Today U.S. PIRG Education Fund and NRDC launched a campaign to urge Columbia Sportswear to eliminate toxic PFAS in their products and supply chain by 2024. The campaign will engage everyday consumers through a petition drive and mobilize the public impacted by PFAS contamination.
U.S. PIRG Education Fund and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) hosted a media conference outside Columbia Sportswear’s flagship store in downtown Portland on Thursday to deliver a petition, with more than 48,000 signatures, urging the clothing manufacturer and retailer to phase out the use of PFAS chemicals in their products.
U.S. PIRG Education Fund and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) launched a campaign on Tuesday calling on outdoor gear and apparel brand Columbia Sportswear to phase out the use of PFAS in its products and supply chains. Last month, the company received low marks in a scorecard report released by the advocacy groups. The report found that Columbia Sportswear has failed to adopt policies that ban PFAS chemicals or provide up-to-date, publicly available information on any ongoing efforts to phase out these toxic chemicals from their products.
The Illinois Department of Insurance called on auto insurers Wednesday to provide detailed data that will allow for greater understanding on how much insurance companies overcharged Illinois drivers during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The “data call” comes in response to a letter sent by 16 state senators and nine advocacy organizations in January. Insurers will have through mid-May to respond, and the information will be made public by June.
The Peoples Gas pipe replacement program once again ended the year behind schedule and over budget according to a year-end report released Monday. Peoples Gas charged its residential customers nearly $157, on average, for the program in 2021. That has contributed to widespread home heating affordability challenges in Chicago. Despite this, Peoples Gas is on track to make record profits in 2021, surpassing the previous record set in 2020.
Much of our outdoor clothing and gear is waterproofed using toxic PFAS chemicals, but a few industry leaders are beginning to recognize it's not worth the impacts on our health and environment.
