Women, 1,4-dioxane and the marketing fallout

This is the rest of the story - how a concern on toxic build up a consumer product goes viral.

It started with Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo, when about 1.7 million women (and men) said, "NO MORE 1,4-dioxane" to J&J. When it came to their kids even a little bit, over long periods of exposure, was too much.  That's what I read on the Sustainable Life Media site yesterday.

J&J did the expected and defended itself, but now millions more know that 1,4-dioxane is a toxic flag. The next time these consumers are looking for products and they see the same chemical showing up, you can bet they will be questioning it's purchase; even if it's a small amount used in manufacturing, their concern has been raised. [Mercury in light bulbs is a big concern as well.]

Because of this branding issue, J&J is sending representatives to the Sustainable Brandsconference going on now. In the same blurb, SLM encouraged attendees to attend the panel on Transparency & Green Materials.

This is a heart and soul issue of sustainable practices. First, questionable toxins need to be eliminated in older product lines. They took the lead out of paint, didn't they? Second, companies need to be willing to have their products certified as sustainable and that includes getting rid of the Stockholm 12 Pervasive Organic Pollutants (POP) in your supply chain.  The SMaRT Sustainable Standard does that. Third, they need to be willing to be transparent and prove what their product AND THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN uses in their manufacturing process.

The 12 POPs under the Stockholm Convention:

Aldrin– A pesticide applied to soils to kill termites, grasshoppers, corn rootworm, and other insect pests.

Chlordane – Used extensively to control termites and as a broad-spectrum insecticide on a range of agricultural crops.

DDT – Perhaps the best known of the POPs, DDT was widely used during World War II to protect soldiers and civilians from malaria, typhus, and other diseases spread by insects. It continues to be applied against mosquitoes in several countries to control malaria.

Dieldrin– Used principally to control termites and textile pests, dieldrin has also been used to control insect-borne diseases and insects living in agricultural soils.

Dioxins – These chemicals are produced unintentionally due to incomplete combustion, as well as during the manufacture of certain pesticides and other chemicals. In addition, certain kinds of metal recycling and pulp and paper bleaching can release dioxins. Dioxins have also been found in automobile exhaust, tobacco smoke and wood and coal smoke.

Endrin – This insecticide is sprayed on the leaves of crops such as cotton and grains. It is also used to control mice, voles and other rodents.

Furans– These compounds are produced unintentionally from the same processes that release dioxins, and they are also found in commercial mixtures of PCBs.

Heptachlor– Primarily employed to kill soil insects and termites, heptachlor has also been used more widely to kill cotton insects, grasshoppers, other crop pests, and malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)– HCB kills fungi that affect food crops. It is also released as a byproduct during the manufacture of certain chemicals and as a result of the processes that give rise to dioxins and furans.

Mirex – This insecticide is applied mainly to combat fire ants and other types of ants and termites. It has also been used as a fire retardant in plastics, rubber, and electrical goods.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)– These compounds are employed in industry as heat exchange fluids, in electric transformers and capacitors, and as additives in paint, carbonless copy paper, sealants and plastics.

Toxaphene– This insecticide, also called camphechlor, is applied to cotton, cereal grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It has also been used to control ticks and mites in livestock.

Comments

[Lynn from Organicmania.com]

I'm glad J&J is participating in the conference, Mary. J&J has done a lot of good in the community, and they take pride in their reputation as a good corporate citizen. As I've blogged before, I believe they also should take the lead in reviewing the legacy chemicals used in personal care products in light of the pending Kid Safe Chemical Act and other legislation. And while it's nice to send people jetting all over the world to conferences, I also wonder why - if they're so "engaged" with Digital Moms- they're still not engaging with the members of the Green Moms Carnival who raised questions about the Toxic Tub report.

They've selectively chosen whom to respond to, and they've done so very incompletely.

[Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish]

Hi Mary. Just now catching up on Green Mom Carnival posts. I'm wondering if you have an update on what happened with J&J at the conference. (I'm just way behind.)

Beth

[Mary]

Beth, I don't have an update, I picked up that tidbit reading their announcement page for Sustainable life.