Seventh Generation Calls on Congress for Meaningful Chemical Reform

BURLINGTON, VT--(Marketwired - Mar 19, 2015) - Seventh Generation, the nation's leading brand of non-toxic and renewable bio-based household, baby and personal care solutions, calls on Congress to strengthen the country's outdated chemical policy.

Seventh Generation, along with the American Sustainable Business Council, are founding members of Companies for Safer Chemicals, a group of the country's leading consumer brands -- 3,000 businesses strong -- joining together to press Congress to modernize the nation's ineffective chemical safety laws. Strong lobbying by other industry groups has given policymakers the impression that business is monolithic in its support for weak legislation. Companies for Safer Chemicals makes a business argument for strong reforms that support the industry innovating safer and cleaner products.

"When Members of Congress talk about regulating industry, too often they forget about small and medium sized businesses that have embraced good business practices. Seventh Generation stands as proof that cost-effective products that not only meet consumer demands, but are increasingly demanded by consumers, can be formulated and manufactured without chemicals of concern," said Ashley Orgain, Seventh Generation's manager of mission advocacy and outreach at a Senate press conference on Tuesday.

Seventh Generation and the coalition have serious reservations about the current version of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (FLCSA). As the debate with FLCSA proceeds, Seventh Generation stands with our coalition of more than 3,000 business partners as well as our allies in the consumer protection and environmental health community to call for the following limited improvements to FLCSA:

• Preemption
  
  We are deeply concerned about the timing of preemption for "high priority" chemicals. We believe that states should be preempted from regulating a dangerous chemical until it acts on regulating that chemical. Experience has shown us that chemical manufacturers have shown no reluctance to pursue dilatory legal or legislative remedies to fight adverse safety determinations; and we are certain that they would continue to do so if the EPA designated a lucrative chemical "high priority." Waiting for years for those determinations to be litigated would leave a serious regulatory vacuum -- one that states could fill by acting to protect the public. Likewise, we see no reason that states should be prohibited from co-enforcing federal safety standards.