August 12, 2008
Dear Mr. Montgomery
Since my last letter to Kris McNamara in April of 2007, The Walt Disney Company has taken steps towards energy efficiency and educating the next generation in the importance of conservation by having all of your Florida hotels participate in the Florida Green Lodging Program.
Congratulations!
I am not only writing you to congratulate your company’s recent efforts in helping to create a more energy efficient hotel industry in Florida, but also to further our discussion on your company’s cleaning products and practices in all parks, hotels, and restaurants. For almost two years the Center for Health, Environment and Justice has encouraged Disney World to replace all of its cleaning products with certified green cleaners and I continue that encouragement today.
As I wrote in my very first letter to Robert A. Iger in November of 2006, children, pregnant women and workers are disproportionately harmed by exposures to traditional cleaning products. Fetal development and children’s growing bodies are sensitive to chemicals because their reproductive, respiratory, endocrine, and other systems are still developing. Exposures to industrial chemicals in the environment at an early age or in the womb can damage the developing brain and lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mental retardation. It is not only the impacts of global warming that is threatening the livelihood of the next generation, it is the irresponsible use of toxic chemicals in places that they play, dream, and learn.
I understand that the health of your employees and guests are important to you as is protecting our precious natural resources. This is why I would like to have a meeting with you to discuss in detail the status of Disney’s cleaning products and policies. In our last communication in a letter dated April 26, 2007, I stated that to successfully and thoroughly transition to Green Cleaning in your parks and hotels, Disney would need to (1) establish a comprehensive Green Cleaning Purchasing Policy for all Disney World hotels, parks, and restaurants (2) phase in certified, such as Green Seal, green cleaning products within one year and (3) use only staff trained in green cleaning procedures to ensure that they are used properly.
Being that this last letter was sent over a year ago and given Disney World’s recent designation of all its hotels in the Florida Green Lodging Program, there are several questions that I would like to discuss with you about the status of the cleaning products and policies used in all parks, hotels and restaurants owned by Disney:
Have all the cleaning products been transitioned to safer certified non-toxic alternatives?
Does your company now have a comprehensive Green Cleaning Purchasing Policy that is available for the public?
If the answer is no to the two above questions, can you provide me with a timeline that these two issues will be resolved?
If in fact there is no timeline that addresses the issues stated above, I would like to discuss other companies that have made similar large scale changes in creating comprehensive cleaning procurement policies in order to find a timeline and policy that best fits the needs and infrastructure of your company.
Please provide a date and time that you are available in the near future that you are available to meet with me to discuss this important health matter. A response by September 30, 2008 to me, Lois Gibbs, Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, would be greatly appreciated. You may reach me by phone at 703-237-2249 or by mail at PO Box 6806, Falls Church, VA 22040.
Sincerely
Lois Marie Gibbs
Executive Director
Center for Health, Environment & Justice