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The handwringing and defensive happy talk is winding down today. The industries that make, use and sell toxic chemicals in everyday products are wrapping up two major industry conferences – a national Safer Consumer Products Summitin Washington, DC and an international Product Safety Workshop in Seattle, WA.

Despite EPA’s definition of “fair treatment,” “meaningful involvement,” and “environmental justice,” communities of color continue to be exposed to higher rates of air pollution, water pollution, toxics in products and contaminated properties. African Americans are more likely to live near landfills and dumps, contaminated Brownfield properties, trash incinerators, power plants, chemical plants, auto body shops, nail salons, and refineries than other Americans.

Last week Walmart announced a first step to address toxic chemicals in their stores, taking the lead in our Mind the Store challenge. Read some of the different responses to the announcement in our first Retailer Roundtable discussion.

I had the opportunity to interview author, business woman, mother and blogger Paige Wolf about her book, Spit That Out! If you've ever had trouble balancing the normal challenges of parenthood with new information about toxic chemicals and other environmental issues, this interview is for you.

No matter how careful a woman is, there is no way to avoid all BPA exposure. And you know what? It shouldn’t be our job! No one, especially a pregnant woman, should have to be a toxicologist to go to the grocery store.

On a recent call with Walmart’s Sustainability team, they told us they were taking your calls and emails seriously, and were carefully assessing the Hazardous 100⁺ list. Click here for a snapshot of Walmart’s big news.

The world's largest retailer, Walmart, announced today it would begin disclosing chemicals in many product categories while phasing out approximately ten chemicals from products, in favor of safer alternatives. It also announced that it will pursue EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) imprimatur for some of its private label products. The disclosure practices will begin in 2015 and apply to cleaners, personal care products, cosmetics and baby care.

A new report from the Breast Cancer Fund today finds that pregnant mothers are commonly exposed to the harmful chemical bisphenol-a (BPA) in part as a result of eating canned food. The chemical is linked to hormone disruption, miscarriages and birth defects.

Going to a local retailer is a common experience. But last week a group of Ohio women visited Target and CVS to ask them to get serious about toxic chemicals. Here’s what happened...

Two pre-Labor Day federal announcements combine to pinpoint where we are in protecting the health and safety of workers in the United States.