Chemicals of Concern: Backed by Science or Sensationalism?

TONY KINGSBURYPRESIDENT & FOUNDERTKINGSBURY CONSULTING

President & Founder: TKingsbury Consulting

VP, Sustainability, Cardno ChemRisk

Executive-in-Residence @ UC Berkeley, Haas where I taught and Directed a Multi-disciplinary Sustainability Program

Dow Chemical: Experience◦ Production Engineer◦ Product Development◦ Marketing, Public Affairs◦ Public Policy◦ Environmental Affairs◦ Global Sustainability◦ Breakthroughs to World Challenges Corp. Goal Owner

My Background

OutlineWhat are Chemicals of Concern?Why should I Care?Science Under Attack◦Case study: Styrene/Polystyrene◦Case study: Fluorinated Compounds

What to Do?

What are Chemicals of Concern?

“Chemicals of Concern are those chemicals you can’t pronounce until all of a sudden you can, because they just became financially material to your business”

Tony Kingsbury

What are Chemicals of Concern? Chemicals of Concern (CoC) are typically those chemicals that show up on lists of chemicals with one or multiple negative human health or environmental traits. For example:

Carcinogens MutagensBioaccumulative Reproductive ToxinsPBTs, CMRs, Endocrine Disruptors, etc.

These are translated into lists like; Prop 65, REACH SVHC, Walmart’s Priority Chemicals, etc.

Why Should I Care?

Source for ingredient list http://jameskennedymonash.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/

All Natural Blueberries

INGREDIENTS: AQUA, FRUCTOSE, GLUCOSE, SUCROSE, FIBER, GLUTAMIC ACID, ASPARTIC ACID, LEUCINE, ARGININE, ALANINE, VALINE, GLYCINE, PROLINE, ISOLEUCINE, SERINE, THREONINE, PHENYLALANINE, LYSINE, METHIONINE, TYROSINE, HISTIDINE, CYSTINE, TRYPTOPHAN, LINOLEIC ACID, LINOLENIC ACID, OLEIC ACID, PALMITIC ACID, STEARIC ACID, PALMITOLEIC ACID, ASH, PHYTOSTEROLS, OXALIC ACID, TOCOPHEROL, THIAMIN, ETHYL ETHANOATE, 3-METHYL BUTYRALDEHYDE, 2-METHYL BUTYRALDEHYDE, PENTANAL, METHYLBUTYRATE, OCTENE, HEXANAL, DECANAL, 3-CARENE, LIMONENE, STYRENE, NONANE, ETHYL-3-METHYLBUTANOATE, NON-1-ENE, HEXANONE, HYDROXYLINALOOL, LINALOOL, TERPINYL ACETATE, CARYOPHYLLENE, ALPHA-TERPINEOL, ALPHATERPINENE, 1,8-CINEOLE, CITRAL, BENZALDEHYDE, METHYLPARABEN

Would You Buy a Product with these Ingredients?

Why should I Care?CVS stores just banned parabens, including methylparaben in its store brands.

Does that mean, No More?

What About Styrene? It’s now on Prop 65 … do blueberries need a label? Do your products need a label?

Why Should I Care?Still Don’t Care? ... Many of these lists of Chemicals of Concern (CoC) have chemicals you should care about…How About TiO2…Titanium Dioxide… Do you make any white

or light colored products?

It is on some CoC Lists

Science: Under Attack Case Study - Foam PolystyreneMcDonald’s under attack for use of PS foam packaging… original issue cfc’s Then lack of recyclingThen litterNow Styrene

Point: Opponents will use any means to remove products they don’t like

StyreneWhat do regulatory agencies say about the safety of polystyrene food contact? … US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all food packaging materials, including polystyrene. Polystyrene includes small amounts of residual styrene.

FDA has determined that polystyrene is safe for use in contact with food. So have the Europeans, Canadians, Japanese, etc.

What do scientific experts say about the safety of polystyrene foodservice packaging? … An expert panel selected by the Harvard, conducted a comprehensive review of potential health risks associated with exposure to styrene.

The scientists concluded that there is no cause for concern from exposure to styrene from food or from polystyrene used in food contact applications.

