50,000 Consumers Demand Fragrance Information from SC Johnson

Women’s Voices for the Earth, SumOfUs.org join forces against secret toxic chemicals in Glade

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today advocacy groups SumOfUs.org and Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) presented cleaning product manufacturing giant SC Johnson & Son with more than 51,000 signatures from consumers demanding to know what ingredients make up the fragrances in the company’s scented products. The groups hope SC Johnson will respond by listing fragrance ingredients for each of their products.

The petition delivery comes the same day that Women’s Voices for the Earth launched “What’s Really Inside SC Johnson” at www.whatsreallyinsidescjohnson.com.The website features a commercial that spoofs the corporate website, “What’s Inside SC Johnson,” and mocks the company’s stated commitment to ingredient disclosure.”

“SC Johnson publicly touts their commitment to honesty and transparency while keeping fragrance ingredients in products a secret, and their customers find this double standard unacceptable,” said Cassidy Randall, Director of Outreach and Engagement at Women’s Voices for the Earth. “Consumers have a right to know what chemicals are in products like Glade, especially if those chemicals may harm their health.”

Consumer outrage at the cleaning product giant ignited after independent test results commissioned by WVE revealed that the iconic air freshener product line, Glade, contains chemicals linked to hormone disruption, reproductive harm in baby boys, increased risk of breast cancer, and allergic reactions.

“In the European Union, where disclosure rules are stricter, Glade products already have labels about their ingredients, so we know that S.C. Johnson could easily be more transparent.,” said SumOfUs Campaign Manager Kaytee Riek. “But it’s chosen to keep customers in the U.S. in the dark. S.C. Johnson wants to be seen as a leader on transparency, and this is its chance to live up to that billing. By labeling potentially harmful ingredients in Glade products, it can help set a new standard in the fragrance industry.”

Last year, SC Johnson published a master list of nearly 1,500 ingredients used in their fragrances. However, these ingredients aren’t product-specific; the company’s fragranced products may include any of those chemicals, meaning that consumers can’t tell what specifically is in their products.

Based on this list, some chemicals of concern found in SC Johnson products include:

• Galaxolide and Tonalide, which are synthetic musks linked to hormone disruption. These chemicals are showing up in blood and breast milk and research shows they may break down the body’s defenses against other toxic exposures.
• All 26 of the chemicals that the EU has identified as allergens and already require on product labels there.
• Terpenes, which can react with ground level ozone in the air to form cancer-causing formaldehyde.
• Petroleum – the same compound in gasoline.

The tagline in WVE’s spoof website and commercial is, “Secret toxic chemicals: from the SC Johnson family to yours.” It parodies SC Johnson’s own statements about the company’s commitment to honesty and transparency: “We know you value transparency, and we’re committed to sharing what’s inside our products,” “Today’s families want to know what’s in the household cleaning and air freshening products they use in their homes,” and “That’s why we disclose all ingredients… So you know what you’re bringing into your home.”

Consumers who signed the petition to SC Johnson are also outraged by the company’s double standard on allergen disclosure. SC Johnson discloses allergens directly on product labels in the EU, but has refused to disclose the same allergens in their U.S. products because they’re not required to by law.

CONTACT
Cassidy Randall, cassidyr@womensvoices.org, 406.543.3747
Rob Wohl, rob@sumofus.org, 528.481.7436

Women’s Voices for the Earth is a national organization that works to eliminate toxic chemicals that harm women’s health by changing consumer behaviors, corporate practices and government policies. To learn more, visit womensvoices.org.

SumOfUs is a world-wide movement for a better global economy. To learn more, visit www.sumofus.org.

# # #