On April 26, Moms is hosting an online discussion about Blue Vinyl: The World’s First Toxic Comedy. The award-winning documentary is filmmaker Judith Helfand’s journey to uncover the truth about the dangers of vinyl—and convince her parents to remove the vinyl siding on their Long Island home.
Register for the Blue Vinyl Discussion
Chemical safety has long been a priority for Moms. Recently, we’ve turned our attention to the toxic petrochemicals—or chemicals derived from fossil fuels—used to make plastic. This Earth Month, the world is doing the same; the theme is Planet vs. Plastics.
Vinyl chloride is a particularly dangerous petrochemical used to make PVC plastic. Beyond siding, so many everyday products are made from PVC, including plumbing pipes, floor coverings, shower curtains, and even children’s toys. Vinyl chloride’s health risks range from nose and throat irritation to headaches, dizziness, and even death. Chronic exposure for people living or working near—or at—a vinyl chloride plant can cause liver disease and cancer. It’s also extremely flammable. Moms and our partners are calling on EPA to ban vinyl chloride to protect our health.
In advance of our April 26 event, we spoke with Judith, a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, about Blue Vinyl. It’s hard to believe it first came out in 2002 as it remains a seminal story about plastic and environmental health. Her personal story has informed so many about the dangers of vinyl—and inspired decades of advocacy around toxic chemicals and pollution. Here are four insights from our conversation.
1. Pivotal life moments inspire action.
“Nobody wakes up one day and says, ‘Wow, it’s really time to deal with the toxic material life cycle of a product that’s ubiquitous and that is harming people at every stage,’” she says. Instead, pivotal moments often inspire people to take action. “For most people … something happens that makes them see the world in a radically different way, especially when it comes to toxic chemical exposure. It makes the invisible visible, makes the toxic future into the painful present.”
Judith’s pivotal moment was her cancer diagnosis and radical hysterectomy at age 25. She suspects her cancer was the result of exposure to a synthetic estrogen called diethylstilbestrol (DES) while in utero. This life-altering chemical exposure caused her to take a closer look at the broader implications of toxic chemicals in our everyday lives—and, ultimately, to make Blue Vinyl.
2. Personal stories are more compelling than statistics.
Storytelling inspires action in a way statistics cannot. Blue Vinyl is full of heart-wrenching stories, including that of a father who worked in a factory to provide for his family but ultimately developed brain cancer due to unsafe working conditions. This is the kind of story that evokes empathy and can ultimately lead to anti-plastic action. Tables of factory pollution data don’t bring about the same response.
Judith says the stories of those affected are most compelling when they reveal what’s at stake in a way that’s relatable to broad audiences. She also says stories shouldn’t shy away from specifics. People like details. “We like to get to know people,” Judith explains. “We like to know their quirks. We like to see how human they are.”
3. Purchasing power can drive systemic change.
Some conscious consumers choose to avoid plastic and shop their way around the plastic pollution crisis, but, Judith notes, “the world does not change by individuals doing change.” When it comes to changing the marketplace and shifting demand for vinyl and other plastics, single actions ultimately aren’t powerful enough. Change can really happen when individual actions are coordinated and taken in larger groups, like when concerned parents get together to demand businesses sell vinyl-free school supplies.
An even bigger opportunity for impact occurs when institutions and businesses decide to no longer buy or sell products made with vinyl. They might say, “We’re going to take a moral approach, and we’re not going to use vinyl products anymore because they really damage people.” That can drive systemic change.
4. Use your Blue Vinyl to demand change.
One of Judith’s goals with Blue Vinyl was to illustrate how connected we all are. She believes knowing this helps us forge connections and relationships as well as drives empathy and action. She especially wanted to demonstrate that “borders between us are actually much more porous than we think.” In the film, she shares how different groups—from fenceline communities in the shadow of a chemical plant to a middle-class Jewish family in Long Island—had their lives disrupted by chemical exposure.
“I wanted people to see the kind of coalitions that could be built,” Judith says. She encourages organizations like Moms who advocate for change to find our own Blue Vinyl stories. “Look at this movie and then take a magnifying glass to where you live and say, ‘What is the Blue Vinyl story where I live?’”
Maybe you live near a vinyl chloride factory or went through the tedious process of building a home without vinyl. Maybe you’ve experienced chemical exposure. When we identify our individual connections—our vinyl stories—we can harness them to demand systemic change.
Join us on April 26 at 12 PM ET as we keep the Blue Vinyl discussion going. RSVP now to receive a link to view the groundbreaking film. It’s sure to be an enlightening conversation.
Update: Watch the replay of our April 26 event here.