In the last 30 years over 30,000 toxic chemicals have entered our everyday lives without a warning. Furniture, detergent and diaper creams, plastic packaging, pesticides and nail polish all may contain an invisible cocktail of toxic chemicals that threatens public health. With no labeling and little government oversight, toxic chemicals linked to cancers, learning disabilities, asthma, reproductive problems and other illnesses are hidden in the things we use every day, at home and on the job.
Major brands and chemical manufacturers hide behind so-called ‘trade secrets,’ claiming that they don’t have to reveal what chemicals they use because it might hurt their bottom line. While the law requires alcoholic beverages have warning labels for pregnant women, a bottle
of detergent doesn’t have to disclose that it may contain chemicals linked to birth defects or miscarriage.
While companies are supposed to pay fines for dumping tons of toxic sludge into a river, putting invisible pollution into our bodies through the products we use every day (and keeping it a secret) is perfectly legal. We are the ones who pay the price of this hidden pollution with
our health and the health of our children.
We believe that consumers and workers have the right to know what chemicals are in the products we use every day- in our homes and at work- so we can take action to protect ourselves and our families and send a strong message to manufacturers that we demand safer
products that don’t harm our health or the environment.
CHANGE has put forward an agenda for toxic transparency and safer solutions and we are calling on Sacramento lawmakers to lead. These ideas are already working in other countries and communities, and with these solutions California can continue to lead the nation as an
innovator in public health, environmental justice, and green job creation. Let’s Make it Clear: Demand toxic transparency, retire chemicals that can make us sick, and create an economy where our health can truly thrive.