Household cleaner giants want to keep chemical ingredients secret
For more than a year, Procter & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive and other household cleaner giants have been refusing to follow a New York law requiring them to disclose the chemical ingredients in their products and the health risks they pose.
When we asked them nicely, they ignored us or refused. When thousands of people across the country put the pressure on them, they responded with platitudes and still did nothing. And for almost a year, they've been fighting a lawsuit against them, slowing down the process whenever possible.
But today, both sides got their day in court, arguing the case before a Manhattan judge. Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell reminded the court that studies have linked chemicals commonly found in household cleaners to health problems like asthma and reproductive abnormalities. And that people deserve to know whether the products they use to wash their dishes, launder their clothes, and clean their homes could be harmful.
Industry's response: we'd rather wait until the authorities force us to provide the information.
Observers couldn't help but notice the clear gender divide in the courtroom today. Industry—including Arm & Hammer manufacturer Church and Dwight and Lysol-maker Reckitt-Benckiser—presented an all male lineup. Keri was flanked by her female colleagues.
Very interesting.
This first-of-its-kind lawsuit could have national implications and comes as momentum builds nationally and internationally for toxics chemical reform. Today, the United States Senate committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing looking into the current science related to the chemicals in our bodies. Advocates are awaiting introduction of federal legislation to reform the nation's badly broken system of regulating toxic chemicals. And internationally, companies are preparing to comply with Europe's new chemical regulations (known as REACH).
All of these efforts are getting us closer to a bright, non-toxic future. Starting with providing consumers with the information they need to protect themselves and their families.
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I think it is total garbage that mr. clean does not tell people what is in the cleaners. i for one (excuse my use of language) am pissed about something that just recently happened to me. I was using a mr. clean magic eraser to clean the tub and found that it works out very well. i grgabbed a clean one from the package and decided it might be safe to use yon my face because it felt like a normal sponge, boy was i wrong, the sponge had chaffed my face, an entire layer of skin on my nose rubbed off, my nose was bleeding from out of my pores, and was bleeding around where my nostrils are. i didnt notice the effect the sponge had on my face until i was finished cleaning my face, it felt just like any other sponge i would use on my face any other given day. not im sitting here too mad to go outside because my entire nose scabbed up and my face is beat red. that is the last time i will ever buy anything with a mr. clean label on it again.
Wow! I wasn't aware of that. Do you by any chance know what chemical ingredients which can harm they use? I want to write a custom essay about it. It is very serious topic. If you have any information or know where to find it - please let me know.
These household cleaners, especially aerosols, have proven their toll on our health and the environment for decades. When will we learn that turning our atmosphere into a giant tanning bed is not the best idea for a flourishing future? Mr. Clean can plead the fifth now, but he's "gonna have some 'splaining to do" when legislation really starts to crack down on these dangers.... maybe in 2100...
This situation should never have been allowed to become the standard m. o. in the first place - however, better late than never. New laws must be passed to prevent this type of consumer deception in all areas, not just household cleaners.
Proctor & Gamble have a shameful history of many types of abuses, including deceptive practices, redundant and ineffective testing of their products on animals (not because they care about the consumer, but because they receive government grants to do so). I wish Earthjustice would go after P & G with everything they have and shut them down, cold.
Let someone with some integrity take over the company, because they sure don't have any now. I haven't bought any of their products for many years. If more people knew about the way they run the company, you can bet their sales would tank, and fast. There are many other good products out there - why support a company based on greed, deception and cruelty?
I listened to the hearings today and I believe they said that the companies have to give the EU Government the chemicals that are in products because of REACH. I read the REACH project and the Bush Administration wrote different letters to other countries trying to convince them not to regulate their products. They claimed it would ruin our economy if we regulated. There was a slight mention of our health.
The EU Government passed REACH anyway and are regulating their products. I might be wrong but I am pretty sure I have been reading the products are already regulated-- to what extent I am not sure.
There are millions that are sick already from chemical sensitivities, not to mention asthma, cancer, etc.
Seems like they would have thought about this years ago, make a product, make sure it is safe, then put it on the market. Instead the burden is on the consumer and the EPA. It is very expensive to do all this testing while these companies have made all this money and people are sick.
I have to be very careful of the products I use but mostly I suffer from the products others use.
I use to use Mr. Clean and all those products until my 40's and never thought anything about the dangers.
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