Dear MomsRising.org Member;
<!–[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]–>
<!–[endif]–>

Halogenated fire retardants have been linked to serious health disorders such as cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, reproductive, and brain dysfunction and learning disabilities.Tell children’s product manufacturer Graco to stop using these chemicals!
<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>
Take Action

“I think back to all the times when my baby was teething or gnawing on the side of her car seat, and my heart sinks wondering about what her tiny body ingested.” –Bobbi (mother of a one year-old)

Can you believe it? A recent study conducted by the watchdog group, Friends of the Earth, found that 56% of infant carriers, 44% of car seats, and 40% of the strollers they tested had dangerous levels of toxic fire retardant chemicals.[1]

This is downright scary–and is yet another toxic exposure on a long list of children’s products with toxic chemicals to come out lately. We have to turn this tide.

The good news: Graco, the giant manufacturer of children’s products, responded to the Friends of the Earth report the day it was published. Graco says they want to do the right thing, but they haven’t yet committed to removing these chemicals from their products. If Graco gets rid of these chemicals, other baby product manufacturers will be under enormous pressure to follow suit.

*Ask Graco, and other manufacturers of children’s products, to not use any more halogenated fire retardants - period! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1230

Haloge-what? Halogenated flame retardants have been shown to cause serious health disorders including endocrine disruption, cancer, birth defects and a host of reproductive and neurological disorders in developing fetuses and offspring in animals.

Forward this note to your family, friends, and community so we can all let Graco, and other manufacturers, know that nobody wants toxics near their kids. When consumers speak, companies listen.

Moms’ voices are turning the tide on toxics: After our petition with your signatures was delivered several weeks ago on getting the toxic bisphenol A (BPA) out of baby bottles, Toys”R”Us, Babies”R”Us, and CVS announced they’ll stop selling baby bottles which contain BPA, and Playtex committed to stop using BPA in all of their baby bottles by the year’s end.

So please forward this email far and wide to get as many signatures as possible–we know your signatures will have an impact.

We want Graco, and other manufacturers of children’s products, to know that making safe products includes keeping toxic chemicals out of them.

Together, we can make help keep dangerous chemicals away from our children.

– Joan, Kristin, Katie, and the MomsRising.org Team

Thank you to Friends of the Earth and MOMS: Making Our Milk Safe for their tremendous work on this issue.

[1] Friends of the Earth report, entitled Killer Cribs, http://action.foe.org/t/3882/content.jsp?content_KEY=4205

p.s. To see the CBS story on flame retardants that ran on Monday go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/eveningnews/main4109418.shtml

p.p.s. Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF) has launched the second annual She Should Run campaign (http://www.sheshouldrun.org). She Should Run is a comprehensive effort to gather nominations of women leaders who should run for public office. WCF is committed to ensuring these women get essential encouragement they need and to providing them connections to key public life decision making tools and campaign resources. Do you know a woman who should run for office? Research shows women are much more likely to run if someone asks them to. Tell a woman she should run for office, share her story, and send her on her way toward becoming the influential public office holder she was always meant to be.