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An interdisciplinary panel discussed some of the complex issues facing our society as ecosystems collapse and relationships must be reevaluated.

Valentine’s Day: Showing love for you or another with the perfect fragrance gift Anthony Lacey February 5, 2026 Fragrance is a longtime favorite Valentine’s Day gift, and for good reason: Some pleasing smells can trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin, contributing to feelings of happiness and well-being. Choosing a fragrance isn’t just about how it smells, but also about what is actually in the bottle. Some can contain chemicals of concern, but knowing which ingredients to avoid can help you make a safer choice.The association between February 14 and love reaches back to an ancient Roman fertility festival. It intensified in the 19th century, when sentimental traditions like personalized, fancy, often scented cards grew in popularity. Fast forward to the 2020s: Total U.S. spending on fragrance for the big day is estimated to top $25 billion this year. So many choices – how to choose?There are thousands of fragrance brands, so no matter who you’re shopping for, the options abound. There’s just one hitch: Most fragrance is a mystery cocktail of chemicals. The lack of transparency is troubling – leaving consumers guessing about what they're putting on their skin. It makes fragrance shopping tricky, and it’s why knowing what is in a scent matters just as much as how it smells. Fragrance producers often provide limited transparency about the ingredients in their product mixtures, hiding behind claims of confidential business information. Only partial disclosure rules exist, such as California’s requirement to disclose hazardous ingredients and allergens in fragrance. At the federal level, the Food and Drug Administration won expanded authority to set standards for fragrance allergen labeling requirements in a 2022 update to a cosmetics safety law. But the FDA is late in releasing those standards.Potential health consequences Some fragrance chemicals are not benign. Exposure can lead to a range of health problems, including hormone disruption. Certain fragrance chemicals are phthalates, which can harm the reproductive system. Another fragrance chemical, styrene, is linked to cancer. The lack of disclosure of fragrance chemicals can also cause allergic reactions in kids and adults. Fragrance chemicals are also bad for the environment: Chemical vapors in fragrance, called volatile organic compounds, can contribute to ozone pollution and form fine particulates, according to one study.Thirty-five percent of participants in a 2023 EWG-commissioned survey use fragrance daily – exposure that adds up over time.Here’s how to chooseEWG can help you sift through the seemingly infinite number of fragrance options. Start with our free, searchable database, Skin Deep®, which rates about 130,000 products based on their hazards. Products with a rating of 1 or 2 are considered low hazard.Concerns about  transparency in fragrance are one reason EWG created EWG Verified®. When you see the EWG Verified mark on a product, you can be sure it’s free from chemicals that our scientists have determined to be hazardous, and that the product meets our strictest standards for your health.EWG Verified scents are not only made with safer ingredients, they also contain fewer ingredients, lowering the risk of toxicity.The first brand to earn the mark was Henry Rose. Like other brands and scent websites, Henry Rose offers a “find your scent” quiz designed to help you identify your favorite fragrance type.Today several other brands have earned the EWG Verified mark, including:DIME’s 7 Summers, with top notes of “juicy pear,” vanilla orchid and “blonde woods.”Qet, with rosewood and jasmine botanical nectars.Rosy & Earnest, available in a discovery set.Uncommon James’ Hard Feelings, whose top notes are pink pepper and bergamot.Layermore’s Amal, with floral, amber and musk notes.Just the Goods’ fragrance, in a handful of individual scents.The Golden Secrets Signature Blend Essential Oil Perfume.The packaging and presentation of these scents more than hold their own against traditional fragrance. And these products offer the added benefit of helping you reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals.A gift of fragrance should feel like an act of care, not a leap of faith. Choosing scents made with  ingredients fully disclosed to EWG and reviewed to ensure they contain none of our chemicals of concern helps protect your loved ones and yourself from unnecessary chemical exposure. Romance should not come with hidden risks. The best Valentine’s Day gifts are the ones that come from the heart while also safeguarding health and well-being. Areas of Focus Personal Care Products Cosmetics Family Health Women's Health Toxic Chemicals Phthalates Authors Ketura Persellin February 5, 2026

