2016
Welcomed 2 trailblazing board members
EWG welcomed long time environmental health activists Meg Hirshberg and Michelle Pfeiffer to its board of directors.
Reviewed the Black women’s cosmetics market
Using EWG’s Skin Deep® data, we released a-first-of-its-kind review of over a thousand personal care products marketed to Black women. EWG found that despite the growing market, Black women nonetheless have limited choices for products that score low in potentially harmful ingredients.
Analyzed the toxic aftermath of Hurricane Matthew
EWG and Waterkeeper Alliance revealed the toxic aftermath of Hurricane Matthew's rampage through North Carolina's coastal plain. The storm flooded more than 140 feces-strewn swine and poultry barns, more than a dozen open pits brimming with hog waste, and thousands of acres of manure-saturated fields.
Launched a children’s health initiative
With the generous support of the Jonas Family Fund, EWG launched the Jonas Initiative for Children’s Environmental Health, redoubling EWG’s decades-long commitment to children’s environmental health with a bold new research and advocacy agenda for 2017 and beyond
Released EWG’s Conservation Database
Seven years in the making, EWG released the Conservation Database, which allows Americans to see, for the first time, exactly where billions of dollars in conservation funding have gone at the state and county levels.
Dispelled one of Big Ag’s favorite talking points
U.S. agribusiness spokespeople routinely defend practices that pollute air and water and destroy soil by claiming that American farmers are doing what it takes to “feed the world.” EWG dove into global trade figures to dispel this common, false claim.
Found ‘Brockovich’ chemical in the water served to 200 million
In one of EWG’s most eye-opening analyses to date, we found that the notorious "Erin Brockovich" carcinogen, chromium-6, contaminates the water supplies of nearly two-thirds of Americans at levels above those scientists say are safe.
FDA bans hormone-disrupting chemical
The Food and Drug Administration announced triclosan, a toxic chemical ingredient associated with hormone disruption in people, will no longer be allowed in antibacterial hand soaps. EWG has long fought to remove the chemical from personal care products.
Launched the EWG Healthy Living app
EWG heard its supporters loud and clear. Time and again, we’ve been asked to package our advice and consumer guides so our followers can use them on the go and make better choices every time they shop.
And now they can, thanks to EWG’s new Healthy Living app.
Galvanized support for Calif. cleaning products bill
EWG has been working for years to close the labeling loophole that allows ingredients in cleaning products – including some that are potentially harmful – to remain undisclosed. The Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2016 would strip away the secrecy shrouding the chemicals used to make most cleaners.