May 4, 2021
Investors are increasingly scrutinizing companies for environmental, social and ethical considerations. In addition to closer scrutiny of companies’ carbon and water footprints, a third mark of consideration is emerging: their chemical footprint.
In recent years, consumer demand for the responsible use of chemicals in products has grown exponentially. This is evidenced by consumer pressure for ingredient transparency, calls to remove hazardous chemicals from personal care products, and lawsuits against cosmetic companies for making and selling products containing ingredients with known harms to human health. And then 2020 happened.
Last year marked rapidly growing awareness of issues facing women of color, who are disproportionately exposed to toxic chemicals present in the cosmetics and personal care products applied to their bodies daily. The revelations included growing concern from public health experts that hazardous industrial chemicals, including harmful chemicals in beauty and personal care products, can exacerbate chronic health conditions associated with severe COVID-19 symptoms. Some chemicals were even increasing an individual’s susceptibility to COVID. This underscored the message for investors, companies and nonprofit leaders that safer chemical management is a matter of prioritizing and protecting public health.