Cleaning Product Manufacturers Sued to Disclose Ingredients

Posted on Mar 23, 2009

On February 19th 2009 a group of environmental and health advocates filed a lawsuit that would force various well-known manufacturers of household cleaning products to make complete lists of ingredients available to the public. The New York based lawsuit is being filed on behalf of six state and national environmental and health groups, including the Sierra Club and American Lung Association against Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight and Reckitt-Benckiser.

The lawsuit comes after efforts to get the companies to disclose the information on their own. Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, filed the suit on the basis of an obscure 1976 New York law passed to limit phosphates in detergents.

Last September, the coalition of groups sent letters out to several manufacturers informing them of the law and asking them to make their ingredients known to consumers. Many “eco-friendly” companies such as Methods Products Inc. and Seventh Generation Inc. complied with the request while the four companies being sued refused.

“People deserve to know whether the products they use to wash their dishes and clean their homes could be harmful,” said Earthjustice lawyer Keri Powell. Many of the activist groups involved in the lawsuit say the chemicals are linked to asthma, skin sensitization and other human health issues. They can also cause reproductive problems in aquatic life when they eventually make their way to our rivers, streams and lakes. By revealing if harmful chemicals are used in products, consumers can make more intelligent decisions that won’t harm their health. Consumers would force companies currently using harmful chemicals to reform or risk going out of business.

Currently the California Senate is considering AB443 which would add cleaning products used in food facilities to the list of consumer products regulated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, under the authority of AB 1879. Regulation of chemicals found in consumer products is a fundamental concern of CHANGE. Continue to check our website for updates about this important issue.  

By Farah Ereiqat