A few weeks ago, ACSH was a co-signer of the Culture of Alarmism letter sponsored by the Independent Women s Forum (IWF). As you may recall, this letter was intended to counter the efforts of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, an environmental organization that is trying to pressure the top ten retailers into removing a number of products from shelves, if they contain any chemicals that this organization deems hazardous.
Julie Gunlock, the director of the Culture of Alarmism project wrote a great piece further emphasizing the views held by the IWF, with which ACSH is in complete agreement. She urges the targeted companies to reject the efforts of the environmental organization, pointing to the potential to harm their business as well as consumers. She highlights the fact that these chemicals actually make products better, safer, more durable, longer lasting and a lot more affordable, and cautions that if retailers comply and remove these products from shelves, In their place will be higher priced alternatives, which at best don t work as well and spoil easily, and at worst cause an uptick in food borne illnesses, skin irritations, and other infections as food and many other products are left vulnerable to dangerous bacteria.
Furthermore, if retailers comply, manufacturers may be wary of developing new products for fear they may be targeted in the future. What it comes down to, according to Gunlock, is that consumers have the right to choose, and they can choose to buy products free of supposedly hazardous chemicals if they wish to do so. But other products should be available as well for those who want the option of making use of the most-advanced new technologies and substances, which have typically been subject to aggressive government oversight and testing.
Gunlock also urges consumers to encourage stores to reject the radical environmentalists strong arm tactics and tell these groups to mind their own business.
We are behind her 100 percent.
