‘New York Times’ Continues to Scrub PVC Shower Curtain Scare

ARLINGTON, Va., July 9, 2008 (VNS) – Weeks after an environmental group issued a report alleging vinyl shower curtains are toxic and harmful, media organizations continue to discredit the report.

In a June 30th "New York Times" article, Joanne Kaufman questioned the methodology of the study, and noted, "Anyone who read or heard the Toxic Shower Curtain Story can probably relax:  the unsettling findings about possible respiratory, liver and reproductive damage were dismissed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission."   

Kaufman did give credit to the issuers of the study, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, for creating a public relations buzz by using words like "toxic" to grab the attention of news editors.  "Strategic word selection can catapult an announcement about a study...onto the evening news instead of to its usual destination – the spam folder or circular file."  

However, the alarm rang false on ABC News, in its June 12th story, "Studies Gone Wild:  Death by Shower Curtain?"  The Canadian Press, The Post Chronicle, "The Sacramento Bee," and other media outlets also drubbed the hubbub in the bathtub.   

Greg Bocchi, president of the Vinyl Institute, said, "The fact that 'The New York Times' chose to weigh in about the dubious claims in this study weeks after it was released and already discredited by others indicates how ludicrous these claims are.  Vinyl shower curtains are safe, as well as durable, easy to clean, economical, and versatile in their appearance.  The new shower curtain smell, cited as dangerous in the study, soon dissipates, with no immediate or long-term health effects for consumers."  

Bocchi continued, "As one commentator noted, 'We should be much more concerned about slipping and falling in the bathtub than about any smell coming off the shower curtain.'"  

The Vinyl Institute represents the nation's leading manufacturers involved in the production of vinyl plastic.       

For more information, contact: Jeff Palmer, Director of Marketing & Communications, The Vinyl Institute, (703) 741-5669,  jeff_palmer@plastics.org.