Do you know how many substances in your household products are potentially dangerous? Well, neither does the U.S. government. As I've mentioned before, a piece of legislation called the "Safe Chemicals Act of 2010" introduced in April aims to change this and bring regulations governing chemicals into the 21st century.

Currently, chemical safety is regulated by the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. Designed to grant the EPA the power to control toxic substances, this 34-year-old law has not produced the information needed to identify hazardous chemicals and asks regulators to meet an absurdly high burden of proof before taking positive action against a given substance. In this scenario, new chemicals on the market are considered safe unless regulators can prove otherwise. As a society, we are paying an incredible cost for not vetting new chemicals before including them in all manner of products from cosmetics to household cleaners, to plastic containers and baby toys.

Take for example, the results of a recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). They tested the umbilical cords of ten babies -- and found almost 300 chemicals in the blood of these pure, innocent newborns. Do these chemicals cause any harm? The fact is: no one knows for sure. But the current legislative scheme requires EPA to prove that there is harm before these chemicals can be regulated. Protection of the public devolves into an argument about the sufficiency of scientific evidence.

Currently there are only guidelines for how industry must use the signal words "Caution," "Poison," or "Danger" on consumer product labels. Companies are left to interpret the guidelines, and it is not in the interest of the companies to put such scary words on labels. So the communication of potential risks suffers under the conflict of interests.

The Safe Chemicals Act, on the other hand, takes the position of "The Precautionary Principle," which says that industry must have sufficient evidence to prove a chemical is safe for the intended uses. The new legislation would empower the EPA to demand complete safety data, set safer exposure thresholds, place the burden of proof of chemical safety on manufacturers prior to introduction, take immediate action to reduce risks created by those substances already proven harmful, and encourage the development of green chemistry alternatives.

At Seventh Generation, we don't buy the "regulation stifles innovation" argument put forth by so many manufacturers, unless of course they mean stifling the development of more toxic chemicals.

Current chemical control laws typically create incentives for innovation by substituting "safer" alternatives for chemicals known to be hazardous. The law of unintended consequences ensures that many of these attempts result in the substitution of "unknown" chemicals for chemicals with known hazards. Often, the substitutes are chemical cousins of the bad actors, likely to have similar hazards -- but not yet enough science to "prove" the danger.

Seventh Generation is behind The Safe Chemicals act 100%, believing it to be a huge positive step forward for industry and consumers alike. I believe that elevating the safety of our customers and planet to the highest level has only made our company more competitive, not less.

I also believe that this legislation is what's best for our economy. Most of the industries fighting this bill have not been job creators. However, when you look at the statistical growth of the sustainable segment, you see a sector that has grown very significantly and which has proven itself resilient in a downturn. If our system continues to count illnesses like cancer or disasters like the Gulf oil spill as creating positive growth of the GNP, it will leave the United States increasingly uncompetitive.

I encourage everyone to take action on this legislation and let their voices be heard. For the good of families, the economy, and the planet, please write your representative; contact NGOs and let them know this an important issue for you; and finally vote with your dollars. Write CEOs of companies fighting the reform and let them know that you'll be boycotting their products because of their stance on the issue.

You can find out more about toxic chemical legislation at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.