Blueland and Environmental Groups Ask EPA to Regulate Pods

• Updated on: 2023-03-03
• Read original article here

Refillable cleaning and soap company Blueland, in partnership with the Plastic Pollution Coalition, is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take a closer look at a popular plastic substance in laundry and dish soaps, spurred by some studies showing it has made its way into drinking water.

Polyvinyl alcohol, known as PVA or PVOH, is the dissolvable plastic film that holds the soap inside of a pod until it hits the water.

When those pods do make contact with water, the plastic film on the outside seems to disappear completely. The same is true for the newer sheets of laundry soap that have gained traction via social media marketing in recent years.

But what happens after plastic dissolves is less certain. Studies published this year show that some particles of PVA made their way into public drinking water and were also detected in breast milk—raising concerns about what impact large quantities of the popular pods and sheets might have on the environment and human health.

“Unfortunately, the onus is on proving that these ingredients or materials are unsafe versus having the onus being on proving that these ingredients are safe,” explained Sarah Paiji Yoo, co-founder and CEO of Blueland. “The companies that exist out there may not be incentivized to lead the work, unfortunately, to confirm that these ingredients they’re using in large quantities—that potentially end up in the environment or in our bodies—are safe.”

Therein lies the rub: For-profit companies, trade groups, advocates and agencies are prone to disagree on the scope and scale of the impact of plastics in cleaning products. And while the detergents industry is going some way to produce more sustainable products, conflicting science-based studies makes purchase choices all the more complex for people.

In response to these studies, Blueland teamed up with the advocacy organization Plastic Pollution Coalition to petition the EPA to regulate the plastic film.

Non-governmental organizations Beyond Plastics, Plastic Oceans International, The Shaw Institute, Lonely Whale, 5 Gyres, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Oceanic Global Foundation, The Last Beach Cleanup, Rio Grande International Study Center, Inland Ocean Coalition, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Friends of the Earth and Made Safe are co-sponsoring the initiative.

The petition also asks the EPA to remove PVA from its lists of safe-to-use chemicals until the agency can complete more thorough health and environmental safety testing. It cites research from Arizona State University, funded in part by Blueland and published in the International Journal of Environmental and Public Health, showing that over 75% of PVA makes it through wastewater treatment plants without breaking down.

But industry players insist that the substance presents no risk. Industry trade group American Cleaning Institute released its own presser in response to Blueland’s petition, calling the effort a “disappointing misinformation campaign.”

ACI points to two reports to support its position. The first, compiled by European trade group International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products, suggests that PVA found in the environment doesn’t originate from laundry or dish pods, which use a highly soluble form of PVA. Sturdier forms of the plastic are used in packaging, construction materials, electronics and fishing equipment.

The second study, commissioned and funded by Tide-owner Procter & Gamble, found that PVA biodegraded to more than 80% using standardized lab tests approved by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It also noted more research was needed to determine what happens in river water.

Charles Rolsky, one of the lead authors of the Arizona State University study, has been contacted for comment. In September, he told Adweek that his research shows a lab setting doesn’t sufficiently mimic the conditions of municipal wastewater treatment facilities.

“If it’s able to pass through certain filtration stages, it’s likely that it can reach things like the food that we’re eating,” he explained. “I don’t know how it acts,” adding that more testing is needed.

Blueland hopes the campaign will help bump PVA to the top of the EPA’s crowded list of priorities despite pushback from the industry.

“It’s hard for something like this to bubble to the top if they don’t have a good reason to believe that it may be harmful,” Paiji Yoo said.

The brand also created a two-minute video explaining its petition on Instagram, amplified by paid media on TikTok, though Blueland wouldn’t share the size of its ad buy. Consumers who signed up for its SMS marketing received a text message highlighting the petition this week, too.

“We want everyone to understand in simple terms that pods are plastic, and PVA—like all plastics—threaten the health of people and the planet,” Julia Cohen, co-founder and managing director of Plastic Pollution Coalition, said in a statement.