June 21, 2007

I am writing on behalf of Women's Voices for the Earth, to express our interest in improving ingredient labelling on household cleaning products.    We believe that a complete listing of ingredients on the label of a cleaning product is essential for consumers interested in making an informed decision at their grocery store.  If your company does not already list ingredients on the label, we formally request that you add this information to your packaging. 

I have included several questions below we hope that you will answer.  These questions and this letter are also being sent to other companies in your industry.  In late July, we will be releasing a report on health impacts of commonly used chemicals in cleaning products.  We will simultaneously release the results of our research on complete ingredient labelling on household cleaning products.  We hope to add your company to a list of those companies currently or planning to provide this important consumer information at that time.  We would appreciate a response to this letter by July 13th.

Who We Are:
Women's Voices for the Earth, is a national women's environmental health organization, based in Missoula, MT, which works to reduce and eliminate persistent toxic pollution which disproportionately affects women's and children's health.  We represent the interest of women across the country, concerned about exposure to pollutants and the impacts that exposure may have on the health of their families.  Our concerns include both industrially produced pollutants as well as chemicals found in household products.

Our Concerns About Ingredient Labelling:
We understand that, currently, there is no federal or state requirement for companies such as yours to list the complete ingredients of your cleaning products on the packaging.  Thus, many companies choose not to include ingredient lists on their labels, although there are some companies that do.  We are interested to know more about why companies differ on their labelling policy, and what information is available to consumers.

Ingredients in cleaning products often have long complicated scientific names.  While these names may not have meaning to many consumers, we have become aware that there is a growing interest, particularly among women, of better understanding of these ingredients.  While research on chemicals found in products is more prevalent,  there is also a greater awareness in our society of the general lack of health and safety information about low dose exposures to many chemicals found in our environments and in our homes.  Due to this lack of information, there are segments of the general population which are increasingly interested in avoiding certain types of exposure for precautionary reasons.  For example, individuals affected by conditions such as asthma or allergies, often look to avoid those substances which may trigger or exacerbate their symptoms.  Similarly, women who are pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, take extra precautions to avoid exposures which may impact the development of their child.  Individuals with chemical sensitivities or various other diseases are increasingly concerned about controlling their exposures to certain substances.

Understandably, a product label could not possibly include specific health and safety information for all of the myriad health concerns that consumers may have.  However, a complete listing of the ingredients on a product label will serve those consumers who are informed and actively looking for products without the chemicals of concern to them.  It is the simplest and most accessible way to provide this information to consumers.   We believe it has proven to be an effective  method of informing consumers, as is evidenced by the number of people one sees in a grocery store reading the labels of the food they wish to purchase.  There are similarly long and confusing scientific names for ingredients in foods, yet this information is still desired and of interest to many consumers.  We believe the situation is no different for shoppers of cleaning products.

We are interested in understanding your company's policy on ingredient labelling.  We would appreciate a response to the following questions by July 13th.

Does your company include full ingredient labelling on the household cleaning products you sell?      Yes    No

If not, why not? 

Are there other ways your customers can access information on ingredients in your cleaning products?  (i.e. website, toll-free customer service number etc.)

 
Do you have a formal policy on ingredient labelling? (If so, please include your policy in your response.)

Please also indicate if you would like us to send you a copy of our compiled results.  You may send your response to:

 
Alexandra Gorman
Director of Science and Research
Women's Voices for the Earth
P.O.Box 8743
Missoula, MT 59807

or by email to wve@womenandenvironment.org

If you have any questions, you may contact me, or my colleague,  at (406) 543-3747.  Thank you for your consideration of our request.

 Sincerely,

Alexandra Gorman
Director of Science and Research