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California tackles toxic chemicals in everyday products

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Is that lipstick really “environmentally friendly”? Is that sweatsuit made of organic cotton? Is that water bottle made from safe plastic?

California officials today launched a sweeping green initiative to inform consumers exactly how hundreds of thousands of products sold in the state are manufactured and transported and what ingredients they contain.

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The plan, as Maureen Gorsen, director of the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, put it, would require the most comprehensive environmental regulations ever adopted for consumer products anywhere in the world.

Europe has adopted the world’s strictest rules outlawing dangerous chemicals, but California’s plan would eventually allow consumers to scan the bar code of any product on their cellphones to figure out whether it was manufactured with coal-fired electricity or solar power, how much greenhouse gas it generated in being transported from far away or made nearby, and whether the ingredients were the safest available, and could be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.

“These recommendations usher in a new era of how we look at household products—from our children’s toys to the plastic we use to make shampoo bottles, to the varnish on our wood furniture,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Instead of paying attention to the toxic substances in our everyday products only when it comes time to throw them away in the landfill, we will now pay attention ... when the product is designed, manufactured, used and recycled.”

The plan is a mix of voluntary and mandatory measures, some of which will require legislation.

For the full story, click here.

-- Margot Roosevelt

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