Activism : News brief

Vandana Shiva reminds policy-makers that until they align the economic system with the ecological system, their problems will only get worse.

Hugo Boss has said that it will avoid wool for its fashion clothing chain from producers still using the practice of mulesing by 2010.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to pay a million dollars for fake meat — even if it has caused a “near civil war” within the organization

With companies eager to tout their "green" credentials to consumers, advertising watchdogs in a number of countries are stepping up efforts to rein in marketers that make false or exaggerated claims.

Shell is facing a federal lawsuit over pollution at its refining and chemical plant along the Houston Ship Channel.

Tesco has announced that it is avoiding buying cotton from Uzbekistan because of the country's continued use of forced child labor. 

For 25 years the American Beryllium Company ran a plant in Tallevast that made parts for nuclear reactors and weapons. Although the plant closed in 1996, residents were never told that an underground leak had released beryllium into water wells in the village.

After a national campaign by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) and a coalition of health and environmental organizations, Target has agreed to systematically reduce its use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, commonly known as vinyl. 

Katrina Kahl, a communications associate at the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Action, questions the impact of some companies' so-called largesse. For example, she points out that some auto companies encourage people to test drive their latest cars by doling out cash to a breast-cancer group for every mile driven. "Car exhaust contains chemicals that are linked to the disease," she says.

An increasingly vocal, potent, and widespread anti-coal movement in the West is making for some unusual partners. Environmental groups that have long opposed new power plants are being joined by ranchers, farmers, retired homeowners, ski resort operators, and even religious groups.