Video
The urgent need to regulate menstrual products
2026New studies show that menstrual products such as tampons and sanitary towels – and in some cases period underwear too – may contain chemicals such as PFAS (‘forever chemicals’), pesticides,…
Journal Article
The presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals in sanitary pads: A study done in South Africa
2026Background Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as phthalates, bisphenols, and parabens are widely used in consumer products and have been associated with reproductive toxicity, hormonal imbalance, and cancer. Menstrual products represent…
Article
‘There’s a dark side to floristry’: are pesticides making workers seriously ill – or worse?’
2026Unlike in food, there is no upper limit on the amount of pesticide residue levels in flowers. But after French officials linked the death of a florist’s child to exposure…
Journal Article
Identifying chemicals of health concern in hair extensions using suspect screening and non-targeted analysis.
2026Chemical exposures from hair extensions pose a growing public health concern due to their poorly characterized composition and limited regulatory oversight. Extensions are commonly made of human hair, other natural…
Video
The Plastic Detox – Documentary
2026The Plastic Detox is an eye-opening journey into the hidden dangers of plastic in our homes. When six couples embark on a plastic detox within their homes, it changes their…
Article
Advancing gender and informal sector integration in waste management
2025UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC)and the IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (IGES-CCET) co-organised a session on gender and informal sector integration in waste management at SEA…
Video
Unmasking Mercury and Colorism in Cosmetics
2025Hundreds of millions of people globally use skin-lightening products (SLPs). The use of SLPs is promoted by media, advertising and marketing that often reinforce the bias that a lighter skin…
Journal Article
The effects of imidacloprid exposure on the mouse ovary in vivo
2025Imidacloprid (IMI) is an insect-selective synthetic nicotine derivative used in commercial agricultural systems, home gardening, and veterinary pharmaceuticals. People are exposed to IMI through consumption of contaminated food and water…
Journal Article
Gender, self-care and toxic exposures: a narrative review of personal care product use and health equity implications
2025Background Personal care products (PCPs) are widely used across populations, yet their composition includes a range of hazardous chemicals that pose risks to human health and the environment. Emerging evidence…
Journal Article
Examining the Role of Self-Reported Product Selection Strategies in Shifting Chemical Exposures Among Black Women and Latinas: Lessons from the Taking Stock Study
2025Background: Personal care products (PCPs) are a significant source of environmental chemical exposures among women of color. Prior studies suggest that individuals may reduce their exposures by avoiding certain ingredients…
Article
Some condom and lubricant brands contain alarming levels of PFAS – study
2024Several brands of condoms and lubricants contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, including styles of Trojan and K-Y Jelly, new research finds. The testing conducted by the Mamavation…
Report•Video
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Report: Threats to Human Health
2024Latest Science Shows Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Plastics, Pesticides, and Other Sources Pose Health Threats Globally As delegates from around the world met at the sixth session of the UN…
Report
Beauty & Personal Care Ingredient Intelligence Report
2024A Roadmap to Accelerate Safer Chemistry for All Executive Summary The beauty and personal care industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by consumer demand for safer and more sustainable…
Journal Article
Chemicals in menstrual products: A systematic review
2024Background: From menarche until menopause, the average menstruator will use over 11 000 tampons or sanitary pads. Vaginal and vulvar tissue is highly permeable, and chemicals are absorbed without undergoing…
Article
‘Forever chemical’ exposure linked to higher cancer odds in women
2023Women exposed to several widely used chemicals appear to face increased odds for ovarian and other types of cancers, including a doubling of odds for melanoma, according to new research…
Report
Combatting global plastic pollution – feminist perspectives for a gender-just approach
2023By 2025, more than 12 billion tonnes of plastic had been produced globally. Plastic pollution is not gender neutral. At oil and gas extraction sites, women and Black, Indigenous and…
Journal Article
“It was always just a sacrifice I was willing to make”: Understanding Women’s use of vaginal cleansing products in spite of adverse health effects
2022Over the counter vaginal hygiene products, such as feminine washes, douches, sprays, personal wipes and powders, represent a growing market in North America. For example, in a recent Canadian cross-national…
Project/Initiative
ISO/TC 338 – Menstrual products
2022Why standards for menstrual products matter Every day, around 300 million people menstruate. Yet there is still no global ISO standard that ensures the safety and quality of menstrual products.…
Factsheet
The Role and Experience of Women in Plastic Waste Management
2022This factsheet examines women’s roles in plastic waste management within a context of rapidly increasing global plastic waste and heavy reliance on informal systems in developing countries. It outlines how…
Factsheet
Gender and medical waste in the time of COVID-19
2022The waste management sector has seen significant impacts from the burgeoning COVID-19 waste problem including the high risk of exposure to both informal and formal waste workers. This sheet provides…
Journal Article
Association between chemical mixtures and female fertility in women undergoing assisted reproduction in Sweden and Estonia
2022Objective: Women of reproductive age are exposed to ubiquitous chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have potential endocrine disrupting properties and might affect fertility.…
Journal Article
Menstrual products as a source of environmental chemical exposure: A review from the epidemiologic perspective
2022Purpose of review: Menstrual bleeding is a regular, common occurrence in a substantial portion of the population. Menstruators may use more than 10,000 menstrual products over the lifetime. Given the…
Video
GENDER AND WASTE NEXUS – Video Series
2021This video series developed as part of the project on Gender and waste nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal, introduces voices of women and men from Bhutan, Mongolia and…
