{"id":2858,"date":"2013-10-17T10:31:23","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T15:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/?p=2858"},"modified":"2014-03-25T10:10:36","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T15:10:36","slug":"making-regrettable-substitution-a-thing-of-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2013\/10\/17\/making-regrettable-substitution-a-thing-of-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Making regrettable substitution a thing of the past"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michelle Harvey<\/em><\/a><\/em> is a Senior Project Manager in EDF’s Corporate Partnership Program.<\/p>\n

Regrettable substitution. Informed substitution.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first sounds like a problem \u2013 and it is. The second is the way you avoid the first.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the world of consumer products made from mixtures of chemicals \u2013 baby lotion, shampoo, cleaners, laundry soap \u2013 chemists seek ingredients that are effective and feasible. What they too often don\u2019t also consider are the hazardous properties of the chemical and its risk to people.\u00a0 This is in part because most chemists are not trained in toxicology.\u00a0 Further, many of the biological interactions between us and the ingredients in everyday products we use on our bodies and in our homes are only now being understood. \u00a0As our understanding has grown, groups such as EDF have called for the removal of some of the more concerning chemical ingredients from store shelves.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not as simple as just taking a hazardous chemical out of a product.\u00a0 While in some instances a chemical of concern can be simply eliminated, in many cases these chemicals perform a key function in a product and a replacement chemical is necessary. \u00a0If the replacement isn\u2019t carefully considered for its own potentially deleterious effects, you can end up exchanging a problem for a problem \u2013 resulting in a regrettable substitution.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that the path forward for identifying and making informed choices about substitutes has become a lot clearer.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Today, EDF together with BizNGO, the Toxic Use Reduction Institute and the Lowell Center for Sustainability released <\/span>The Commons Principles for Alternatives Assessment<\/span><\/em><\/a> <\/em>with the support of over 100 representatives of business, universities and NGOs.\u00a0 This broad consensus around simple, solutions-based principles, signals a growing commitment to moving hazardous chemicals out of the supply chain and driving informed, safer innovations.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Alternatives assessment is a process for identifying, comparing, and selecting safer alternatives to chemicals of concern based on certain chemical features including hazard, performance, and economics.\u00a0 The six \u201cCommon Principles\u201d establish key elements of informed decision-making about the chemicals in a product.\u00a0 Reduce hazard. Minimize exposure. Use best available information. Require disclosure and transparency. Resolve trade-offs. Take action. \u00a0They are \u201ccommon principles\u201d because they are shared by a broad, diverse group of individuals from academia, industry and the NGO community. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In September, <\/span>Walmart<\/span><\/a> became the first retailer to call for informed substitution as suppliers phase out of chemical ingredients of concern in products it sells. It is EDF\u2019s hope that the Commons Principles will be used to meet this commitment, and inform the efforts of other retailers and product manufacturers.\u00a0 Smart and informed decisions guided by the Commons Principles can make products safer and regrettable, hazardous substitutions a thing of the past.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Harvey is a Senior Project Manager in EDF’s Corporate Partnership Program. Regrettable substitution. Informed substitution. The first sounds like a problem \u2013 and it is. The second is the way you avoid the first. In the world of consumer products made from mixtures of chemicals \u2013 baby lotion, shampoo, cleaners, laundry soap \u2013 chemists …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,5009,56088],"tags":[39995,39994],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-policy","category-health-science","category-markets-and-retail","tag-alternatives-assessment","tag-walmart"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t