Melodies in Marketing

New Toy Safety Law Will Likely Become Law - As reported by the Chicago Tribune, it would “require manufacturers and importers to subject toys and other nursery products to strict safety tests before they hit store shelves.” Secondly, “the legislation would phase in a near-ban on lead in products designed for children 12 and younger and create an easily searchable database of consumer complaints about a product’s safety. The law would set an allowable lead standard of 600 parts per million within 180 days, 300 ppm after one year, and 100 ppm after three years. The precise amount of lead that can cause harm in a child remains a matter of debate. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission would review the limit and could lower it still further.” For more info on additional measures of this sweeping reform, see the article.
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Canadian Green Guides - The Canadian Competition Bureau and Standards Association put together a set of guidelines and best practices for businesses making environmental claims.
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UN Global Compact Delists 630 Companies since January of this year, for failing to annually communicate to stakeholders their progress in adopting the Compact’s 10 principles. During the same time, they’ve enlisted an additional 701 new companies.
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US EPA Blog - That’s right…a unified effort from a group of EPA bloggers.
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Cotton’s Need for Guides - During the latest hearing on revising the FTC Green Guides, representatives from the cotton industry association, organic farmers, and others expressed their concerns for responsible claims and accurate consumer perception.
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Seattle imposes shopping bag fee - The City Council has approved a 20cent charge on disposable paper or plastic shopping bags, going into effect in Jan. 09. Same time next year, certain styrofoam containers will be banned.
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Truckers Association sue LA Ports for Anti-Pollution Program - The objective is to reduce diesel fuel pollution. Part of the measures include banning pre-1989 model trucks from both ports this fall; trucks older than 2007 models will be denied access beginning in 2012. Secondly, trucking companies are to hand over more information about their operational procedures. The main contention the truckers association has is that the port of LA will deny independent truckers access to their port beginning October 1 (the port of Long Beach however, will continue to allow them in).
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City of Portland, Commercial Food Composting Program - Includes set-up assistance, employee training, free collection containers, educational materials, and customer recognition assistance.
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Solar Windows from MIT - Neat! “By pushing light to the edges and filtering it, they can concentrate the light and squeeze more electricity from photovoltaic solar cells.”
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Map of Future Forces Affecting Sustainability -By the Institute for the Future, for another organization. The link above highlights the summary. This link to the presentation series, includes video (but you might want to use Internet Explorer because clicking on a slide caused my Firefox to unexpectedly close).
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Former EPA Leader Gives Oversight Roadmap for Nanotech - [Meant for the next US presidential administration], “measures include defining nanomaterials as ‘new’ substances under federal toxics and food laws, thereby enabling the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration to consider the novel qualities and effects of nanomaterials. Davies also calls for federal pesticide and workplace safety laws to be used to protect against potential adverse impacts of nanomaterials.”
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Concern over Perfluorooctanoic Acid in Food Packaging Leads to Proposed California Legislation - This article by the LA Times highlights the concern about this chemical (officially known as an industrial surfactant), used as a liner on product packaging including application on Teflon pans, which the EPA wants companies to voluntarily stop using by 2015. In 2006, Eight companies including DuPont vowed to replace PFOA. A California congressman has proposed bill SB 1313, which would ban the chemical by 2010.
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Half of Canada’s Boreal Forests to be Protected - from mining and other resource development projects.
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The Need for Using More Recycled Paper - Triple Pundit wrote up a terrific article highlighting multiple facts and sources about US paper production, consumption, and the state of recycling. Check it out.
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Au Revoir !

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