Show #105: Mike Shade from Safer chemicals, healthy families, on turbo charging change for a safer future!

This week on the show it is my pleasure to welcome Mike Shade, campaign director for Safer Chemicals, Safer Families. It's one thing for us to know we don't want this stuff in our environments, homes and on our bodies, but it's another to find a way to effect change and move us forward. Mike Shade, in his work with Safer Chemicals, Safer families is doing just that. They're committed to getting retailers to use their power as a customer to the product makers, to get safer formulations made. So clever! It's an inspiring chat and I know for those of you who want to achieve more or feel like you and I do make a difference, you will LOVE it. Here are the questions I ask Mike and the show notes and sponsor offer for this month can be found over at lowtoxlife.com/podcast Enjoy! Alexx x 

1. How you came to be an activist against toxic chemicals? Reluctant or always a passionate environmentally aware / health conscious person from upbringing?  
2. Why did you join "Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families"? What did you see was missing / needed to really take things up a notch?  
3. Today, a coalition of 450 organisations and most of the organising happening at Kitchen table gatherings - what was the road to get to a place where you have united 450 individual organisations to collectively take action?  
4. Something I love in looking at the work you guys do is seeing "POLICY. RETAILERS. EDUCATION" buttons to explain the different levels of change making - can you talk us through each the the three. 
5. The role that retailers can play to protect consumers from toxic chemicals - see RetailerReportCard.com 
6. One of your greatest successes so far is giving rise to a growing movement among retailers to phase out the sale of deadly and dangerous paint strippers -- see https://saferchemicals.org/newsroom/the-home-depot-to-be-third-major-u-s-retailer-to-ban-deadly-paint-strippers/ - How did that start? What research did you gather / how many people did you organise and how?  
7. Every activist has their 'pet chemicals' they're particularly vocal about / they champion... Toxic chemicals in food and food packaging - in particular phthalates and PFAS - see http://www.kleanupkraft.org/ - How did you come across this issue - how can we measure how toxic these are?  
8. What do you believe has been your most successful campaign yet?  
9. What are you working on at the moment?  
10. Advice for the conscious consumer to kick things up a notch - how do they link in with your network if they're in the US?  

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