Category: healthy

States Lead The Way

Some states are regulating toxic plastic. Thee are thousands of toxic chemicals. Out of 13,000 chemicals, we know only 1200 to be safe.

The Trump Administration is ending protections on every environmental regulation.. This will be harmful to us all, but mostly to our children. But there is some good news.

States across the country continue advancing bipartisan policies that increase transparency, reduce toxic chemicals and plastic pollution, accelerate safer solutions, and hold polluters accountable. Here’s what the first half of 2026 tells us.

More than halfway through 2026, one trend is clear: states continue to lead the nation in protecting people and communities from toxic chemicals and plastic pollution.

Across the country, legislators from both parties are responding to growing public demand for healthier products and processes, cleaner communities, and greater accountability. They are advancing a range of policy approaches that work together to protect health, from improving access to information about toxic chemicals to banning harmful chemicals to accelerating healthier solutions and holding polluters accountable.

So far in 2026, 12 states have adopted 25 policies to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals by requiring transparency, while lawmakers introduced hundreds of additional proposals.

The pace of action demonstrates that protecting health remains a growing bipartisan priority in state legislators across the country. 

How States are Protecting Health

1) Increase transparency about toxic chemicals

Good decisions start with good information. States continued to expand the public’s right to know about toxic chemicals in products and materials.

New Jersey required disclosure of PFAS in firefighter gear and Vermont adopted testing requirements for toxic metals in baby food. New Mexico finalized first-in-the-nation labeling requirements for all products containing PFAS, thanks to leadership from Amigos Bravos, a non-profit water conservation organization based in New Mexico. In Washington State, manufacturers submitted new information about PFAS in consumer products through their Safer Products for Washington program.

These actions help consumers, families, businesses, workers, and policymakers make better decisions while laying the groundwork for stronger health protections.

2) Reduce toxic chemicals and plastics pollution

States have continued taking action to help prevent toxic chemicals and plastics from reaching people and communities by addressing them at their source.

Firefighter exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals and contamination from firefighting foam containing PFAS remains a top concern. Arizona banned PFAS in firefighting foam, while New Jersey prohibited PFAS in firefighting gear to better protect firefighters from unnecessary exposure.

Several other states such as Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and Vermont strengthened health protections covering cosmetics, baby food, and/or other products.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts joined California and North Carolina in restricting DEHP, a toxic chemical linked to breast, liver, lung, and testicular cancer, from the IV bags and tubing used to treat patients.

In New Jersey, advocacy by Clean Water Action and other allies led to the adoption of the nation’s strongest “Skip the Stuff” law, requiring reusable foodware as well as a broad package of restrictions on PFAS in consumer products.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, thanks to strong advocacy by Alaska Community Action on Toxics and local communities and Tribal leaders, lawmakers approved legislation to phase out polystyrene food containers before the measure was ultimately vetoed by the governor.

Together these policies reduce future exposure while creating stronger incentives for healthier products, processes, and materials.

3) Accelerate healthier solutions 

Protecting health also means making healthier products, processes, and materials easier to develop and adopt.

Washington State continues implementing its Safer Products for Washington program by evaluating safer alternatives across multiple product categories. Proposed regulatory actions are expected later this year with Toxic-Free Future playing a leading role in this process.

California policymakers responded to community concerns and listed microplastics as a priority chemical under its Safer Consumer Products law. This decision could help drive safer solutions for products such as textiles, cosmetics, and packaging.

4) Hold polluters accountable 

States also continued addressing toxic pollution that already exists.

Maryland restricted the spreading of PFAS-contaminated sludge. Maine expanded PFAS blood testing and strengthened management of firefighting foam containing PFAS.

Accountability also remained a priority. New York became the latest state to sue major chemical companies for contributing to PFAS pollution through their use of consumer products. As of July 2026, 33 state Attorneys General from across political parties have initiated litigation.

Protecting health continues to unite lawmakers 

Health protections continue to earn bipartisan support across the country.

Arizona’s firefighting foam restrictions were adopted by a conservative legislature, while Alaska’s lawmakers overwhelmingly approved legislation addressing polystyrene food containers. In Indiana, a bipartisan coalition successfully defeated a policy that would have weakened future PFAS protections.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board unanimously voted to adopt drinking water standards based on the Biden-era federal PFAS limits, and Governor Tony Evers later approved the rule.

Whether protecting drinking water, reducing cancer risks for firefighters or ensuring safer products for children, lawmakers from both parties continue to find common ground around practical policies that protect health.

The momentum continues

Even as Congress considers weakening the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) starts rolling back PFAS in drinking water protections, states continue moving forward.

The first half of 2026 shows that state leaders are building momentum for healthier solutions. State leadership is advancing innovative policies, defending existing protections, and working alongside communities, businesses, researchers, and advocates to protect health. With proposals still moving and implementation work ahead, states will remain at the forefront of protecting health, advancing safer solutions, and holding polluters accountable.

Planet Awareness

Consider our Earth when you make choices for your day.

