Want to lose weight, reduce your risk for heart disease and cancer, and ward off diabetes? Start by putting down that soda and skipping the canned soup during your next supermarket visit. These products and health concerns might seem like they have nothing in common, but they’re all united by a single chemical compound that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shamefully failed to ban from food...

Plastic Pollution Coalition joins Breast Cancer Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Working Group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and many other organizations in a call on FDA to ban BPA.  The move is supported by Martha Stewart, Jeff Bridges, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanna Arquette, Hillary Swank, Fran Drescher, Ed Begley, Jr., Mario Batali, Jackson Browne and many other notable...

This week, California’s elected officials voted down both a ban on plastic bags and a ban on Bisphenol-A (BPA) in plastic baby bottles, sippy cups and baby formula containers. Thanks to the millions spent by lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council, Dow, and Exxon to defeat these bills, now every Californian knows just what the acronym BPA means; why BPA should never be allowed in baby products;...

Today, the California State Assembly passed  SB797, a bill that would ban toxic Bisphenol-A, or BPA, from food and drink containers designed for children ages 3 and younger. BPA is a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to breast cancer and other serious health problems. It the United States it is used in many plastic baby bottles and sippy cups, as well as in the lining of infant formula cans...

Yesterday, the California Assembly held a vote that could have eliminated Bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula and baby food jars in that state. That vote fell short, but it’s NOT over yet.  The sponsors of the bill are asking California residents to call their elected officials and ask for their support. More information, telephone numbers and suggested actions are...

The use of Bisphenol A is controversial not only in the US, but also in Europe. Governments in Europe are starting to take decisive steps to protect their citizens.  This past March, the government of  Denmark voted to outlaw the chemical in products for children age 0-3. France‘s National Assembly approved a ban on manufacturing, importing, exporting and selling baby bottles made of BPA-based...

As we reported in December, Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-partisan research organization,  made public a study of unbilical cord blood of American babies. The test found nearly 300 chemicals, including many present in plastic objects such as Bisphenol A (BPA), flame retardants, lead, and PCBs. Sign the petition to safeguard our children These chemicals are increasingly linked to serious...

We are proud to welcome the Breast Cancer Fund to our growing coalition. Based in San Francisco, this nonprofit has a mission quite different from most cancer organizations. Instead of focusing on finding cures, the Breast Cancer Fund identifies – and advocates for elimination of – the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. Plastics are one such cause. The mission of the...

pink washing: the deceptive marketing practice of promoting association with a cancer charity (often using pink ribbon symbol) in order to suggest a company’s commitment to battling cancer, when according to independent scientific testing, a marketed product has potential to cause cancer. Pink Washing Sparkletts’ BPA Plastic Bottles Sparkletts’ water delivery trucks, previously...

A recent news release by Environmental Working Group highlights a study of infant cord blood commissioned by  Rachel’s Network and Environmental Working Group.  This is the first study to detect Bisphenol A (BPA) in umbilical cord blood.   Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical present in plastics and a powerful endocrine disruptor. As we reported in October, a separate study (download full report...