Harmful Chemicals Found in SC Johnson Products
Remember the report released by Women’s Voices for Earth, Dirty Secrets: What’s Hiding in Your Cleaning Products? The same report that sparked my Tide Petition asking Tide to remove a cancer causing chemical from their Tide Free & Gentle laundry detergent?
That very same product testing in the report shows allergens and hormone disruptors like synthetic musks hiding out in Glade air fresheners, and allergens hiding in Pledge Dust & Allergen. (Fun fact: that Pledge product is labeled “Reduce allergens while dusting”- funny that it contains hidden allergens.) And none of these allergens are listed anywhere on the product labels.
SC Johnson’s Commitment to “Transparency”?
Cleaning product companies aren’t required to disclose the ingredients they use in their products, and what they’re keeping secret from you could be hazardous to your health.
SC Johnson & Son, the makers of the iconic air freshener Glade, keep the fragrance ingredients in their scented products a secret. We as consumers have no way of knowing what ingredients are in their products including Glade, Windex and Pledge. SC Johnson doesn’t have to disclose this information because in the US they’re not required to by law. How ironic that the company actually markets themselves as a company committed to “honesty” and “transparency.”
“We know you value transparency, and we’re committed to sharing what’s inside our products.”
Really?
SC Johnson has published a master list of nearly 1,500 ingredients they use in their fragrances. However, these ingredients aren’t product-specific, which means that SC Johnson fragranced products may include any of those chemicals. This massive list is all but useless to the consumer.
Double Standard Between E.U. and U.S.
In the EU, companies are required to disclose 26 ingredients that the European Union has determined to trigger allergies. SC Johnson therefore discloses all 26 of the allergens required in the EU directly on product labels, but doesn’t disclose these allergens in the US because they’re not required to by law.
We all deserve to be able to avoid chemicals that may cause allergic reactions, regardless of where we live.
WVE Takes Action-and You Can Too!
WVE is releasing a spoof SC Johnson website and commercial today, the same day they teamed up with advocacy group SumOfUs.org to deliver 50,000+ signatures to SC Johnson asking the company to list fragrance ingredients in their scented products. The commercial is parodying the company’s commitment to “honesty” and “transparency” while keeping fragrance ingredients a secret from consumers like us. Watch the original commercial here. Here’s the WVE spoof:
What You Can Do
- You can add your voice to the petition to tell SC Johnson to disclose all fragrance ingredients HERE.
- Learn more about what’s really inside SC Johnson products HERE.
- Use your spending power to support companies that do practice transparency by labeling their products with all ingredients.
- Until we know what’s in the products we buy off the shelf we can make our own with safe ingredients.
We have a right to know what’s in the products we’re bringing into our home, especially when some of those chemicals may harm our health. Don’t you agree?