Clorox comes clean: Company discloses all ingredients in all products
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The maker of bleach, Pine-Sol and other popular cleaning products announced Tuesday that it will disclose the specific preservatives, dyes and fragrances it uses in its cleaning, disinfecting and laundry products sold in the U.S. and Canada.
The Clorox Co. announcement builds on the ingredient communications program the corporation launched in January 2008, which disclosed the active ingredients in its natural Green Works line on a dedicated Clorox website. In 2009, Clorox also began listing the active ingredients of its more traditional products.
The new disclosures mark the first time a mainstream cleaning product manufacturer has disclosed all the ingredients used in all of its products -- about 200 items.
‘This additional information about our products is a natural next step to take ... as we continue to drive transparency and industry leadership in the area of product ingredient communication,’ Clorox Chairman and CEO Don Knauss said in a statement.
Clorox will begin replacing the labels on its products; the new labels will refer consumers to the ingredients website, where they can learn about the purpose of each ingredient as well as its safety issues.The move has been widely praised by consumer, health and environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Women’s Voices for the Earth.
‘Clorox’s actions go far beyond what’s currently required by law or industry standards for ingredient disclosure, and has paved the way for other companies to follow suit,’ said Women’s Voices for the Earth executive director Erin Switalski in a statement. In California, regulations governing disclosure of ingredients are pending under the state’s Green Chemistry initiative. On a federal level, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has introduced legislation to update the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. The Household Product Labeling Act, first introduced by Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) in the House of Representatives in 2009 and later by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) in the Senate, is expected to be reintroduced this year. [Updated 2-14-11, 10:05 a.m.: The original version of this post stated the Household Product Labeling Act was first introduced by Senator Al Franken.]
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-- Susan Carpenter