For over 20 years, Defend has been working in Maine and with partners across the country to put the best health-protective science into practice, making sure your community has safe food and water, and toxic-free clothing, couches, cookware, and more.

Defend actively advocates for solutions that are accessible to all, regardless of where you live, the color of your skin, or how much money you have.

We’ve banned BPA in baby bottles, phased out phthalates in food packaging, stopped PFAS-laced sludge from being spread on farms, improved access to safe drinking water for all, and made international companies kick toxics like PFAS out of the products they sell.

Defend co-founded Safer States, a nationwide coalition of communities and advocates helping states adopt consistent, evidence-based toxics policies now, rather than waiting for the federal government to act eventually.

Maine is well-positioned to enact policies that protect food, water, air, and products, and once laws are passed in the state, we ensure they are implemented to change corporate practices and are replicated in other states to benefit as many people as possible.

Over the past seven years, Defend’s campaign to eliminate PFAS from water, food, and consumer products has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Not only have we passed more than 25 cutting edge bills in Maine to address this problem, but now 29 other states have joined our efforts to halt the spread of these dangerous chemicals nationwide.

Our work in Maine and across other states is the path forward to protecting your family’s health. Learn how to support this work!