Video
What You Need to Know About Endocrine Disruptors and Your Fertility
2021Today’s video is all about endocrine disruptors: what they are and why it’s important to be aware. As a reproductive endocrinologist with over 15 years’ experience helping people build their…
Report
A/76/207: The stages of the plastics cycle and their impacts on human rights
2021In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Marcos Orellana, examines the current…
Report
Single-use menstrual products and their alternatives: Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments
2021The report reviews Life Cycle Assessments of single-use menstrual products and their alternatives. It finds that reusable menstrual products have a lower environmental impact than single-use menstrual products. Especially the…
Report
Women, Chemicals and the SDGs
2021Gender review mapping with a focus on women and chemicals: impact of emerging policy issues and the relevancefor the sustainable development goals In line with the UNEP-IPEN partnership, the aim…
Video
Mercury in skin lightening products – a threat to health
2020Video animation explaining why mercury and, in particular, mercury in skin lightening products is dangerous to health and the need for countries to take action to ban this source of…
Journal Article
Volatile organic compounds in feminine hygiene products sold in the US market: A survey of products and health risks
2020Feminine hygiene products (FHPs) are used on highly permeable and sensitive vaginal and vulvar tissues by many women. These products contain a variety of chemicals, and few regulations require disclosure…
Journal Article
Potency and Power: Estrogen, Cosmetics, and Labeling in Canadian Regulatory Practices, 1939–1953
2020Building on a rich body of feminist scholarship on estrogen, this account interrogates how potent estrogenic cosmetics and consumer product labels emerged together, through the regulatory practices of scientists and…
Journal Article
Urinary concentrations of bisphenol A, parabens and phthalate metabolite mixtures in relation to reproductive success among women undergoing in vitro fertilization
2019Background We have previously investigated whether urinary concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), parabens, and phthalate metabolites were individually associated with reproductive outcomes among women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.…
Briefing•Case Study
Gender and Waste Nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal – Policy Brief
2019This policy brief presents an analysis of the gendered nature of the waste sector in Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal, developed under a waste and climate change project led by the…
Case Study•Report
Gender and waste nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal
2019The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the report Gender and waste nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal, co-authored by GRID-Arendal, at the 8th ISWA World Congress in Bilbao, Spain.…
Journal Article
Measurement of endocrine disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals in hair products used by Black women
2018Background Personal care products are a source of exposure to endocrine disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals. Because use of hair products differs by race/ethnicity, these products may contribute to exposure and…
Journal Article
Cosmetics, chemical exposure and gender differences
2018The use of cosmetic products has always played an important role in human society, and has reflected the social and cultural changes it has undergone throughout history. The natural ingredients…
Journal Article
Cleaning at Home and at Work in Relation to Lung Function Decline and Airway Obstruction
2018Rationale: Cleaning tasks may imply exposure to chemical agents with potential harmful effects to the respiratory system, and increased risk of asthma and respiratory symptoms among professional cleaners and in…
Article
Women still do most of the cleaning: is it putting their health at risk?
2015In February, California’s legislature began considering AB 708, a bill that would require cleaning product manufacturers to disclose all ingredients on product labels. Although the bill doesn’t directly address female…
Article
Not so pretty: women apply an average of 168 chemicals every day
2015Between cosmetics, perfumes, personal care products and feminine hygiene products, women in the US apply an average of 168 chemicals to their faces and bodies every day, according to new…
Report
Higher hazards persist in personal care products marketed to Black women, report reveals
2015Beauty justice research shows the use of certain personal care products may increase Black women’s exposure to hazardous chemicals. Products like hair relaxers and dyes are linked to elevated risks…
Journal Article
Prenatal exposure to phthalates is associated with decreased anogenital distance and penile size in male newborns
2013Reproductive effects from phthalate exposure have been documented mostly in animal studies. This study explored the association between prenatal exposure to phthalate metabolites, anogenital distance and penile measurements in male…
Project/Initiative
Consumer product use in women of color
Studies show women of color face higher exposures to toxic chemicals relative to White women, regardless of socioeconomic status. Black women and children also have increased rates of hormone-mediated health…
Project/Initiative
Household Exposure Study (California)
The emissions from the city’s many industries and transit lines seep into the homes—and lungs—of residents. Not surprisingly, Richmond now has the highest hospitalization rate for asthma in the county.…
Project/Initiative
Early Life exposures in Latina Adolescents (ELLA)
Adolescence is a critical period in life when the body is changing rapidly and is vulnerable to chemical exposures. Because evidence suggests that the seeds of breast cancer may be…
Training
What has gender got to do with Chemicals?
Have you ever wondered what gender has to do with chemicals? Are there any differences in exposure for women compared to men? What kind of differences? This course will provide…
Training
Gender Equality and Chemicals
Closing the gaps: gender dimensions in chemicals regulation The section provides a short introduction into the problem of why chemicals impact on men and women should be considered differently. Gender,…
Training
Chemical Cosmetics – Heavy Metals, Talc Powder, Parabens, and Phthalates
Cosmetics and personal care products are advertised as enhancing beauty and health. But did you know that some of these products contain mercury or even asbestos? Or that parabens used…