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Catch up on the latest news and analysis from EWG’s team of experts.

Areas of Focus

Areas of Focus

Displaying 1 - 20 of 23

Are food and consumer product chemicals contributing to our obesity crisis?

The food industry insists America’s obesity crisis can be chalked up to simple math – people eat too much and exercise too little.

5 Things To Avoid in Your Personal Care Products If You’re Pregnant or Trying To Get Pregnant

If you're pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, it's likely you're considering how to limit your exposure to toxic chemicals. After all, you no longer have just your health to think about, you also...

Everything You Need to Know About California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act

A piece of legislation winding its way through the California legislature could be the biggest influence on U.S. cosmetics safety for close to a century. The bill would ban a dozen of the most...

Study: Elevated Levels of Toxic Chemicals Found in Menstrual Pads and Disposable Diapers

Many brands of menstrual pads and disposable diapers contain elevated levels of chemicals linked to developmental and reproductive harm, according to a recent study published in the journal...

Four Reasons to Celebrate the California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act

At long last, the veil of secrecy over chemicals in cleaning products is lifting.

What to Look for When Buying a Crib Mattress

When Dr. Brandon E. Boor and his colleagues tested 20 new and used crib mattresses purchased in 2011 or earlier, they detected two classes of chemicals associated with endocrine disruption and harm to...

Choosing a Safe Mattress for Your Baby's Crib

During the first few years of their lives, infants can spend most of their time sleeping or crawling in the crib. Choosing children's products that are good for air quality in the baby's room can be a...

Today’s Secret Ingredient: Traces of Toxic Plastic Chemicals

So you've thrown out your vinyl shower curtain and only buy fragrance-free cosmetics to avoid phthalates? Bad news – toxic plastic chemicals are still sneaking into the food you eat.

Male Exposure to Chemicals Linked to Longer Time to Conceive

It's well known that what a woman eats, drinks, breathes and puts on her body while she's pregnant or nursing can all affect her reproductive system and the health of her baby. But new research...

Feminine Care Product Increases Women’s Exposure to Harmful Phthalates

A new study has found that vaginal douching by American women of childbearing age may increase their exposure to hormone-disrupting phthalates and contribute to racial and ethnic differences in...

Phthalates Are Out of Children’s Toys, But In Your Food

Just when you thought that phthalates, chemicals added to plastics to make them more flexible, were off your radar, think again.

Major Corporations Take Key Steps to Put Consumer Health First

Yesterday marked a major victory for American consumers as mega-retailer Walmart announced a Sustainable Chemistry initiative that takes an important step toward protecting the health and wellness its...

Back-to-School Shouldn’t Mean Back-to-Toxics

I spend lots of time thinking about toxic chemicals, so when I shop I get pretty annoyed. It's flame retardants again. They're in everything – kids' pajamas, nap mats, nursing pillows, even some of...

New York Times' Kristof Lays Out the Case Against Endocrine Disruptors

Nicholas Kristof a columnist for The New York Times, has written about the expanding evidence that hypospadias and other birth defects in people and wildlife that may be linked to the daily...

Your best air freshener isn't an air freshener

A quick spritz of air freshener may seem like a simple way to kill funky odors. Unfortunately, that pleasing smell is just more indoor air pollution.

Understand pthalates: 13 minutes on 60 Minutes

13 minute report on pthalates by 60 Minutes reporter (video).

Two toxic chemicals out of the children's toys, hundreds more to go

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, aimed at keeping lead and toxic plastic chemicals called phthalates out of children's toys, went into effect yesterday.

Phthalates, phthalates everywhere

National Research Council tells EPA: cumulative risk assessment of phthalates and other toxic chemicals is urgently needed A real victory for both human and environmental health has been achieved...

Ask EWG: Are phthalates safe for babies?

Question: I'm concerned about my 8-month-old daughter coming into contact with phthalates. Should I throw out any plastic toys, or are there some companies that don't use phthalates? Toy companies I...

Industry challenges ban on phthalates in kid's toys

Industry and trade groups are suing to overturn San Francisco's newest ordinance aimed at protecting the city's toddlers from a suite of chemicals shown to cause cancer and hormone disruption in...
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