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AbstractThe world faces an increasing need to phase out harmful chemicals and design sustainable alternatives across various consumer products and industrial applications. Alternatives assessment is an emerging field focusing on identifying viable solutions to substitute harmful chemicals. However, current methods fail to consider trade-offs from human and ecosystem exposures, and from impacts associated with chemical supply chains and product life cycles. To close this gap, we propose a life cycle based alternatives assessment (LCAA) framework for consistently integrating quantitative exposure

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) substantially cost society as a result of increases in disease and disability but—unlike other toxicant classes such as carcinogens—have yet to be codified into regulations as a hazard category.This Series paper examines economic, regulatory, and policy approaches to limit human EDC exposures and describes potential improvements. In the EU, general principles for EDCs call for minimisation of human exposure, identification as substances of very high concern, and ban on use in pesticides. In the USA, screening and

Plastics are used across the economy and in diverse downstream sectors such as packaging, construction, transportation, healthcare, textiles, and electronics. Durable products, ranging from construction materials to medical devices make up nearly half of the global plastics market, while packaging products are the largest uses of single-use plastics. Some plastics contain chemicals that are considered to be harmful for health and the environment. Phthalates, poly-fluorinated chemicals, bisphenol A (BPA), brominated flame retardants and antimony trioxide are considered most harmful for

Plastics Pose a Threat to Human Health: Authoritative Reports Shows Plastics and Microplastics are Pervasive Sources of Exposure to Dangerous Endocrine-disrupting ChemicalsPlastics contain and leach hazardous chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that threaten human health. An authoritative new report, Plastics, EDCs, & Health, from the Endocrine Society and the IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network), presents a summary of international research on the health impacts of EDCs and describes the alarming health effects of widespread contamination from EDCs in plastics.EDCs are

The Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) is a multi‑disciplinary inter governmental organisation, tracing its roots back to the post‑World War II Marshall Plan. Today, it comprises 35 member countries and the European Commission committed to democratic government and the market economy, with the major emerging economies increasingly engaged directly in the work.The Environment Directorate of the OECD helps countries design environmental policies that are both economically efficient and effective at achieving their environmental objectives.The Environment Directorate provides policy

The OECD releases the Revised Guidance Document 150 on Standardised Test Guidelines for Evaluating Chemicals for Endocrine Disruption originally published in 2012 and updated in 2018 to reflect new and updated OECD test guidelines, as well as reflect on scientific advances in the use of test methods and assessment of the endocrine activity of chemicals. The document is intended to provide guidance for evaluating chemical using standardised test guidelines. Specific objectives include providing a description of the OECD conceptual framework

The SAICM Secretariat, in partnership with the University of Cape Town, established a community of practice on Chemicals in Products to bring representatives from different sectors together and to create a learning network around issues related to addressing Chemicals in Products (CiP). This is a summary of the discussion on Enforcement of products, which took place on 26 November 2020.Presenters: Anna Fransson (Kemi), Stéphane Content (Cefic)Enforcement is essential, and without enforcement any law will be ineffective. This also calls for

The SAICM Secretariat, in partnership with the University of Cape Town, established a community of practice on Chemicals in Products to bring representatives from different sectors together and to create a learning network around issues related to addressing Chemicals in Products (CiP). This is a summary of the discussion on Management on classes of chemicals and flame retardants in the textiles sector, which took place on 10 December 2020.Presenter: Ilch Yiliqi (NRDC)The textile industry, as one of SAICM’s priority sectors

The new report “Sustainable Fashion? How companies provide sustainability information to consumers” by HEJSupport touches upon gaps in the current provision of product sustainability information to consumers, with the aim of suggesting a way forward which makes consumers a driving force able to shape the future of sustainable textiles.The report provides recommendations for business, policy makers and consumers.The sustainability of the fashion industry largely depends on the work of regulators and product manufacturers, including their suppliers. But very often the