Ecological Rights Foundation’s consumer protection work is rooted in our belief that consumers have the right to know when we are exposed to harmful chemicals, and about the potential health effects from those exposures. Without that information, we are robbed of the opportunity to make well informed decisions to protect our families.

When consumer products threaten the health of our children and families, EcoRights takes legal action to stop the harm. One particularly effective legal tool is California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65), overwhelmingly approved by California voters to protect them from toxic exposures. The law protects drinking water in California from pollution by cancer-causing chemicals or chemicals that cause reproductive or developmental harm. The law also requires businesses to notify citizens before they expose them to harmful chemicals in the water, air, or in consumer products.

Through research and testing, EcoRights has discovered thousands of consumer products that expose our children and families to harmful chemicals. EcoRights and our partners in consumer protection campaigns have used Proposition 65 to force hundreds of major manufacturers and importers to reduce or eliminate health threats to consumers. We believe that citizens have a right to know which products will expose them to toxic threats, and we’ll continue to force more manufacturers to seek out safe alternatives.

Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, plastic is being used more and more often in various product formulations. While useful in many applications, PVC degrades and loses material strength when it is exposed to sunlight or heat. To remedy this problem, manufacturers add "stabilizers" to the chemical compound. For years, the most widely-used stabilizer was lead, although alternative, non-toxic materials can be used for this purpose, including calcium, and tin.

Unfortunately, lead doesn’t mix well in the PVC - it clumps and migrates to the material’s surface. This occurs even more rapidly when the product is exposed to heat or direct sunlight. Thus, when lead is used, accumulates on the product’s surface and is transferred to hands and mouth of the user. This source of lead contamination is particularly dangerous because no one expects lead to be present on the surface of these PVC products, and because many of the products are used by pregnant women, babies, and young children, who are particularly susceptible to lead’s toxic effects.

EcoRights has tested thousands of PVC products, from Christmas tree lights, to baby bibs, to headphone cords. A decade ago, nearly all products on the shelves were leaded, mostly imported from China, where lax occupational safety standards allow the liberal use of such toxic compounds. However, our research resulted in lawsuits that have driven the plastics industry to reformulate its products. We now find many fewer leaded PVC products. Still, if you see a lead hazard warning on your PVC product, or if you’re not sure whether or not it contains lead, washing your hands thoroughly with soap after handling the product will protect you and your family from lead exposures.