Healthy Child Healthy World and EWG Fight for a Better Environment for Children
March 30, 2023
The loss of a family member is devastating – even more so knowing that the death might have been preventable. Many of us have had to deal with cancer that could be linked to toxic chemical exposure, and many families have lost loved ones as a result.
James and Nancy Chuda founded Healthy Child Healthy World after their daughter’s life was cut short by Wilms’ Tumor, a rare form of cancer. My parents, too, lost their youngest daughter, my sister, to cancer when she was three. Now, as a mother of a three-year-old myself, their stories resonate with me more than ever. For this reason and many others, I am thrilled to be the new program director for HCHW, a new EWG program. My team will bring families cutting-edge research and guidance that empowers them to take action against harmful chemicals.
HCHW’s groundbreaking merger with EWG will fill a void in national leadership in children’s environmental health. We are poised to be the go-to authority to give parents the resources to take action and protect their children against harmful chemicals. And EWG’s science-based research will provide the parents, families and caregivers in the HCHW community with the knowledge they need in the form of easy-to-digest tips and other tools.
EWG has long been a powerful force in advocating for cleaner, healthier and safer products and holding government and business accountable. EWG works tirelessly to change the law where necessary, to move markets, and to hold government and business accountable. Right now, EWG is leading the fight against the recently proposed industry chemical regulation bill (S. 697), which in its current form it would fail to ensure that chemicals in consumer products are safe for children, for public health and for the environment. In some ways, this new bill would be worse than the existing Toxic Substances Control Act – a law so broken that EPA was unable even to ban asbestos, which kills thousands of Americans each year.
In this way and many others, EWG works constantly to ensure that chemicals in consumer products are proven safe for all of us, especially children. It is truly inspiring for us at HCHW to work with a team of passionate, dedicated staff who believe in keeping children safe from chemicals.
As a major program of EWG, HCHW now has access to a team of talented scientists, experts, lawyers, advocates, journalists and programmers as it works to promote children’s health. We will bring the latest science and news in environmental health to parents and caregivers so they can empower themselves to advocate for laws and business practices that protect children from exposure to hazardous chemicals and pollutants. Parents engaged with our content will also discover a wealth of healthy lifestyle resources for people of all ages at EWG.org. This merger allows us to reach more people, disseminate more information, influence more policies and promote solutions for a healthier, greener, safer world.
Together, we are a stronger organization with a unified voice for children’s health and environmental safety. More than ever, now is the time to fight for a healthy and safe environment for our children. I hope you join us as we embark on this momentous endeavor.
Kelly Herman