What’s disrupting you? Take Action now to let governments know you want an EDC Free Future

Brussels, 30 July 2013 – A coalition of public interest groups representing more than 31 organisations across Europe have launched a Take Action initiative for an EDC-Free Future.

This fun and creative Take Action photo initiative is part of the EDC-Free Europe campaign [1] set up in March 2013 by a diverse group of campaign partners with a common concern about endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and how they may be affecting our health. EDCs are linked to serious health conditions such as cancers, fertility problems and diabetes and obesity. These chemicals are used in a wide range of everyday products and objects, including children’s toys, personal care, consumer and electronic products. They can also end up as residues on our food.

Partners are launching this public campaign on EDCs to put pressure on the European Union (EU) to come out with ambitious plans to reduce our exposure to what international organisations such as WHO and UNEP and leading researchers have called a global threat. EU policymakers have already agreed some measures to reduce exposures from EDCs. 2013 is a crucial year for the EU Commission and countries across Europe to finally put them into practice so that health and the environment are better protected.

In a nutshell, the Take Action, available in four languages via the EDC-Free Europe website http://www.edc-free-europe.org/ or campaign partner websites [2] is an interactive a way to involve individuals and let them express why they are concerned about where EDCs might be found. Individuals are encouraged to show their concern about where EDCs might be lurking by uploading a photo, liking or sharing it with friends and family.

How does it work?

Individuals can upload a photo of an object or product they’ve taken with the arrow tagline ‘Is this disrupting me?’ (Downloadable in 4 languages), and join the EDC-Free campaign.

The Take Action photo initiative allows individuals to think about what EDCs they are exposed to on a daily basis. By asking a question, it invites them to learn more about the issues from campaign partners. The photos will feature in a Flickr gallery [3] and be taken to the decision makers by the EDC-Free Europe campaign partners to encourage them to speed up expected EU proposals on EDCs in the autumn.

Notes

[1] The EDC-Free campaign call to action was set up in 2013 for European and national campaign partners working on EU and national policy in Europe. http://www.edc-free-europe.org/about-us/who-we-are/

[2] The Take Action is available via the EDC-Free website www.edc-free-europe.org and via national campaign websites. The Take Action is available in English, French, German and Spanish here http://www.edc-free-europe.org/how-to-take-action/

[3] http://www.flickr.com/groups/whatsdisruptingyou/discuss/72157634651468524/

[4] Follow the EDC-Free campaign on Twitter @EDCFree https://twitter.com/EDCFree
A list of campaign partners on Twitter is available here https://twitter.com/EDCFree/campaign-partners