Procter & Gamble has agreed to reformulate Tide and other laundry detergents to reduce contamination with 1,4 dioxane.
The action came in response to a lawsuit filed last year by As You Sow, an Oakland-based nonprofit that promotes corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy.
“This decision by Proctor and Gamble is not only welcome news for its customers but could ripple across the entire industry, putting P&G’s competitors in an uncomfortable position if their products also contain this cancer-causing contaminant,” Sonya Lunder, a senior research analyst with Environmental Working Group, said in a January 25, 2013 statement.
The chemical 1,4-dioxane, used as a solvent in some industrial processes, has been found to contaminate some ingredients widely used in cleaning and body care products, Lunder said, adding it can be cheaply removed from these ingredients before the final product is manufactured.