NEW REPORTAdvancing Health and Equity Through Better Building Products
PollutionBuildings’ Hidden Plastic Problem: Policy Brief and Recommendations
Report
Habitable’s policy brief, “Buildings’ Hidden Plastic Problem,” reveals stunning statistics about current and projected plastic use in buildings and includes recommendations to reduce plastic pollution—greenhouse gases (GHGs), microplastics, and toxic chemicals—throughout product life cycles.
This policy brief presents highlights from the significant body of science indicating that plastic building materials are contributing to serious health and environmental harms over their life cycle, from fossil fuel extraction to production, use, and disposal. These impacts fall disproportionately on susceptible and marginalized people, including women, children, Indigenous people, low-income communities, and people of color. The brief includes examples of solutions and offers recommendations to strengthen policies that will reduce plastic use in the built environment and associated life cycle harms.
Endorsing organizations:
- Alaska Community Action on Toxics
- Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
- Beyond Plastics
- CannonDesign
- Ecology Center
- Green Science Policy Institute
- Just Zero
- Little Things Matter
- MSR Design
- Planetary Health Alliance
- Toxic Free Future
- Science and Environmental Health Network
Interested in endorsing these policy recommendations? Contact us.
HealthSafer States: An Alliance for a Healthier World
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Safer States is a national alliance of environmental health groups led by state-based organizations working towards a healthier and more just future.
By addressing critical issues such as toxic chemicals, plastics, and climate change, Safer States empowers collective action through its extensive network and capacity-building initiatives. The organization’s resources focus on ensuring clean air and water, holding polluters accountable, and promoting the development of safer consumer products. Safer States offers valuable tools and support for creating safer solutions for human health and the environment, including a bill tracker that identifies state policies that move the needle toward achieving a healthier world.
HealthPaint the Town Green: The Impact of Paint on People and Planet
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This episode featured Teresa McGrath, the Chief Research Officer for Habitable.
She digs into the environmental implications of paint components and offers scientific insights on sustainable alternatives. Some of her suggestions are even trending—popular wall treatments such as Limewash and Roman clay are healthier alternatives.
HealthProtecting the Developing Brains of Children from the Harmful Effects of Plastics and Toxic Chemicals in Plastics
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Discover the urgent need to protect children’s developing brains from the harmful effects of plastics and toxic chemicals with this recent report, “Protecting the Developing Brains of Children from the Harmful Effects of Plastics and Toxic Chemicals in Plastics.”
This briefing paper, prepared by experts from Project TENDR, summarizes mounting scientific evidence linking plastic exposure to neurodevelopmental disabilities and cognitive deficits in children. It also provides essential policy recommendations to strengthen the new global treaty on plastics pollution. Download the report or watch the webinar to learn more about how we can address the toxicity and proliferation of plastics and petrochemicals.
EquityAdvancing Health and Equity through Better Building Products
Report
Habitable’s report, “Advancing Health and Equity through Better Building Products,” reveals the current state of building materials used, with nearly 70% of typical products in the categories analyzed containing or relying on the most hazardous chemicals.
The results, based on data for Minnesota affordable housing, are consistent with products used in other building types and geographic regions. The report highlights examples of leaders within and beyond Minnesota’s built environment who are already taking action toward safer material choices. It also provides guidance on how the real estate industry can begin working toward a healthier future by “stepping up from red-ranked products”—the most polluting and harmful throughout their life cycle based on Habitable’s research and Informed™ product guidance.
PollutionMaterials Economy Webinar
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A path towards planetary health is more urgently needed now than ever, but our current materials economy creates rampant pollution, climate change, and growing inequity. Shifting from harmful practices to healthful solutions will require cross-sector partnerships, holistic thinking, and exciting new approaches that reduce the burden of industry on people and our planet.
Watch Habitable’s special Earth Month webinar featuring leading global voices, including:
- Dr. Bethanie Carney-Almroth
- Dr. Veena Singla
- Martha Lewis
Moderated by Gina Ciganik, CEO of Habitable
HealthUnderstanding how the environment affects pregnant people’s health
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Scientists are investigating how exposure to environmental stressors during pregnancy affects the health of both fetuses and pregnant individuals, highlighting the need for further research to protect the almost 130 million people worldwide who give birth annually.
HealthChemicals used in plastic food packaging linked to 10% of preterm births in 2018
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A study by environmental health experts at New York University suggests that phthalates, chemicals commonly found in plastic food containers and cosmetic products, may have contributed to approximately 10 percent of preterm births in the United States in 2018.
HealthChildren’s Environnental Health Network
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For over three decades, CEHN has been a leading advocate for evidence-based child-protective policy, preventive research, and education on children’s environmental health, collaborating with diverse stakeholders to promote a healthier future for children.
PollutionToxic Free Future
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Toxic-Free Future is a leading advocate for environmental health, leveraging science, education, and activism to promote strong laws and corporate responsibility that safeguard the health of individuals and the planet.