SC Johnson to phase out phthalate from scented products

Posted on Mar 12, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Products

Consumer products maker SC Johnson said it plans to phase out a type of phthalate, a class of industrial chemical, from its fragrance products over the next two years.

CBC News reports the maker of Windex, Glade, Raid and Ziploc products is phasing out DEP, a common phthalate, from fragrances in its products. Phthalate compounds have been found to interfere with reproductive hormones when absorbed through the mouth or skin. A federal law, which took effect last month, has banned six types of phthalates — primarily used to soften plastics — from toys. I’d like to see all types banned, now.

For people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, this probably will not do anything to make the products safe, but it shows that companies will move toward safer products when pressured by the public, government regulation, and economic interests. Fragrance companies are now under pressure to conform to the new EU REACH standards, which may in fact be one of the motivating factors in this phthalate announcement from SC Johnson. The move toward full disclosure noted below is probably in response to changes coming to US chemical regulation, as previously reported on The Canary Report.

On its website, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notes that other unbanned phthalates — like DEP — may be used in children’s toys and other products.

In a statement, SC Johnson chief executive Fisk Johnson said DEP has raised concern among consumers, although he noted that it has not been found to be unsafe.

Small amounts of DEP are used in fragrance manufacturing to help scents last longer, SC Johnson said. It is the only phthalate used in its home cleaning and air care products.

“At the end of the day, we will consider making a change if it’s really important to the families that use our products,” Johnson said.

Racine, Wis.-based SC Johnson also said it plans to provide ingredient information for products including Windex, Shout, and Glade.

Consumers can receive ingredient information on the web, by phone, and on product labels that will be phased in over the next two years for all air care and home cleaning products. All ingredients will be listed, including dyes, preservatives and fragrances.

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Thanks, Linda!

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Children's Health, Fragrance, Health, Home, Indoor Pollution, Law, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Perfume, Policy, Products, Research, Toxic

7 Responses to “SC Johnson to phase out phthalate from scented products”

linda

12. Mar, 2009

“At the end of the day, we will consider making a change if it’s really important to the families that use our products,” Johnson said.

I would think families have always wanted non-toxic products, but since many of the toxic ingredients haven’t been labelled, we haven’t been aware that we have been unwitting guinea pigs, being poisoned for profit.

Well, some of us have known and have been sounding the alarm, it’s just taken a long time for it to be heard. Maybe one day people will thank us.

So folks, I guess we need to let the companies and service providers know that safe non-toxic products are important to us. Who knew?

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Lisa

13. Mar, 2009

I see a people brushing this news off as only pertaining to “fragrance products,” when it’s actually any product that is scented. What a big change!

I’d be curious to know what amount of “consumer feedback” was written feedback vs. voting with our dollars.

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Susie Collins

13. Mar, 2009

Linda and Lisa, I see a perfect storm happening in regard to toxic chemical regulation and reform in the US. Although those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity have been sounding the alarm for years and years about toxic chemicals in everyday household products, there are now social and economic pressures for companies to not only eliminate toxic chemicals from their products, but also to disclose all ingredients and manufacturing processes. SC Johnson is making this change because it’s now economically wise for them to do so. There is a perfect storm of the public, government, and international trade all applying pressure to companies to eliminate toxic chemicals from their products. This change in SC Johnson’s corporate strategy is not an isolated incident, it’s part of a social trend demanding toxic chemical reform. Hallelujah!

PS Lisa, Thanks for the shout out to The Canary Report. Your blog is wonderful! A good resource for us canaries. Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts on this.

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Jasmine

13. Mar, 2009

An important step in the right direction.

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Ruth

13. Mar, 2009

Susie, I do have a concern that when the new regs finally get in place, that a whole lot of the chemicals being used now will NOT be “grandfathered in”, so that business as usual goes on….leaving only the newer products to be considered for scrutiny. It could happen…..

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Lisa

13. Mar, 2009

Susie, thanks for stopping by http://www.supereco.com/news/2009/03/13/breaking-sc-johnson-removes-phthalates/. Many of our readers are still taking their first steps toward greener, more sustainable living, and we appreciate resources like you out here who are digging deep.

I agree that voting with our wallets is really starting to hurt companies that try to pull the wool over our eyes. I’m so glad for all those years I spent sticking to my guns and buying more expensive organic, natural and alternative products for my family — not only did we help build the market and bring the price point down and availability up for those products, but we took money away from companies that insisted they could keep poisoning their own customers. I hope that social and government pressure catches up with economic pressure — but until then, we’ll take what we can get!

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Mike

15. Mar, 2009

It is a good sign, but it won’t change my mind about SC Johnson – I will continue to vote for all green companies with my dollars – Earth Friendly Products, Seventh Generation, BioKleen, etc… SCJ shouldn’t be rewarded for polluting the envirionment and people’s bodies for decades.

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