Some agenda-driven organizations continue to spread misinformation about PVC and phthalates. Their misleading claims are packaged in stylized reports, flawed ‘studies,’ and listicle-ish score cards that are heavy on fear-mongering and light on facts. These resources, which make for easily-digestible soundbites, often over simplify, omit key information, present one-sided narratives, and elevate biased sources who are neither scientifically reliable nor neutral authorities.
Unfortunately, this misinformation often makes its way into news coverage where such outlandish claims are presented uncritically. While they make for attention-getting headlines (“Do you know what’s in your toothbrush?”) and ready-made talking points for news outlets, they mislead readers and generate unnecessary and unwarranted concerns.
We get it; these issues are complex and hard to cover. We also don’t expect reporters to be experts in chemical engineering. That’s why it’s important for journalists to stick to their ethical standards of balance, objectivity, accuracy, and fairness when covering these activist reports.
We want to help. An easy way to ensure sound reporting on these issues is to seek a response from organizations like ours so we can provide the other side of the story, with substantiation.
That’s why we’re publishing this collection of helpful information that includes answers to common questions and factual corrections to frequent errors. Our mission is to make sure that the best available information makes it into the public discourse. We hope this will be a helpful tool for reporters covering phthalates, and we’re happy to provide additional information, context, and comment to anyone who asks.
The Basics
What Are Phthalates?
Phthalates are a family of compounds which are used to soften or “plasticize” vinyl (PVC). Phthalates are held in the structure of vinyl products. Various forces hold the phthalate within the vinyl matrix. Under normal use, migration of these phthalate compounds rarely occurs, and, under extreme conditions, these forces ensure that it occurs at a very low rate. Phthalates help to keep products flexible and in service for years or even decades.
What Kinds of Products Use Phthalates?
First, phthalates are a class of chemicals made up of dozens of specific compounds, each of which has specific usage properties designed for different applications. When discussing phthalates, it’s important to make this distinction clear and not conflate specific compounds with the class as a whole.
Phthalates are most commonly used in flexible plastic products and in cosmetics, but it’s important to note that the phthalates used in cosmetic products are different than those used in flexible plastic products.
Are Phthalates Safe?
Phthalates have been safely used in consumer and commercial products for more than 50 years to enhance durability, flexibility, and performance. Phthalates are some of the most tested substances in the world. Phthalate use is regulated, but not all phthalates are regulated in the same manner across the globe.
Rigorous risk assessments by multiple government agencies in the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia have concluded that many phthalates present a low-risk for their current intended uses.
Common Mistakes
We see a lot of inaccuracies in news coverage of phthalates and vinyl products. Here are common ones to avoid:
U.S. vinyl flooring manufacturers VOLUNTARILY removed phthalates from their products. Vinyl flooring manufacturers in the U.S. voluntarily phased out the use of phthalates more than five years ago. This was a business decision - they were not forced to do it, nor was there any regulation that required them to take this action.
Phthalates ARE NOT found in RIGID PVC. We frequently see reporters and agenda-driven opponents of PVC inaccurately claim that phthalates are found in rigid PVC products like PVC pipe or vinyl siding. This is wrong. Phthalates are used to make PVC flexible and, thus, have no use in products that are rigid.
There ARE NOT good enough ALTERNATIVES to phthalates in many applications. Many applications have very high performance standards that can’t be met by alternatives to phthalates. For example, there are no alternatives to phthalates that match their performance in medical products like IV bags, medical tubing, and upholstery.
There ARE NO STUDIES that demonstrate a causal link between exposure to phthalates and human health concerns. According to the FDA, “there have been no studies to date which show any connection between human dietary exposure to phthalates and adverse health effects. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes for Health believe that there is not enough data on the topic to decide whether low levels of phthalate exposure have any potential to cause problematic health effects in humans.”
You DO NOT need to be concerned about phthalates ‘LEACHING’ out of products that contain them. Phthalates are held in the structure of vinyl products. Various forces hold the phthalate within the vinyl matrix, so that migration occurs at a very low rate under extreme conditions and hardly at all during normal use.
Some phthalates ARE APPROVED by the CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION for use in children's toys. Reporters often inaccurately report that phthalates are prohibited in children’s toys. This is not true. Some phthalates are approved for this application, and some are not.
Phthalates ARE ODORLESS. Some reporters claim that the presence of phthalates can be detected by the presence of a ‘plastic’ smell that some new products have. While this is not a serious issue, this claim is still incorrect.
Phthalates ARE NOT UNDER STUDIED or LIGHTLY REGULATED. Entrenched opponents of PVC often claim there isn’t enough research on the safety of phthalates. The truth is that phthalates are one of the most heavily studied chemical classes in the world. Similarly, it is one of the most rigorously regulated classes of chemicals on the market.
Too often, we see reporting fall short of the high standards that readers rightly expect. We hope this information will shed some much needed light on this complex issue.
We’re happy to answer any questions and to provide additional information to anyone curious about phthalates and vinyl products. Feel free to contact us here.