By Jen Dickman, Senior Program Associate at Safer Chemicals Healthy Families
Seattle is known for innovation, big ideas, and bold solutions. The use of harmful chemicals in products that cause pollution of our homes, communities, drinking water, and wildlife is one problem some Seattle-area retailers are tackling head on, while others are lagging behind. Continue reading
In Washington state, innovation, disruption and hyper-competition thrive. But when it comes to being at the leading edge in making and selling the safest stuff for our health and the planet, Washington-based retailers are mediocre at best and failing at worst. Continue reading
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Erika Schreder, the Science Director for Toxic-Free Future, and Mike Schade, the Mind the Store Campaign Director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
There’s nothing like spending an evening on the couch with our families, binge-watching the Great British Baking Show and passing around a bowl of scrumptious popcorn. But that popcorn may be carrying a hidden hazard.
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Editor’s Note: this post was written by Laurie Valeriano, the Executive Director of Toxic-Free Future, and Mike Schade, the Mind the Store campaign director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
Yesterday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Amazon announced an important enforcement action that will keep brain-damaging lead and cancer-causing cadmium out of the hands and mouths of children. This follows an investigation that revealed consumers in Washington and across the country made at least 15,188 purchases of products with illegal levels of lead and cadmium from amazon.com.
A company as big as Amazon has tremendous power to change the marketplace with any move it makes. So its silence on reducing toxic chemicals in its products has been troubling. But that changed recently with a new announcement that the company has adopted a new chemicals policy to reduce harmful chemicals in some of its products and provide consumers with better information on chemical ingredients. Continue reading
You may have seen the big news: hormone-disrupting chemicals called phthalates found in macaroni and cheese and other cheese products. The story was huge in print, TV, and on social media. Macaroni and cheese or any food shouldn’t be contaminated with industrial chemicals that can mess with hormones.
Mac n’ cheese is a simple dish, inexpensive, and most importantly, a kid-pleaser. It’s saved me many a lunch, and the occasional dinner, when my husband and I are too busy or exhausted to fix an elaborate meal for the family. But now I’ve learned that the powdered cheese can contain industrial toxic chemicals called phthalates that experts say could be harmful to young kids and developing fetuses. Knowing this, I’m rethinking my dinner choices until food companies clean up their act.
Costco members got some welcome news this month about its “Smart Screening” program to address toxic chemicals in some of the products the company sells. According to new updates to Costco’s website, the company is now testing products such as clothing, furniture, personal care products, cleaning products, and others for certain toxic chemicals of “regulatory and social concern,” and keeping products containing other harmful chemicals off its shelves entirely.
A new report out today rates some of the biggest retailers on their efforts to reduce the use of harmful chemicals in products sold in their stores. Two Washington state-based companies, Amazon and Costco, received the lowest grades (“Fs”) nationwide for their efforts. In comparison, Target and Wal-Mart received “Bs”. Continue reading