To me, it’s obvious that policy makers need to step up their game. The transition to safer chemicals cannot solely be driven by consumers trying to make sense of content declarations on the back of shampoo bottles. Besides, the positive environmental impact of an informed purchase is absolutely dwarfed by an industry wide law.
A couple of weeks ago, chemical producing giant Dupont announced via a press release its new sustainability goals, including an ambition to design all of its products in line with the green chemistry principles. In this situation, where the current business model has reached the end of the road, there aren’t many options left for Dupont but to announce a major turnaround.
Mind the Store just released its new report card, which shows some real improvements in how retailers are dealing with the use of hazardous chemicals in their products. Here are three interesting findings from this year’s report card.
IKEA and H&M have joined forces in a large-scale study reviewing chemical content of recyclable fabrics such as shirts, pants and other textiles as a step towards becoming circular.
The EU Commission has started to investigate if polymers should be registered under the EU chemicals legislation REACH. This has turned out to be something of a hot potato since opinions on the matter differ. Some say yes, some say no – others ask how and to what extent.
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) are not only a huge threat to human health and the environment. They are also a really bad investment for the producers and their investors. Lawsuits and liability cases are making PFAS producing companies such as DuPont, 3M and Chemours lose a ton of money. They are also taking a huge toll on their respective stocks.
