Toxics Action at Panasonic in the Netherlands

Greenpeace activists hang an enormous banner reading 'Panasonic: Eis een lichaam zonder gif!', which translates to English as 'Panasonic: Demand a body without toxics!' at the Panasonic office in Den Bosch. They inform the employees about the toxics Panasonic processes in their electronics, like televisions. Greenpeace states that a company, which keeps on using toxics and refuses to change to more clean alternatives, is irresponsible. Greenpeace urges to make out a case for a strict REACH-legislation, the new European legislation for toxics, with a ban on the production and usage of toxics and an obliged change to non-toxic alternatives. Toxics are found in our daily products, like electronics, cosmetics and textile. They contain for example plasticizers, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), synthetic musk, alkylphenols and organotin. Characteristic for these chemicals is that they do not decompose readily or quickly in the environment and small amounts can be damaging. The chemicals end up in the environment during the production, usage and waste phase.