Does styrene occur in nature? … Styrene occurs naturally in many foods such as cinnamon, beef, coffee beans, peanuts, wheat, strawberries & blueberries

Science: Under Attack Case Study –Fluorinated Compounds

Credit: EWG/Shutterstock/C&EN

Science: Under Attack Case Study –Fluorinated Compounds

90’s - 3M Scotchgard™ - Used and made a fluorinated compound used in original Scotchgard. It was found to be persistent and bioaccumulative… 3M product pulledDuPont – comes under pressure for pollution from fluorinated compounds at plant in WVGreenpeace targets outdoor apparel industry for use of PFCs to waterproof garments… industry responds Now pressure shifts to packaging .. Opponents use old info & data, from banned PFCs to pressure companies to stop use and to make case for legislative bans… irony, these paper products replaced foam

Science: Is under Attack

NGO’s – when it comes to science, often use “alternative facts” but hold industry to a different standard◦ See recent statements by NGO’s like SSI and GSPI led to a California legislative

proposal to ban PFCs in food packaging◦ Bill now changed and pushed to DTSC and the Safer Consumer Products

regulations

Regulators … led by CA again… are now becoming activists by ignoring the best science and cherry picking data to meet their agenda. ◦ See CA OEHHA additions of BPA, Phthalates, Styrene, etc. to Prop 65◦ Industry (SIRC) submitted data that styrene safe level is 5600 ug/day …

OEHHA used 27 ug/day

Science: Is under AttackGeorge Mason University surveyed 937 members of the Society of Toxicology, an association of professional toxicologists.

79% said NGO’s like EWG and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) -- overstate the health risks of chemicals.

3% see Teflon (A Fluorinated Chemical) as having a high degree of risk

What to Do?1) Work with your associations (like FPI) to fight bad science, bad

legislation and protect the use of packaging across all markets… don’t wait for it to hit you and your products directly

2) Understand what ingredients are in all the products you use… ALL! Ignorance is not bliss Legislators may be asking to know soon

Growing Transparency Pressures

NGOs aggressively increasing state-

based & marketplace product attacks

ConsumerFocus

Retailers signaling more action in 2017

What to Do?1) Work with your associations to fight bad science and protect the use

of plastics across all markets… don’t wait for it to hit you and your products directly

2) Understand what ingredients are in all the products you use… ALL Ignorance is not bliss Legislators may be asking to know soon Your customers are likely to ask sooner than later

“Campaign Groups” Pressure on RetailersThese NGOs like Mind the Store put Direct Pressure on retailers like Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Safeway, Home Depot, and Best Buy.

The chemicals they target appear in a range of products, from cosmetics and hygiene products, to soaps, flooring, electronics and packaging.

Most of the chemicals have been identified by others as being problematic.

Targeting their “Hazardous 100” Chemicals

Chemicals commonly found in plastics including: Styrene, phthalates, BPA, antimony trioxide, toluene, many inks and dyes, etc.

Supply Chains RespondFebruary 7, 2017

Unilever Unveils Game-Changing Transparency Initiative

Target’s Push for Full Ingredient Disclosure Echoes Consumer Demand

January 25, 2017

Clorox comes clean: Company discloses all ingredients in all products11 February 2011

April 20, 2014

Walmart announces Priority and High Priority Chemicals to be ‘phased out’ of products.

Transparency ExampleTSC currently has 3 Priority Chemical (PC) Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

1. Disclosure – PCs down to 100 ppm

2. Safety / Risk Assessments

3. Management – Goals to Reduce / Remove PCs

Discussions underway to change these PC KPIs… including◦ Migration from Packaging◦ Inclusion of Contaminants / Residuals / Byproducts

Transparency ExpandsGMAs SmartLabel™

Common system used by consumer and food product companies to standardize the look and feel of information given to consumers.

Information website linked to QR code

Information owned and managed by companies, not 3rd parties or retailers

What to Do?1) Work with your associations to fight bad science and protect the use

of plastics across all markets… don’t wait for it to hit you and your products directly

2) Understand what ingredients are in all the products you use… ALL Ignorance is not bliss Legislators may be asking to know soon Your customers are likely to ask sooner than later You may have competitive advantage

3) Understand Your Options

3 Options1. Bury your head in the sand

2. Pray for a Heavenly Intervention

3. Prepare… beginning Now

Challenging Areas Challenging Areas You Need to Begin Thinking about as an Industry

Recycle Content… How can you know and report ppm levels of contaminants for a process you don’t control?This applies to plastics, metals and fibers

How do you protect confidential business information on formulas and structures?

Are there 3rd Party systems we can set up for packaging now to avoid heart ache later?

Bottom LineYou Need to Ask Yourself, Are You Ready to Answer Supply Chain Questions About Everything that is in your products?

Do you know if you have Chemicals of Concern in your products?

Are You Ready for Radical Transparency?

Chemicals of Concern: Backed by Science or Sensationalism?

Science Matters Until it Doesn’t

“We are in the business of selling burgers. When the package we use gets in the way of selling burgers, we need to change our package.”

McDonalds

Final Word

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that

counts can be counted."

-- Albert Einstein

Questions?

Tony Kingsbury-

TKingsbury ConsultingTony@TKingsbury.com