Since US regulation of toxic chemicals is behind the times, non-profit organizations such as the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition - of which Health Care Without Harm was a founding member - have taken it upon themselves to rally consumer power to encourage retailers to take the necessary steps to phase out toxic chemicals ahead of eventual legislation. The Mind the Store campaign specifically evaluates the efforts of US retailers to eliminate toxic chemicals and writes a report to share the information with a wider audience, providing encouragement for concrete implementation of policy and purchasing change.
Top priorities for 2018 include chemicals such as methylene chloride, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and ortho-phthalates. According to Chemical Watch, “executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, Mike Belliveau, set out the campaign’s priorities for the year. It will pursue ‘direct results in reducing chemical footprint and replacing chemicals of high concern with safer alternatives’, he said.”
Health Care Without Harm strongly supports market-based strategies to shift away from toxic chemicals and encourages players in the health care industry to be leaders in the fight for replacing chemicals of concern with safer alternatives.
[Source: Chemical Watch]