Our Strategy

The root cause of the chemical crisis, environmental injustice, plastic pollution, and the climate catastrophe is all the same. People with power in government and industry make decisions that advance their self-interest ahead of the common good. That must change.

We’re working with many others to fix our broken system, with justice for all. We must change corporate and public policy. But it’s not enough to mobilize and demonstrate.

Deeper organizing and longer-term campaigns are needed to achieve system change. That’s where Defend Our Health comes in. We uniquely combine what’s been proven to work:

• We develop grassroots leadership. We educate so as to organize, using the best available science to raise awareness about who’s most impacted and what practical solutions are available. We train and develop grassroots leaders to speak for themselves as voices for change. We cultivate champions inside government and industry to lead from within. We build multiracial coalitions and strategic partnerships. All this with the aim of building power to change the system.
• We run strategic issue campaigns. We identify points of leverage, vulnerable markets, and targets of opportunity. We plan winning campaigns that persuade policymakers in government and industry to make the right decisions. Our inside-outside strategy balances direct advocacy with grassroots power. We play leaders off of laggards, challenging those in power in a race to the top to adopt the best practices. Our short-term gains are designed to build toward major long-term wins.
• We work at both the state level and nationally. States remain the laboratories of democracy in the United States. We co-founded two national coalitions that have advanced new laws in forty states. We’ve advocated many first-in-the-nation policies in our home state of Maine. But all Americans deserve equal protection. That’s why we’ve led national campaigns to force Congress to act and to persuade major corporate brands to slash their use of toxic chemicals and fossil carbon.

We each want a healthier future for all people and our planet. But we can’t do this alone. Join us today and stay up-to-date on ways to defend our health, demand justice, and create a better world.