxic chemicals into the air. Paul David Blanc, an MD, visits with tales of "Fake Silk."