Kennedy’s FDA retreats from pledge to ban artificial food dyes Anthony Lacey February 5, 2026 WASHINGTON – Despite repeated pledges to crack down on artificial food dyes, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today announced that the Food and Drug Administration will ease enforcement of federal food additive rules.The move will make it easier for food manufacturers to claim their products are free of artificial dyes.The following is a statement from the Environmental Working Group's President and co-Founder Ken Cook: This latest retreat on synthetic food dye regulations is another broken promise from Secretary Kennedy and President Donald Trump. They pledged outright bans on dangerous food chemical additives to their “Make America Healthy Again” base.Instead, states are doing the hard work to protect families, while Kennedy settles for handshake deals with Big Food and chemical companies – agreements with no real accountability and no guarantee they’ll be honored.There are more than 25 states where legislation is being considered that would ban synthetic food dyes and other food chemical additives linked to ADHD and hyperactivity in children, among other health harms.###The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Areas of Focus Food & Water Food Ultra-Processed Foods Family Health Children’s Health Food Chemicals Press Contact Alex Formuzis alex@ewg.org (202) 667-6982 February 5, 2026

Pennsylvania lawmakers, health advocates rally at Capitol to ban toxic weedkiller paraquat Anthony Lacey February 5, 2026 HARRISBURG, Pa. – A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers joined farmers and public health advocates at the Capitol this week to call for swift passage of House Bill 1135 and Senate Bill 1158. The legislation would prohibit the use of the highly toxic herbicide paraquat statewide and protect Pennsylvanians from future exposure to the chemical.The House bill, introduced last year by state Reps. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Washington) and Melissa Shusterman (D-Chester County), would amend the Pennsylvania Pesticide Control Act of 1973 to ban all uses of paraquat across the commonwealth, starting in 2027.If enacted, it would bring the Keystone State in line with more than 70 countries that have already outlawed the weedkiller, including China, Brazil and the European Union.This week, companion legislation was introduced in the state Senate by Sens. Devlin Robinson (R-37) and Nick Miller (D-14), who joined their House colleagues at the event at the Capitol. Research shows that people who work in or live near fields where paraquat is sprayed face significantly higher risks of developing Parkinson’s disease, with some studies showing the risk may double. One study, using data from the National Institutes of Health, found that people who applied paraquat on farm fields were twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as those who handled other agricultural chemicals.Paraquat exposure has also been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney cancer, thyroid disorders and – particularly in rural communities – a higher risk of childhood leukemia linked to prenatal exposure.“Paraquat is so toxic that even small exposures can be deadly, yet it remains legal in the United States while much of the world has already banned the notorious herbicide,” said Geoff Horsfield, legislative director at the Environmental Working Group. “The House and Senate bills are commonsense steps to protect farmers, farmworkers and rural communities from a chemical that science has clearly shown poses unacceptable risks,” he added.“If links to cancer and Parkinson's aren't enough to drive change in Washington D.C., then we have to take action here in Pennsylvania,” Mihalek said. "If my bill were to become law, the Commonwealth would be blazing a path for 49 other states to also prohibit paraquat from being used.”“Over 70 countries no longer permit the use of paraquat,” said Shusterman. “It’s embarrassing that the U.S. is so far behind. We have enough data, we have enough research, and we have enough knowledge. With the federal government unwilling to move to protect us, I believe that now is the time for states to act.”“The dangers of paraquat to human health are well established through numerous scientific studies; more than 70 countries have banned its use, including the entire EU and China, where paraquat is made,” said Robinson. “It’s very telling that the country that produces the product won’t even allow its own citizens to use or be exposed to it. Syngenta, the company that manufactures paraquat, has already paid millions in settlements to those it has harmed with this unsafe pesticide,” he added.“Bottom line – exposure to paraquat is extremely hazardous and sometimes even fatal. This is why I am proud to partner with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Reps. Natalie Mihalek and Melissa Shusterman, the Parkinson Foundation Western Pennsylvania, The Parkinson Council, and many other passionate advocates to support legislation to protect our farmers, agriculture workers, and Pennsylvanians from this dangerous pesticide,” said Robinson.The press conference coincided with a day of advocacy at the Capitol, as farmers, medical professionals and leaders from public health organizations met with lawmakers to urge support for the legislation and immediate action to advance both bills. ###The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Areas of Focus Farming & Agriculture Farm Pollution Family Health Paraquat Press Contact Alex Formuzis alex@ewg.org (202) 667-6982 February 5, 2026

EWG comments on California DTSC's 2025 microplastics in consumer products research rcoleman February 4, 2026 Attached are EWG’s comments in support of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s 2025 microplastics in consumer products research. File Download Document ewg-comments-to-ca-dtsc-on-microplastics-1-30-2026.pdf Areas of Focus Toxic Chemicals Nanomaterials Regional Issues California Authors Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D. Samantha Romanick, Ph.D. Bernadette Del Chiaro Susan Little January 30, 2026