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Breaking News: Tide Agrees to Reformulate Laundry Detergent!

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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. 

photo credit: ladybugbkt via photopin cc

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  9. That’s incredibly good news, it means that the voice of the people CAN make a difference without going through an act of Congress to force the change. The market won today! Thank you for spearheading.

  11. On the video she says ‘drastically reduce’, that doesn’t mean ‘remove’ does it? How much of it will still be in there?

  13. WOW … CONGRATULATIONS!! This victory brings tears to my eyes … it’s just awesome when we pull together and make a positive change. Thank you for initiating this movement and keeping it alive! While I wish that we wouldn’t have had to nudge Tide in the right direction, I’m so glad that they are willing to listen and make a change. It might not have been for the right, environmental reasons but … the end result will be positive indeed!
    Small Footprints recently posted..Guest Post: Lowell Milken Center – Finding Hidden HeroesMy Profile

  16. We are so proud to have you as our member. We are so fortunate to have network members with honorable goals like this! Let’s make more changes like this done through sisterhood!! Strength in numbers speak volume! Congratulations!
    karen recently posted..Welcome to the Green SisterhoodMy Profile

  19. You are so sweet and supportive Karen. I’m honored to be a part of the Green Sisterhood. Together our voices do make a difference!

  21. There’s no way you would have known. Labels aren’t required to list ingredients. Even more reason we need to pass the Safe Chemicals Act.

  28. Diana, that’s a great question and one that I asked as well. The response I received was that it is possible that P & G through new manufacturing processes could bring the level down to 0 but they are only legally bound to reduce it to 25ppm. The good news is that have the technology to reduce the amount of 1.4 dioxane to below 10-they did it with their Herbal Essences products.

  32. Hi Kristina-P & G does know how to reformulate their products! They did the same exact thing with their Herbal Essence products back in 2010. They know exactly what their doing. Good question- why didn’t they do it sooner??

  34. Thanks so much Ronnie. Every small step makes a big difference. This is a big win for the consumer! Our collective voices can make a difference.

  44. My question is why did they even have it in there in the first place? Why do we trust a company that puts it’s profits ahead of it’s customer’s safety? I’ve committed to not shopping from them at all! I’ll let my redirected shopping dollars do the talking! Join me in boycotting P&G!

  45. Great question Lisa!I find it hard to imagine a company keeping a chemical in its products that could cause cancer. Clearly I’m not alone.

  46. This is an awesome way to help all those who still want to use traditional (sorry, but “toxic”) laundry detergents. But hopefully we can keep moving forward with greener detergents or eliminate detergents altogether with the new ozone laundry systems coming out.

  47. Honestly, getting people to vote with their dollar, and choosing another brand (Oasis being one) all together would be my vote and MUCH better for the planet. I have never used Tide (for one reason the fragrance) and would not. This is a small victory albeit a step in the “better” direction.

Trackbacks

  6. […] have been some fabulous success stories of moms causing BIG BUSINESS to make healthful change. Keep on going sisters!  There is loads of work to be […]

  12. […] for Tide detergent and Pantene Pro-V. Tide detergent has toxic chemicals, and recently took out a contaminant linked to cancer due to public pressure and leadership from blogger Lori Alper. Pantene Pro-V uses toxic chemicals […]

  13. […] from their detergents. Lori from Groovy Green Livin started the petition. You can read all about it here.  Great job […]

  14. […] 2013, Proctor and Gamble agreed to reformulate Tide laundry detergent as a result of consumer pressure, like the petition Lori Alper from Groovy Green […]

  15. […] you have ever wondered if how moms are affecting change, know that there have been some fabulous success stories of moms causing BIG BUSINESS to make healthful change. Such outstanding work! Keep on going sisters […]

  19. […] I know I’m not alone when I say that many of us are frustrated that toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects are commonly found in products we buy for our families. Basic products such as toys, soaps, shampoo, and cleaning products. Remember there was even a  cancer causing chemical found in Tide laundry detergent? […]

  23. […] Difference”. Why? Because we can. I have proof. I’ve seen thousands of people band together and influence some of the largest consumer product companies in the world. This is real change and real […]

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