Top Ten Ways to Take Action for Safe PVC-Free Schools

1. Sign up for the PVC-Free Schools Action Network.
Sign up for the PVC –Free Schools Action Network, and you will receive monthly action alerts and updates when it matters most.  It’s a great way to stay posted on PVC-Free Schools campaign news, victories, and urgent actions.

2. Get Our PVC-Free Schools Campaign Fact-Sheets.
We’ve created a series of new PVC-free schools fact-sheets to help educate parents, students and decision-makers on the dangers of PVC plastic.  Download them for free here.

3. Encourage Your School to Adopt a PVC-Free Policy!
You can encourage your school district to adopt a healthy PVC-free building policy to avoid the use of PVC building materials and office supplies where safer alternatives are available.  Encourage your school to renovate or build their school with PVC-free building materials such as PVC-free linoleum flooring and TPO roofing.  Plenty of safer products are available.

4. Educate Parents, Teachers and Students.
Organize a screening of Blue Vinyl and/or Sam Suds for your PTA, teacher’s union, or concerned students.  Blue Vinyl, is an award-winning toxic comedy that examines PVC’s toxic lifecycle, from the vinyl-manufacturing capital of Louisiana to suburban Long Island, NY.  The film is a winner of the Excellence in Cinematography Award at Sundance and has been applauded as “scary and hilarious!” (Elvis Mitchell, New York Times).  Whether it’s a screening in your living room or a screening at a local community center or church, this hard-hitting documentary is a great way to spread the word about the campaign.  For information and support resources for organizing a public or targeted screening of BLUE VINYL contact Molly Murphy at Working Films mmurphy(at)workingfilms.org or (910) 342-9000.

5. Encourage Organizations to Endorse the Campaign.
We need your help to build the base of support for the campaign.  Encourage organizations you know and work with, such as teacher’s unions and parenting groups, to endorse the campaign and/or pass a resolution in support of the campaign.

6. Back to School – Go PVC-Free!
Need help keeping poison plastics off of your back to school shopping list?  We created the Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies to empower you to make smarter, healthier shopping choices for a toxic-free future. To find out about the most common back-to-school supplies made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) plastics and learn about safer PVC-free alternatives, download the guide here. We also created a handy wallet-sized version of the guide for your shopping needs on the go click here.

7. Tell Your Friends & Family About the Campaign.
Tell your friends and family about PVC’s impact on children’s health, and encourage them to sign up for the PVC-Free Schools Action Network. You can use our simple form to spread the word.

8. Educate yourself.
Be sure to peruse our library of fact-sheets, reports on PVC hazards, reports on safer alternatives, PVC company policies, and links to PVC governmental policies.  Be sure to also check out links to some of our allied organizations.

9. Donate to the Campaign
CHEJ never accepts funding from corporate polluters or government agencies, so we depend on generous people like you to help keep CHEJ going.  Donate to CHEJ and the campaign.

10. Help Build and Spread the Word About the Campaign.
Distribute our campaign flyers,  to other concerned parents, teachers, students, friends and family.