Tell McDonald’s: Time to Take off the Toxic Gloves

With great market power comes great responsibility for customers’ health.

This summer Oregon Environmental Council helped gather samples for a research report that finds that some vinyl, or PVC, food service gloves contain toxic chemicals called phthalates (THAL-eights) that can leach into food—and some gloves from McDonald’s tested positive for these harmful chemicals.

We’re joining with our partner groups across the nation in calling on McDonald’s, the top restaurant in the U.S., to be a market leader and switch away from using PVC gloves—the only way to ensure that food service gloves won’t contaminate diners’ meals with toxic phthalates. 

Click here to tell McDonald’s: take off the toxic gloves!

There’s NO need for toxic vinyl gloves. Polyethylene gloves, which don’t contain any plasticizer chemicals, or frequent handwashing with soap and water are safer and widely available alternatives to vinyl gloves.

Food is most Americans’ primary route of exposure to phthalates, and research has found that dining out and eating fast food is associated with higher phthalate levels in people’s bodies. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement in 2018 calling for U.S. government action to keep these chemicals out of food, and Europe, Japan, and the state of Maine have all banned or restricted phthalates from food contact materials, including food service gloves.

Phthalates exposure in early life is linked to genital malformations in baby boys, ADHD in children, and infertility later in life. These dangerous chemicals don’t belong in our food. 

Urge McDonald’s to be a market leader and replace toxic vinyl gloves with safer alternatives! 

Subway, Panera Bread, and Starbucks restaurants visited by researchers were already using safer polyethylene gloves. Why isn’t McDonald’s?

Please, send a message to McDonald’s today. Thank you for taking action!

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