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The latest in water contaminates in this trend is a group of chemicals known as Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances, or PFASs (also known as Perfluoro Compounds or PFCs). Originally developed to help repel stains and improve the effectiveness of firefighting chemicals, these substances have leached into groundwater near factories, military bases and other sites where they have been used heavily. Several Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) solutions are available for treatment of PFCs in groundwater. One of the most cost-effective of these options for PFAS removal comes from coconuts: AquaCarb CX enhanced coconut shell GAC. It combines the benefits of an activated carbon with the high micropore structure of coconut shell, with faster kinetics comparable to bituminous coal.

British retail giant Primark joined the growing number of brands committing to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from its supply chain as part of Greenpeace's global Detox campaign.

Avon will phase out the antibacterial chemical triclosan from all of its products. Triclosan has been identified as a potential hormone disruptor

This week, scientists from The Nature Conservancy and The Dow Chemical Company, with research support from Colorado State University and Duke University, published Finding solutions to water scarcity: Incorporating ecosystem service values into business planning at The Dow Chemical Company's Freeport, Texas facility, which addresses challenges businesses face to accurately estimate the value of water resources and address future scarcity threats. 

-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Unilever announce a research collaboration to develop ground-breaking scientific approaches to better assess the safety of chemicals found in some consumer products without using animal data.

Carigali-PTTEPI Operating Company Sdn. Bhd. is saving $52 million annually at its natural gas development platform in the Gulf of Thailand, while reducing water consumption and chemical use through General Electric's advanced cooling and chemical treatment technology.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has now dumped 96 million balls into local reservoirs to reduce evaporation and block sunlight from encouraging algae growth and toxic chemical reactions. The balls are coated with a chemical that blocks ultraviolet light and helps the spheres last as long as 25 years.

This month, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control announced its first three "priority products" under the Safer Consumer Product Regulations:

Cosmetics company Revlon announced plans to remove two preservatives and a formaldehyde-releasing chemical as ingredients in its products. The announcement is in response to a petition signed by over 100,000 people.

US toy firm Radio Flyer has revealed its safer material strategy in a webinar this week on the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP).

Starting this year, Unilever is voluntarily disclosing online the fragrance ingredients included in individual products sold in the U.S. and Europe, down to 0.01 percent of the product formulation, along with details of the scent the fragrance ingredients bring to the product. The project is to be completed by 2018.

The consumer goods giant wants to remove the harmful chemical from leading detergent brands within two years.

Greenpeace said that 16 out of the 27 products from Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Trussardi and Versace were found containing toxic substances, including nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). The highest concentration of NPEs was detected in a Louis Vuitton branded ballerina shoe.

Walmart sent a letter to its suppliers outlining its new sustainable chemistry policy, which seeks to curtail the use of substances that are hazardous to human health and the environment. The policy was developed over several years in consultation with the Environmental Defense Fund and other stakeholders.

Exposure to lead, mercury and organophosphate pesticides has led Americans to lose a collective 41 million IQ points, according to a study by a Harvard neurologist, and other common chemicals could be responsible for everything from ADHD to autism-spectrum disorders. Researchers compare the problem to climate change and say it's important for regulators to act even before the development of clear scientific evidence for safe exposure levels. "We don't have the luxury to sit back and wait until science figures out what's really going on," says environmental health researcher Philippe Grandjean

CertiChem and its founder, George Bittner, who is also a professor of neurobiology at the University of Texas-Austin, had recently coauthored a paper in the NIH journal Environmental Health Perspectives. It reported that "almost all" commercially available plastics that were tested leached synthetic estrogens-even when they weren't exposed to conditions known to unlock potentially harmful chemicals, such as the heat of a microwave, the steam of a dishwasher, or the sun's ultraviolet rays. According to Bittner's research, some BPA-free products actually released synthetic estrogens that were more potent than BPA.

Groups say workers could be exposed to more than three times the amount of chemicals of US workers. Consumers take action with new mock "App;" 20,000 have so far signed petition urging action by Apple.

The processes developed by AirDye, ColorZen and DyeCoo - the latter's process is being used by Adidas - differ greatly, but their results are similar: water use is cut to near zero sharply cutting pollution, the quantity of chemicals used is greatly reduced and faster drying cycles cut energy consumption.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has something to say about what you wear. While not a fashion arbiter and unable to advise on attire for family gatherings, the FTC oversees what appears on the labels inside your clothes.

Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson are among the companies that have either limited the use of triclosan - a commonly used anti-bacterial ingredient - in their products or announced plans to phase it out completely.