The Dirty Truth About Plastic
Plastics were making the news this week in Canada, with Health Canada not really announcing much that they haven't already announced. In effect, what Health Canada said this week was, yes, plastics do represent a risk, however, at the end of the day, plastics are so ubiquitous in our environment, that an outright ban due to the risks of chemicals such as Bisphenol A would create a vacuum that would cause more harm than good. And to be sure, the economic ramifications to an outright ban would be tremendous. That doesn't mean that Health Canada made a political decision and closed the door. The door remained open, even if it is just slight. Health Canada label Bisphenol A toxic, and that will now allow the government to regulate the chemical. It's a warning to industry that the days of using human health and the environment as a test bed, are gone.
Will there be changes overnight? Not the dramatic ones that vocal critics of the chemical industry had hoped for. Sure, there were forward thinking retailers who saw the financial risks of still carrying such products -- and they reacted, even to just the rumour of Health Canada releasing findings, but that will not be the end of it. The chemical industry needs to innovate, and that will result in some hits and misses -- but it also represent an opportunity for companies to deliver alternatives and shift the game in their favour.
As much as Bisphenol A is a problem, there are also a slew of other chemicals that are in plastics that remain a potential risk, and these will be examined over time by Health Canada. Verdicts will be delivered. The old ways of industry doing as they please are changing. Consumers are more educated, and a vocal subset are advocating for more transparency and social responsibility. Businesses have to respond. It's a moral imperative. To not respond to this awareness would be unethical. Responses at this juncture will signal whether corporations respect their customers and the environment, or are simply evil.
This month's Discover magazine is also running an article on the Dirty Truth About Plastic. As I said above, phenols aren't the only concern -- so are phthalates and the sheer volume and longevity of plastic. We live in a plastic world it seems, and are slowly getting buried under the stuff. There are viable alternatives out there, so why aren't they being used?
Why do we let this shit happen?
Will there be changes overnight? Not the dramatic ones that vocal critics of the chemical industry had hoped for. Sure, there were forward thinking retailers who saw the financial risks of still carrying such products -- and they reacted, even to just the rumour of Health Canada releasing findings, but that will not be the end of it. The chemical industry needs to innovate, and that will result in some hits and misses -- but it also represent an opportunity for companies to deliver alternatives and shift the game in their favour.
As much as Bisphenol A is a problem, there are also a slew of other chemicals that are in plastics that remain a potential risk, and these will be examined over time by Health Canada. Verdicts will be delivered. The old ways of industry doing as they please are changing. Consumers are more educated, and a vocal subset are advocating for more transparency and social responsibility. Businesses have to respond. It's a moral imperative. To not respond to this awareness would be unethical. Responses at this juncture will signal whether corporations respect their customers and the environment, or are simply evil.
This month's Discover magazine is also running an article on the Dirty Truth About Plastic. As I said above, phenols aren't the only concern -- so are phthalates and the sheer volume and longevity of plastic. We live in a plastic world it seems, and are slowly getting buried under the stuff. There are viable alternatives out there, so why aren't they being used?
Why do we let this shit happen?
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