Every day is full of choices. You won’t be perfect, but make it a habit to become aware! Our air, water, wildlife, and all living things thank you.

Below is from The Carbon Almanac:

Salvador Dalí once said, “Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.”

He wasn’t talking about the environment. But he could have been.

Somewhere along the way, the idea that if we’re going to care about the planet, we have to do it right. The right purchase. The right diet. The right commute. And if we can’t be sure we’re doing it right, a strange kind of paralysis sets in where it seems it is better to do nothing than to do something imperfectly and get it “wrong.”

Waiting for the perfect option is a very effective way to never act at all. And the perfect option doesn’t exist as every decision has trade-offs. 

So if we can’t make the perfect choice, then we should be looking for the next best choice. The choice that we don’t make on autopilot. When we pause to weigh the planet in a decision, we’re not just making one choice. We’re practicing a habit of attention. And that habit doesn’t stay contained to the one decision in front of us. It grows. The more often we consciously factor in impact, the more naturally it shows up in the next decision, and the one after that. Awareness builds on itself in a way that a single “perfect” decision never could.

The real question isn’t “did I make the perfect choice?” It’s simpler than that: “did I include the impact on the environment in my thinking?”

The more we do that, the better we will become at making the next best choice.

Picture of Lake Superior

Clean water and clean air depend on every day good choices.

Deodorant and Plastic

 This is an interesting history story, and tells us a lot about how we became such a plastic world.
The reason you think you need deodorant was invented by an ad agency in 1919, and how it became packaged in plastic
This a post from Go Green.

The reason you think you need deodorant was invented by an ad agency in 1919. And how it became packaged in plastic.
Before the 20th century, body odor wasn’t considered a social problem. People bathed less frequently, sweating was understood as a natural bodily function, and nobody was selling a product to fix it because nobody had convinced the public it needed fixing.
That changed in 1919, when a struggling product called Odorono hired the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency to save its sales. What followed was one of the most effective and consequential marketing campaigns in history.The ad, titled “Within the Curve of a Woman’s Arm,” ran in Ladies’ Home Journal and was so explicit about the social consequences of body odor that the magazine received over 200 letters of complaint. Sales went up 112% the following year.
The campaign didn’t just sell a product. It manufactured an entirely new social anxiety that didn’t really exist before the ad ran. Within a decade, the deodorant industry was established, and within a generation, daily deodorant use had become a hygiene standard in the US.
The original Odorono came in a glass bottle. But as demand exploded through the mid-20th century, packaging followed the same pattern as almost every other personal care product. It went plastic. Plastic was cheap, lightweight, and easy to manufacture at scale. Like most packaging decisions of that era, nobody was thinking about where it would end up.
The good news is today we have alternatives. Plastic-free deodorants in cardboard tubes, refillable metal cases, and compostable packaging are now available, while the natural deodorant within them that didn’t work as well in the past has largely been solved by modern formulations. The history of pre-modern deodorant use teaches us that there are better options to using plastic.
Coming SoonThis story is one of 25 chapters in Life Before Plastic, a book I’m writing on the history of everyday products, what came before them, how and why they are now made of plastic, and what the best modern alternatives are.

 Read online

Look for deodorant that is packaged in cardboard or in glass.

I hope you aren’t Using Non-stick!

I love my cast iron pans!

It’s time to give up on the nonstick pan

I have been traveling and stayed in several apartments. The pots and pans were scraped up Teflon. I could see the Pfas and other chemicals oozing into my food. I chose to microwave in a glass bowl instead.

From Wirecutter

You might want to consider quitting nonstick pans altogether. Traditional nonstick pans are slick and easy to clean, but are coated with PFAS — also known as forever chemicals — which have been linked to a host of environmental and health concerns. (We have some tips for how to limit your exposure to PFAS.) And ceramic nonstick pans, which have cropped up as a “clean” alternative to traditional nonstick, lose their slickness quickly and are relatively expensive. Both types of nonstick pans will need to be discarded eventually. We recommend durable cookware made from stainless steel, cast iron or carbon steel, which don’t rely on forever chemicals and should last for life. — Mace Dent Johnson

Micromonsters

Five easy ways to reduce your microplastic exposure

-Drink tap, not bottled water

-Replace plastic dishes, utensils, and cutting boards in your kitchen.

-Replace non-stick pans for cooking.

-Never microwave in plastic

-Choose clothing made from wool, cotton, silk or linen instead of polyester.

Plastic is YUCK – Health4earth

World Cup and Plastic Pollution

Tell the World Cup to allow reusable water bottles!

Tell FIFA: Reverse the restriction on reusable water bottles at World Cup stadiums. Tell FIFA: We Want Our Reusable Bottles at the World Cup! | Story of Stuff


But FIFA just decided late last week to no longer allow any reusable water bottles at World Cup stadiums, so sports fans can’t beat the heat without resorting to wasteful disposable plastic bottles.1


Access to water is critical to fans’ comfort and safety — especially in sweltering summer weather. And spectators should be able to stay hydrated without producing plastic waste that will stick around as pollution for centuries.


