The next several years aren't expected to be particularly friendly to those who want to bolster regulations on businesses.
But one company nonetheless hopes to persuade lawmakers at the federal and state levels to consider new requirements for companies to disclose the chemicals used in their products.
Bloomberg reports that Seventh Generation, a prominent maker of sustainable household products purchased last year by industry giant Unilever, is planning a lobbying push in Congress and a handful of state legislatures.
The company's sustainability chief, Martin Wolf, said at a recent webinar that Seventh Generation would also work with the American Sustainable Business Coalition and other groups to increase industry disclosure efforts.
“Customers don’t always like what [chemicals] we use, but it starts a conversation," Wolf said, according to Bloomberg. "We may not win the consumer, but we build trust."
A former Staples executives added during the same webinar that despite the current political climate, consumers remain interested in "information, transparency and disclosure" and that such requirements were "inevitable."
Roger McFadden, who currently runs a consulting firm in Oregon, added that the regulations could provide numerous benefits to companies. Businesses could be evaluated with uniformly, more easily navigate supply chains and, most importantly, avoid being blindsided by reports about potentially harmful chemicals in their products.
“Consumers will dig, discover and divulge any and all information across the web,” McFadden warned.
The lobbying effort could be particularly important at the state level, which is expected to draw the focus of advocacy groups looking to counter the practices of the Trump administration.
Wolf singled out California and Vermont for the company's lobbying effort.
