Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

Home > Consumer

Courts Reverse Johnson’s Baby Powder Judgments for Nearly $500 Million [1]

"In back-to-back victories for Johnson & Johnson, the courts have reversed two judgments against the consumer products giant totaling nearly $500 million. The money had been awarded to women who said that they developed ovarian cancer after using the company’s talcum powder for decades."

Consumer [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Public [5]
National (U.S.) [6]
Source: NY Times [7], 10/24/2017

Homebuyers Not Told Houston's Reservoirs Would Flood Their Properties [8]

"When Jeremy Boutor moved to a master-planned community in Houston’s booming energy corridor, he saw it as idyllic. ... Then, Hurricane Harvey changed everything. As the downpours began and Boutor studied maps flashing on his TV screen, he realized that his home wasn’t at risk of flooding just because of record rainfall; it was also located inside one of two massive reservoirs that had been built west of Houston decades ago to protect the city."

Consumer [2]
Disasters [9]
Environmental Politics [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Public [5]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [13]
Source: Texas Tribune [14], 10/12/2017

CPSC To Manufacturers: Toxic Flame Retardants Ill Advised In Mattresses [15]

"Federal regulators urged manufacturers [last] Thursday to stop using hazardous flame retardants that are known to cause health problems."

Chemicals [16]
Consumer [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Public [5]
National (U.S.) [6]
Source: KOMO [17], 10/06/2017

"J&J Was Alerted to Risk of Asbestos in Talc in ’70s, Files Show" [18]

"Johnson & Johnson trained its employees to reassure anyone concerned about whether the company’s talcum powder contained asbestos that the cancer-causing substance 'has never been found and it never will' in its iconic baby powder, according to an undated memo unsealed in a lawsuit against the drugmaker."

Consumer [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Public [5]
National (U.S.) [6]
Source: Bloomberg [19], 09/25/2017

"Emails Show How the Food Industry Uses ‘Science’ to Push Soda" [20]

"A conversation between two former Coke executives reveals some of the tricks of the trade. "

Consumer [2]
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Health [3]
Environmental Politics [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Science [22]
Public [5]
National (U.S.) [6]
Source: Bloomberg [23], 09/14/2017

New Tack on Ticks — Infestations a Local Environmental Story [24]

Tick populations are on the rise in the United States, bringing higher risk of serious tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease and a host of others. That offers a chance to tell the story of the environmental factors behind the spread, such as climate change and rising deer populations. The latest TipSheet explains.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [25]
Topics on the Beat: 
Consumer [2]
Health [26]
People & Population [27]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [6]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [28]
Visibility: 
Public [5]

Battling Mosquitoes: The Fog of Chemical Warfare [29]

Mosquitoes are not just annoyances. They also bring disease. But is the current patchwork of mosquito-control efforts effective? Or are the remedies, particularly pesticide spraying, worse than the problem? This week's Tipsheet has resources to help you report on balancing the risks of disease against those of spraying.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [25]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [30]
Air [31]
Chemicals [16]
Consumer [2]
Health [26]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [27]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility: 
Public [5]

"The Immense, Eternal Footprint Humanity Leaves on Earth: Plastics" [32]

"If human civilization were to be destroyed and its cities wiped off the map, there would be an easy way for future intelligent life-forms to know when the mid-20th century began: plastic."

Consumer [2]
Waste [33]
Water & Oceans [12]
Public [5]
International [34]
Source: NY Times [35], 07/20/2017

“Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River” [36]

Writer David Owen's “Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River” tells the story of the Colorado, while exploring water issues ranging from drought and climate degradation to cross-state and cross-border legal complexities.

SEJ Publication Types: 
BookShelf [37]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [38]
Consumer [2]
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Politics [10]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Natural Resources [39]
Planning & Growth [40]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [6]
California [41]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [42]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [13]
Visibility: 
Public [5]

“Hot, Hungry Planet: The Fight to Stop a Global Food Crisis in the Face of Climate Change” [43]

Author Lisa Palmer tackles a question many experts in the natural and social sciences are also pondering: How can we feed a growing world population in the coming decades when climate change is stressing global food production systems?

SEJ Publication Types: 
BookShelf [37]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [38]
Climate Change [44]
Consumer [2]
Economy & Business [21]
Food [45]
People & Population [27]
Policy [46]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [6]
International [34]
Africa [47]
Asia [48]
South America [49]
Visibility: 
Public [5]

Pages

The Society of Environmental Journalists
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 558-2055
Email: sej@sej.org
© 2026 The Society of Environmental Journalists. All Rights Reserved.
All graphics © SEJ, unless otherwise stated.
Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=145

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/courts-reverse-johnson%E2%80%99s-baby-powder-judgments-nearly-500-million [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [5] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [6] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [7] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/business/johnson-talc-cancer.html?smid=tw-nythealth&smtyp=cur [8] https://www.sej.org/headlines/homebuyers-not-told-houstons-reservoirs-would-flood-their-properties [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [13] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [14] https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/harvey-reservoirs [15] https://www.sej.org/headlines/cpsc-manufacturers-toxic-flame-retardants-ill-advised-mattresses [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [17] http://komonews.com/news/consumer/cpsc-to-manufacturers-toxic-flame-retardants-ill-advised-in-mattresses-tvs-furniture [18] https://www.sej.org/headlines/jj-was-alerted-risk-asbestos-talc-%E2%80%9970s-files-show [19] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-22/j-j-was-alerted-to-risk-of-asbestos-in-talc-in-70s-files-show [20] https://www.sej.org/headlines/emails-show-how-food-industry-uses-%E2%80%98science%E2%80%99-push-soda [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [23] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-13/emails-show-how-the-food-industry-uses-science-to-push-soda [24] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/new-tack-ticks-infestations-local-environmental-story [25] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/tipsheet [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [28] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [29] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/battling-mosquitoes-fog-chemical-warfare [30] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [31] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air [32] https://www.sej.org/headlines/immense-eternal-footprint-humanity-leaves-earth-plastics [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [34] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [35] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/climate/plastic-pollution-study-science-advances.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/business-energy-environment&_r=0 [36] https://www.sej.org/publications/bookshelf/where-water-goes-life-and-death-along-colorado-river [37] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/bookshelf [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [39] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/cities-towns [41] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [42] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mountain-west [43] https://www.sej.org/publications/bookshelf/hot-hungry-planet-fight-stop-global-food-crisis-face-climate-change [44] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [45] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [47] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/africa [48] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/asia [49] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/south-america [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=144 [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=141 [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=142 [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=143 [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=146 [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=147 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=148 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=149 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer?page=179