Activist Tactics Seen Scaring Consumers

Health & Safety

Activist Tactics Seen Scaring Consumers

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 6, 2006 (VNS) – Activist groups are trying to scare consumers and retailers by raising phony safety concerns about many useful, needed and safe everyday products made of vinyl (PVC) and other plastics, a major industry group said today.

“It is especially unfair to intimidate consumers, interfere with shoppers and threaten action against retailers through misleading information designed to cause unjustified fears,” said the Arlington, VA-based Vinyl Institute.

The Institute noted that the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other responsible federal agencies have repeatedly refuted misleading statements about plastic and vinyl safety made by activist groups pushing a Greenpeace-type agenda.

“The facts are that vinyl and other plastic products are safer, more affordable and more convenient than many alternatives,” the Institute said. “That is why they are so popular with American consumers.”

The Institute noted that a founder and former head of Greenpeace, Dr. Patrick Moore, has strongly rejected the false claims of today’s activists.

“Vinyl products’ effects on health and the environment have been investigated at every stage from manufacture through use and on to final disposal – in all cases vinyl has been shown to be safe and environmentally sound,” Moore said recently.

“For decades, consumers have been able to rely on safe, effective vinyl products for important, everyday uses,” the Institute said.

“Our member organizations produce quality products that help safeguard America’s health and its homes, and they do so while adhering to strict environmental and safety standards,” said Vinyl Institute President Tim Burns. “It is irresponsible – and grossly unfair to millions of American consumers – for activist groups to pretend otherwise.”

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