Environmental Justice and Toxic Chemicals: Why It Matters — and How You Can Help
In the fight for safer products and healthier communities, it’s not just what chemicals are in the things we use every day — it’s who is affected the most that matters. At the Environmental Research Center, our mission to protect consumers from harmful chemicals intersects deeply with the principles of environmental justice — a movement that ensures all people, regardless of race, income, or zip code, have the right to a healthy environment and equal protection under the law.
What Is Environmental Justice?
Environmental justice recognizes that environmental harms — including exposure to toxic substances — are often not distributed equally. Historically, low-income communities and communities of color have been more likely to live near industrial sites, hazardous waste facilities, or retail products that contain unsafe levels of toxic chemicals. These inequities can lead to higher rates of chronic illness, reproductive harm, and other adverse health outcomes for people who already face social and economic challenges.
How Toxic Chemicals Tie Into Environmental Justice
Laws like California’s Proposition 65 were created in part to give every consumer the right to know when they may be exposed to harmful chemicals. But awareness alone doesn’t erase disparities. For example:
Access to information: Not all communities have the same access to education, testing resources, or advocacy channels to understand and act on chemical exposure risks.
Product availability: Lower-income households may have fewer safe, affordable alternatives to products with toxic ingredients.
Cumulative exposures: Living near multiple sources of toxins (e.g., polluted air plus chemical-laden products) compounds health risks.
By enforcing transparency and compliance, ERC’s work helps shine a light on where those risks exist and how companies can improve their practices.
Real Change Happens Through Awareness and Action
Environmental justice isn’t just a concept — it’s a call to action. Here’s how your organization and readers can make an impact:
📌 Educate and Advocate
Share information about Proposition 65 and environmental justice with your networks. When consumers understand the risks and the laws that protect them, they’re empowered to choose safer products and push for better industry standards.
📌 Support Community Monitoring
Encourage local groups to document and report concerns about unsafe products or toxic exposures. Citizen science and community reporting can reveal trends that regulatory agencies might overlook.
📌 Demand Transparency from Companies
Use your voice as a consumer. Ask brands for clearer labeling, independent testing results, and safer formulations — especially for products disproportionately used in marginalized communities.
📌 Partner for Policy Change
Work with advocacy groups, public health agencies, and policymakers to strengthen protections that reduce chemical exposures and enforce compliance in all communities.