Breaking News: Tide has agreed to reformulate laundry detergents!
For those of you who have been following Groovy Green Livin for a while you’ll remember that Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) released a report , Dirty Secrets: What’s Hiding in Your Cleaning Products?, which revealed high levels of the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane hiding out in Tide® and Tide Free & Gentle® . 1,4-dioxane has been linked in animal studies to increased risk of breast cancer. This toxic chemical doesn’t appear on the Tide product label or on the product website, so consumers have no way of knowing it’s even there.
My Petition
Many of you know that I started a petition over at Change.org demanding that Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide) strip this harmful cancer-causing chemical out of Tide Free & Gentle®. As it turned out I wasn’t the only one who wanted these cancer-causing chemicals out of their Tide laundry detergent.
The petition went viral. Over 78,000 of you stepped up to the plate and raised your voice, demanding that Procter & Gamble change the formulation of their Tide laundry detergent. We knew Procter & Gamble could make this change because they’ve done it before. Back in 2010 the company reformulated its Herbal Essences® shampoo to eliminate 1,4-dioxane. We continued to turn up the volume, letting Procter & Gamble know that we wouldn’t stop until they made a change.
Following the WVE report, As You Sow, an Oakland-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit against Procter & Gamble for violating Proposition 65, the California law governing toxic chemical exposure in consumer products.
Victory! We did it!
The Power of We is a force to be reckoned with. Almost 80,000 of us came together demanding that Procter & Gamble remove this cancer-causing chemical from their Tide Free & Gentle® laundry detergent. After almost a year Procter & Gamble realized they could no longer ignore our concerns.
Procter & Gamble listened!
On January 24, 2013 Procter & Gamble, makers of Tide® and Tide Free & Gentle® detergents agreed in a California court to reformulate its detergents to reduce levels of 1,4 dioxane to below 25 parts per million. Procter & Gamble will complete the reformulation process by September of 2013!
The Power of Our Collective Voice
Yes, I started the petition but YOU made it happen. By taking a few seconds out of your day to add your name to that petition you made a difference.
This victory is a testament to the power of our collective voices. We just moved the biggest consumer product company on the planet to make a change, a big change, in just one short year. Together we not only made a difference in our own health we made Tide safer for the millions of people who use it globally.
Thank you to all the fabulous writers and friends who covered this story on their blogs and/or in other media. There are too many of you to name, but just know that you were instrumental in making this happen. Thank you.
Thank you to WVE for spearheading the report and working tirelessly to make sure Procter & Gamble was held accountable. Cassidy (the star of the victory video above) you rock!
Thank you to Healthy Child Healthy World, with an extra big shout out to Margie Kelly, for the endless support and guidance.
Thank you to As You Sow for adding that extra pressure that helped turn the tables on this issue.
Thank you to Change.org for providing a fabulous petition platform which empowers people everywhere to create change.
Together We Made this Happen
So after September of 2013 when you see a bottle of Tide® or Tide Free & Gentle® sitting on the shelves in the store walk by with your head held high, knowing that you made that product a bit safer for families everywhere. Maybe you’ll even share the story with your children and let them know how powerful we really are.
Congratulations. This victory is yours! Please take a moment to thank Procter & Gamble for listening to our concerns.