Tell FIFA: Reverse the restriction on reusable water bottles at World Cup stadiums. Tell FIFA: Allow reusable water bottles at World Cup stadiums


FIFA had originally said that some types of reusable bottles would be allowed, before suddenly reversing course.2


It’s a move that will only create more plastic trash at a time when plastic pollution is already out of control. Every 16 hours, Americans throw out enough plastic to fill a sports stadium up to the brim.3


Every disposable plastic bottle we use and toss has the potential to pollute our environment and even threaten our health.


A lot of the plastic we throw away ends up in landfills, where it can break down into tiny, polluting particles and leach harmful chemicals into our soil and water.4


And some is incinerated — a process that emits toxic chemicals into the air. Air pollution from burning plastic can emit chemicals known to cause cancer, reproductive harm, birth defects and other health problems.5


Why pollute our world and risk our health with disposable plastic bottles, when a reusable solution is right in front of us?


Allowing reusable water bottles in stadiums is the right thing to do. Add your name and ask FIFA to allow reusable bottles.


Some sports stadiums have already demonstrated that allowing fans to bring their own reusable bottles is a safe, simple way to prevent pollution.


Every World Cup spectator should be able to do the same.


Ask FIFA to allow reusable water bottles at World Cup stadiums today. Tell FIFA: Allow reusable water bottles at World Cup stadiums


1. Scott Thompson, “FIFA bans refillable water bottles from World Cup stadiums despite original rules stating otherwise,” Fox News, June 4, 2026.
2. Scott Thompson, “FIFA bans refillable water bottles from World Cup stadiums despite original rules stating otherwise,” Fox News, June 4, 2026.
3. Celeste Meiffren-Swango and James Horrox, “Trash in America,” PIRG, December 9, 2025.
4. “Plastic planet: How tiny plastic particles are polluting our soil,” United Nations Environment Programme, last accessed April 28, 2026.
5. Celeste Meiffren-Swango, James Horrox, Grace Vickers & Carol Li, “”Chemical recycling”: What you need to know,” PIRG, July 14, 2025.

World Oceans Day

Today we celebrate our oceans, which are vital to the health of our planet.

 

Make it a plastic-free day.

Our oceans are warming at a staggering rate which has an effect on our weather and the health of our planet. Besides making it plastic-free decide how you can reduce your fossil fuels use by driving less and using less energy it your home!

Our oceans need protection!

Below is from the Carbon Almanac:

In December 2022, governments around the world agreed to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. Now just over three years later, 10% of the ocean is officially protected. To meet the 2030 goal, an area the size of the Indian Ocean still needs to come under protection.  

With a big step towards the 2030 goal, Papua New Guinea recently established the 200,000 sq. km Western Manus Marine Protected Area which is the largest the country has designated to date.

As we think about our waters, visit the World Ocean Day website for more information on the role they play and how to take action.

Boycott General Mills

Today, May 20th is World Bee Day World Bee Day 2026 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Plant some native plants, call General Mills, and commit to having a chemical free, bee lawn. Thank you.

Bees are important to our food production. Protect them!

I hate chemicals. Corporations have gotten away with poisoning our Earth and our food. I suspect many cereal companies are the same. We need to purchase organic cereal in bulk at your local food coop. I think you will save money and also avoid the harmful chemicals, and best of all, you don’t expose your family to plastic.

Pesticides kill our bees, birds, butterflies and us too!

Below is from Organic Consumers Association:

General Mills’ Broken Pesticide Promises

General Mills is a bastion of ultra-processed, genetically modified foods, but it’s always found ways to make it look like it’s part of the regenerative organic movement.

Its worst greenwashing was when it used its Honey Nut Cheerios brand for a Bring Back the Bees campaign – never mentioning that glyphosate and chlormequat, pesticides used to harvest the cereal’s oats, were implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder.

In 2016, General Mills announced a partnership with Organic Valley to expand its organic yogurt offerings by transitioning dairy farmers to organic. In 2025, it sold its yogurt division. Its organic lines were dropped—along with its organic farmers.

In 2019, General Mills announced it had put “strategies in place to reduce synthetic pesticide use,” but that didn’t stop the company from selling pesticide-soaked breakfast cereals. Worryingly, one of its organic cereals was contaminated with chlormequat, suggesting that General Mills may be buying fraudulent organic oats from overseas.

The latest news is that General Mills has abandoned its commitment to reduce pesticides. 

We can’t let this slide. It isn’t okay for a company to lure its customers with false promises it’s never going to deliver on.

TAKE ACTION, BOYCOTT and/or CALL

Boycott General Mills and divert your dollars to independent organic brands or, better yet, local regenerative organic farms.

Give General Mills a piece of your mind. Call the company at 1-800-248-7310.

Please help us spread the word about General Mills’ pesticide reduction fraud by forwarding this newsletter or sharing this article.

Like, Share & Comment On Our Social Media Posts Telling General Mills to Keep Its Pledge to Reduce Pesticides:

Organic Consumers Association on Facebook
Millions Against Monsanto on Facebook
Organic Consumers Association on Instagram