Women’s Health Organization Calls for The Clorox Company to Quit Toxic ‘Quats’ in Disinfecting Products
Environmental health non-profit, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), is raising concerns about the use of antibacterial chemicals commonly found in disinfecting products like wipes, sprays, and all-purpose cleaners. Registered as pesticides with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ammonium quaternary compounds — or “quats” — are linked to adverse health effects including asthma, dermatitis, reproductive harm, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance bacteria, often referred to as “super-bugs”.
As a major manufacturer of disinfecting products, WVE is calling on The Clorox Company to be a leader in product safety and eliminate quats from their products.
New Data Reveals One-Third of All Fragrance Chemicals Linked to Human, Environmental Harm
New data compiled by environmental health non-profit, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), reveals that a third of all fragrance chemicals currently in use are either known to be toxic, or considered potentially toxic by scientists around the world.
This data fully compliments a report released today by Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP), which tested household products and clearly revealed the presence of harmful fragrance chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, reproductive harm, and respiratory toxicity that do not appear on the label.
CA Governor Signs Historic Law Requiring Ingredient Disclosure in Professional Salon Products
In a major victory for worker and consumer right to know, Governor Brown signed into law a ground-breaking bill that requires manufacturers to disclose ingredients on the labels of professional cosmetics.
Until now, only retail cosmetics manufacturers were required to list product ingredients. This same transparency was not required of professional cosmetics, even if products contained ingredients linked to severe health concerns like cancer, birth defects, and respiratory issues. Introduced by Assembly Member Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), AB 2775 is the first such law to take effect in the nation.
Women Rally at Prestige Brands Headquarters to Protest Body Shaming and Toxic Chemicals in Summer’s Eve Products
Women’s rights activists are gathering in Tarrytown, New York, to hold a demonstration and press conference outside of Prestige Brands headquarters to protest against manipulative marketing, toxic products, and poor ingredient disclosure that puts women’s health at risk. Led by national women’s health non-profit, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), and joined by Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, a leader in menstrual equity policy — the event aims to send the makers of the iconic Summer’s Eve brand a strong message: products the company claims are for “feminine cleansing” are actually harmful and promote body-shaming stigmas.
New Tampon Testing Reveals Undisclosed Carcinogens and Reproductive Toxins
National women’s health nonprofit, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), has released independent product-testing results that reveal undisclosed toxic chemicals in tampons. The results of the testing detected carbon disulfide, a known reproductive toxin, in all four brands of tampons that contain rayon. Carbon disulfide is a chemical that is predominantly used in the manufacture of rayon; it was not detected in the all-cotton tampons that were tested.
Report Exposes Industry-Funded Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Panel’s Failure to Protect the Public and Manufacturers
An exclusive report exposes the dangers both the public and manufacturers face in relying on the Cosmetics Ingredient Review (CIR) panel to provide adequate safety assessments of ingredients used in cosmetics. The CIR is a program of the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), a trade organization representing manufacturers of the $62 billion cosmetics industry. The CIR’s stated purpose is to assess the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics. But as the report points out, the CIR is green-lighting chemicals as “safe for use in cosmetics” that are linked to adverse health effects including allergies, hormone disruption and cancer.
Open Letter Urges Makers of Summer’s Eve to Remove Harmful Chemicals from Feminine Products
Today, 25 environmental, health, and justice organizations released an open letter urging New York-based consumer product goods manufacturer Prestige Brands, makers of Summer’s Eve, to eliminate toxic chemicals and disclose all ingredients in the iconic feminine care brand. Circulated by national women’s health non-profit, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), the letter calls into question the ingredients found in Summer’s Eve products, including wipes, washes and sprays, to which women are exposed without their knowledge or consent.
CA Governor Signs Historic Law Requiring Companies to Disclose Ingredients in Cleaning Products
In a major victory for consumer and worker right to know, Governor Brown has signed into law a bill that requires manufacturers of a wide array of cleaning products to disclose their ingredients. The Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 (Senate Bill 258, authored by Senator Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens) requires the ingredients in cleaning products – particularly chemicals whose ability to harm human health or the environment has been recognized by established scientific authoritative bodies – to be listed on both product labels and online. Under this law, the mandatory disclosure also applies to ingredients in fragrance mixtures, which have been tightly-held secrets until now.
Joint Statement on California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act: CSPA, WVE, BCPP, EWG, NRDC
The carefully crafted compromise that was voted on today was developed through intense NGO-industry stakeholder negotiations and has generated an unprecedented coalition of support made up of over 100 organizations and corporations ranging from breast cancer prevention and clean water advocates to janitors and domestic workers to some of the world’s largest multinational cleaning product companies.
In California, Cleaning Product Companies To Come Clean on Ingredients
Right to Know Act Mandates Ingredient Disclosures on Labels and Online - In a major victory for consumer and worker right to know, California lawmakers today approved legislation to require manufacturers to disclose the ingredients in home-use and institutional cleaning products. If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill, California will once again become a national leader by requiring greater transparency of ingredients in consumer products.
