The Strategy Center Blog

How did your favorite stores rank on our 2017 Retailer Report Card? You may have been pleased to see some popular retailers—like Apple, Walmart, and Ikea—make the grade when it comes to tackling toxic chemicals. But the report card shows that other popular companies like Trader Joe's, Ace Hardware, and Hannaford parent company Ahold Delhaize received a big fat "F" for failing to take any public action to protect their customers from toxics. You may have also wondered: How exactly did we come up...+ Read more

With its roots in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the nationwide movement for environmental justice—led by African-American, Latino, and Indigenous people and communities—is fighting to ensure that all families, no matter their race or how much money they make, have a safe and healthy place to live, work and play. At the Strategy Center, the fight for environmental justice is at the heart of our work. In Maine, the scourge of arsenic-contaminated well water disproportionately affects...+ Read more

Toxic chemicals that we’re working to protect kids and families from can be found at home, where too many families breathe in, eat, and drink them, unknowingly, as they go about their daily lives. The good news is there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself and your family—and the new year is the perfect opportunity to resolve to tackle toxics in your home. With these four “new year’s resolutions,” you’ll be well on your way toward a healthier home: Ditch plastic in the kitchen...+ Read more

At a time when safeguards to protect human health are under outrageous attack, your support for our work will turn into impressive wins, just like it did this year. You will fight for the health of children with asthma and allergies that are potentially life threatening, and kids with learning disabilities that put them at a lifetime of disadvantage . . . For baby boys born with birth defects associated with testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and difficulty in fathering a child . . . For first...+ Read more

Every week, it seems, we see news stories like this latest report about a “sea of plastic” devastating a once-pristine diving site in the Caribbean . Plastic pollution is a disaster for people and the planet—but it doesn’t have to be this way. What can we do to solve this crisis? Build the circular economy. In a circular economy, renewable, plant-based—biobased—materials are used instead of wasteful and toxic petrochemical plastics. In a circular economy, the products we use every day come from...+ Read more

We’re kicking off the holiday season with Giving Tuesday! Mark the date: November 28. In just one day, we’re hoping to raise $1,500 to fund our summer internship program, where we give aspiring advocates the training and experience to help them grow into tomorrow’s leaders for change. A generous donor has promised to match donations up to $500— that means your $25 donation turns into $50, and $50 turns into $100. Here’s what past interns have to say about their experience: “Witnessing these...+ Read more

Nothing says Thanksgiving more than the holiday’s iconic dishes: from the freshly roasted turkey to a bright bowl of tart cranberry sauce, this holiday of gratitude is about tucking in to a delicious meal, surrounded by the people you love. But what if some of Thanksgiving’s best dishes could contain hidden toxic chemicals? Don’t let harmful chemicals like BPA, arsenic, or so-called “Teflon chemicals” ruin your holiday. Follow these steps to reduce toxic chemicals in your Thanksgiving meal: 1...+ Read more

Are your favorite stores taking action to get toxic chemicals off their shelves? You can find out in a new report card that ranks 30 top retailers on toxics. The good news? Six retailers got a B or higher! Companies like Apple, Walmart, CVS and Ikea are taking the lead. The bad news? The average grade was a D+. Nine companies, [1] including Sally Beauty, Office Depot, Dollar General and Babies “R” Us, are lagging behind with F’s. It’s clear that there’s still a lot of work to do. Will you send...+ Read more

We are delighted to announce the winners of our 2017 environmental health leadership awards! Please click through the links to read our award winners' stories—and feel free to give a gift in tribute to their work. Michael Herz, PhD , is receiving the Frank Hatch Environmental Health Leadership Award for his lifetime of achievement in environmental advocacy and his leadership of environmental health organizations nationwide. Sydney Sewall, MD, MPH , is receiving the Bettie Kettell Award for...+ Read more

Grassroots Leadership Awards Wendy Brennan is a mom of two daughters in Mt. Vernon, Maine. After discovering that her well water contained arsenic at three times the EPA safety limit, Wendy became a safe water champion, speaking out and raising awareness about this silent epidemic in Maine. “A lot of rural families in Maine are struggling paycheck to paycheck, and they can’t afford the hundreds or thousands of dollars it can cost to install a filtration system,” Wendy said after LD 1263 passed...+ Read more