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Once as a child, I visited the factory floor, and saw the machine my father stood over, stamping out parts that helped make America hum with electricity. It was hot in there, and the place was filled with dust. Decades later, we would learn that dust was a toxin called kaolin, a fine naturally occurring particle used to make plastics and ceramics.

Why are we still hopeful that Target may take the lead on our Mind the Store challenge? Because of some of the steps they’ve already taken on toxic chemicals...

“Amazingly, it’s hard to fathom that as architects we don’t always know what chemicals are in the building materials we use. It’s time for this to change. It’s time to bring a new set of baseline criteria to building design and construction by starting with the elimination of toxic chemicals in building materials.” – Robin Guenther, Principal, Perkins+Will

Construction Specialties has created a niche for itself by developing and manufacturing environmentally responsible building products. This $300-million-a-year business helps builders avoid PVCs, PBTs, and other chemicals known to harm human health and the environment. “The demand for environmentally responsible and relevant building products is growing rapidly.”

A leading brand of natural household and personal care products, Seventh Generation is an excellent example of how socially responsible businesses are thriving in today’s marketplace. Their name comes from the Law of the Iroquois that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) manages to combine business success with a commitment to sustainability. “The moral and operational imperatives are here, now, for health care to support safer chemicals reform. This isn’t just a fight between environmentalists and the chemical industry, it’s really about who cares for human health.”

Kaiser Permanente uses its purchasing clout to create new markets for safer medical products, and has spent years removing toxic chemicals from its operations to protect patient health. But the people at Kaiser realize their own efforts will always fall short without robust federal laws to support them.

For many of us, cancer feels like it surrounds us – so many friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors seem to be carrying this health burden in neighborhoods throughout our state, and throughout the nation. In Massachusetts, one hundred people on average are diagnosed with cancer every day. Since the mid 1980s cancer rates have risen 14% among men and 19% among women. The good news: due to a landmark law passed here in 1989, we’re making real progress in stemming this tide.

As the US Senate begins consideration of the recently introduced Chemical Safety Improvement Act, I want them to think about the brain. Most of us don’t think about our brains. It’s like thinking about our hearts beating or about the sun rising and setting each day. The human brain develops in an incredibly intricate and elegantly orchestrated series of events. Brain cells (neurons) divide, migrate, differentiate and communicate. At birth, a baby’s brain has about 100 billion neurons that are in place and beginning to connect with each other, sending and receiving messages. The brain continues to grow and strengthen connections throughout childhood. Wow. That’s a lot happening in just nine months. But that’s not the part I really want our Senators to think about.

You may have already heard of the The Toxies – a satirical red carpet awards ceremony for “bad actor” chemicals. This multi-media campaign was created by the statewide coalition of non-profits, Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE) and led by Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles (PSR-LA). See highlights from the past award ceremonies here.

This year, we’re ditching those awards (which were probably toxic anyway!) and launching a new websisode series called, The Toxies: Exposed. Through seven short videos, we follow a daring investigative journalist as he chases down toxic chemicals and pollutants, raising awareness about toxics in our homes, schools, workplaces and communities.