Our Impact

EWG founded

Farm Subsidy Database launch

The first EWG staff members gathered federal farm subsidy data and created a user-friendly database for journalists to use to expose wasteful government spending practices. The impact of this campaign was the inspiration for EWG’s “power of information” approach to data science, which to this day grounds our work, including annual updates to the Farm Subsidy database.

Pesticides in baby food

EWG’s first major research breakthrough was a study that found widespread pesticide contamination in popular baby foods. Our scientific findings informed and inspired our earliest advocacy efforts for food and pesticide reforms.

Toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Before Teflon, the public knew very little about the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.

EWG has spent decades researching the risk of nationwide and global contamination and developing consumer education tools. Research, data and tools have helped us to activate the public to push for regulations for and accountability of polluters and to mobilize politicians to fund cleanup efforts.

Economic justice for farmers

EWG obtained farm subsidy recipient data from the USDA that included a breakdown of racial identify. EWG partnered with National Black Farmers Association President John Boyd to correct rampant economic discrimination by the USDA against Black farmers through the subsidy program. EWG’s 2004 report exposing the unfairness of the settlement of the 1999 class action lawsuit against the USDA supported the economic justice movement and won an additional $1.3 billion for Black farmers.

Pollution in newborns

Despite public awareness about pollution in air, water and soil, there wasn’t much information or research about pollution in people, specifically, exposure risks in children. EWG led a study testing umbilical cord blood from 10 babies. The tests revealed a staggering total of 287 chemicals across the 10 samples.

EWG VERIFIED® Launch

Demand for our work in ingredient and product safety and toxicology assessment led to the creation of EWG VERIFIED, a third-party mark that consumers can use to easily identify products meeting our strict standards for transparency and health.

The program launched with just two products. Today the EWG VERIFIED mark can be found on 2,200 products in three categories: personal care, diapers and cleaning products.

Toxic Substance Control Act and the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act

After 20 years of consumer education and advocacy by EWG, the TSCA Modernization Act was the first legislation in 40 years to regulate toxic industrial chemicals.

In 2020, EWG advocated for California Assembly Bill 2726, the Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act, which bans the sale of cosmetics containing any one of 12 highly toxic chemicals with health effects and risks. The bill was signed into law, inspiring legislative, regulatory and advocacy efforts across the country.

EPA Superfund designation

For the first time, the EPA designated two of the most commonly detected toxic “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. The designation is meant to jump-start cleanup at contaminated sites across the country and ensure that polluters of these chemicals pay for to cleanup costs.