WASHINGTON, D.C. — A first-of-its-kind report released today warns that chemical hazards in corporate supply chains are becoming a serious—and largely unmeasured—financial threat to investors. The 21-page study reveals that most companies still fail to disclose the full extent of toxic chemicals in their products, leaving portfolios vulnerable to lawsuits, reputational damage, and regulatory shocks.

The vision of a circular economy, where resources are perpetually recycled, and waste is a relic of the past, faces many practical challenges. One of the least discussed is how to deal with toxic content that is ubiquitous in present day materials - the feedstocks of a circular economy. This is evident from the agenda of the nation’s premier circular economy conference, Circularity 2025, where it is conspicuous by its relatively small role. Jon Smieja, Vice President of Circularity at conference convenor Trellis Group, is himself an evangelist for the “Safe and Circular” approach, notes: “My sustainability roots are in green chemistry and it was my primary responsibility for the better part of 10 years. The challenge is that not everyone connects the need for safe materials with the need for a circular economy yet. We have to be very intentional about how we break down those silos and connect these two important pieces of the sustainability puzzle.” 

Beauty Inside and Out: Catalyzing Safer Beauty Products Marketed to People of Color

Feb 25

The Safer Chemistry Impact Fund (SCI Fund) has awarded one of its first grants to a collaboration of environmental health groups for a project to catalyze safer beauty and personal care products by engaging with brands marketed to communities of color. We learned a lot from this proposal and asked Danielle Mangabat, Environmental Health Coordinator at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, to share some of the insights that make this initiative so compelling. This is an edited summary of our conversation.