GREENGUARD Environmental Institute and Healthy Child Healthy World Announce Trusted Partnership in the Fight Against Chemical Exposure

Organizations join forces to raise awareness about chemical exposure and its impact on children’s health

ATLANTA, April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) and Healthy Child Healthy World announce today that they have entered into a trusted partnership to raise the bar on indoor air quality and children’s health.  Both organizations will now collaborate on various initiatives to reduce children’s exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic chemicals, and other pollutants that emit from everyday products.

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As part of their trusted partnership, the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute and Healthy Child Healthy World will work together to encourage product manufacturers to achieve industry-independent, third-party certification for low chemical emissions -- and encourage parents to choose only third-party certified products for their children and homes.

“We want to help parents become more aware of the health risks associated with chemical emissions and understand that the products and materials in their homes, offices, and classrooms can actually contribute to indoor air pollution,” says Dr. Marilyn Black, founder of GEI.  “We are thrilled to partner with Healthy Child Healthy World -- the nation’s preeminent nonprofit organization that advocates for and protects children’s health -- to help create cleaner, healthier indoor environments for children and their families.”

Research has shown that VOCs can trigger a myriad of health problems, including upper respiratory complications, nausea, nosebleeds, asthma, and even cancer.  Children are particularly susceptible to these health risks because they breathe in more air than adults with respect to their body size and because their immune, respiratory, and neurological systems are still developing.  Children also have a higher heart rate than adults, which means that substances absorbed into their blood can permeate tissues more quickly.  

Common sources of VOCs include furniture, mattresses, electronic equipment, cleaners, cabinetry, flooring, fiberglass, drywall, paints, and almost anything else that’s human-made.

“By combining Healthy Child Healthy World’s expertise in children’s health issues with GREENGUARD’s expertise in chemical emissions and indoor air quality, we’re poised to make a real and lasting difference for children and families all around the globe,” says Healthy Child Healthy World Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Gavigan. “We are very excited to team up with the world’s most trusted third-party certifier of low-emitting products to help create healthier family environments.”

About the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI)

The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute is an industry-independent, third-party, not-for-profit organization that aims to improve human health and quality of life through programs that reduce people’s exposure to chemicals and other pollutants.  The GREENGUARD Certification Programs certify products for low chemical emissions and provide consumers with a resource for choosing healthier products and materials for indoor environments.  All certified products must meet stringent standards for low chemical emissions based on established criteria from key public health agencies. GREENGUARD Certification is broadly recognized and accepted by sustainable building programs and building codes worldwide. For more information and a complete listing of certified products, visit www.greenguard.org.

About Healthy Child Healthy World

Healthy Child Healthy World is a national, nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization that inspires parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals. The organization exists because more than 125 million Americans, predominantly children, now face a historically unprecedented rise in chronic diseases and illnesses such as cancer, autism, asthma, allergies, birth defects, ADHD, obesity, diabetes, and learning and developmental disabilities. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases. Healthy Child Healthy World aims to educate parents, support protective policies and engage communities to make responsible decisions, simple everyday choices and well-informed lifestyle improvements to create healthy environments where children and families can flourish. Please visit http://www.healthychild.org for more information.

SOURCE GREENGUARD Environmental Institute