WVE drives action towards a future free from the impacts of toxic chemicals rooted in gender justice alongside those historically and presently ignored by the environmental health movement by leveraging an intersectional solidarity approach based on our expertise in research, advocacy and organizing.
WVE envisions a world free from the impacts of toxic chemicals, one where our planet and communities are thriving, one where our gender, race, sexuality, zip code, income level or job does not determine our health outcomes. A world where workers are treated with dignity from our paychecks to our working conditions. In this world, every point in the cycle of production and consumption – from extraction, to processing, to use, to disposal – contributes not just to a less toxic world, but to a thriving world.
In 1995, our founders created a new organization run by women, that recognized and uplifted the connections between gender, health, class, race, and the environment. Today, we lead tens of thousands of advocates across the country in campaigns to increase corporate accountability and transparency, enact health-protective laws, and take steps to reduce toxic exposure in their lives.
Our campaigns have historically focused on the industries that most heavily market and sell to women. We aim to rid the cleaning products industry of secret ingredients and unsafe chemicals, drive the period care and intimate care product marketplace toward safer products, and reduce toxic chemicals in salon and personal care products. Our work has resulted in monumental shifts in some of the largest consumer products companies in the world, and in policies that protect health. Read about our successes here.
As we continue to grow and deepen our work, we envision WVE as a community that is accessible, intersectional and empowering for LGBTQIA+ people, young people, Black people, Indigenous people, Latin@ people, Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander people, refugees, immigrants, people with disabilities, and working class people. We honor and recognize the intersectionality of these identities. And when we say disproportionately impacted people we are clear that we are talking about people at these intersections. We strive to put solidarity into action as we build this community.
There is more work to do for our communities, our families and our environment. Join us!
