Incorporating Environmental Justice into Alternatives Assessment
Lessons Learned from Case Studies
This report presents new methods for integrating environmental justice (EJ) into chemical alternatives assessment (AA), a key decision-making process used to identify safer substitutes for hazardous chemicals in consumer products. Developed by the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry (BCGC) in partnership with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and UMass Lowell, the project aims to ensure that chemical safety evaluations better account for the needs and...
In developed countries like the USA, approximately 80% of households own a spray lubricant. The products are ubiqutious and versatile, however their performance relies on petroleum-derived solvents that contribute to volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, environmental persistence, and potential human health hazards. This project challenged the team to explore safer, bio-based alternatives to...
Laundry detergent bottles are typically made from plastics like HDPE and PET—materials chosen for their durability and barrier properties, but also responsible for persistent microplastic pollution and chemical hazards. In this project, the team set out to rethink detergent packaging from the ground up by asking a simple question: Can a container perform like plastic without relying on it?
Quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), like behentrimonium chloride (BTAC) and cetrimonium chloride (CTAC), are commonly used in hair conditioners to make hair smooth, glossy, and easier to comb. However, these compounds pose significant health and environmental risks. L'Oréal is working on finding safer, more biodegradable alternatives, but this is a challenge across the industry.
This project provides recommendations for finding safer preservatives for laundry detergent, hand soap, and dish soap, aiming to replace phenoxyethanol. It looks for alternatives that are just as effective, or even better, but with fewer health and environmental risks....
In this first cohort of Berkeley Changemakers Green Materials Innovation undergraduate course, student teams partnered with Black Women for Wellness to investigate safer alternatives to sodium hydroxide & phthalates in hair relaxers.
In partnership with the California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control and L’Oreal, this student team was tasked with identifying safer alternatives to previously used “bad actor” chemicals, such as toluene, in nail polish formulations.
The Safer Sunscreens group identified naturally-sourced compounds such as colorless carotenoids, mycosporine-like amino acids, and vitamin E compounds, for use as potential alternatives to existing sunscreen compounds. These substances may serve as viable alternatives to the benzophenone compounds recently banned in the State of Hawaii. The team based its research on plant and microbial approaches to UV protection. The group also considered the properties of compounds that have been accepted for use in Europe, but not in the United States, with an aim to identify the...
