Our History

We were founded in 2006 as Clean New York, as a partnership of two seasoned environmental health advocates. Tempered by the fight to ensure toxic waste sites were cleaned up, Kathy Curtis and Bobbi Wilding saw a need to "turn off the tap" on toxic chemicals, to prevent the creation of new toxic waste sites, and to stop people from being poisoned by toxic chemicals in their jobs, homes, schools, and environments.

In 2010, the organization was formalized with the creation of Clean and Healthy New York, Inc., with its own independent tax-exempt status.

We are key state and national players, fulfilling numerous leadership roles and providing crucial advocacy, education and research in service of chemical policy and market reform. CHNY represents, connects and taps into the power of otherwise isolated constituencies, such as scientists, nurses, lawyers, organized labor, health-affected people, teachers and businesses.

CHNY has a demonstrated track record of achieving policy wins and market shifts through our in-state collaborative, the JustGreen Partnership. JustGreen is now the formidable voice on environmental health in the Capital. Across New York, the JustGreen Partnership is bigger and stronger than ever, and still growing as more organizations collaborate. 

Our Values

Collaboration

Our motto is: Together we win. Core to our strategy and mission is working with a broad and diverse array of people, communities, organizations, and sustainable businesses, sharing information and resources to empower our common efforts to eliminate toxic chemicals from all aspects of our lives.

Foresight

We take the long view, looking ahead to see how decisions made now—in regulation, manufacturing, or the marketplace—will impact people in the future. We are thoughtful about unintended consequences as well as the full life cycle of materials, products, and policies. We strive to turn off the tap on toxic chemicals before they harm people and communities.

Authenticity

We follow scientific evidence and do not spin or slant it. We are truthful and transparent with the public and everyone with whom we work and expect the same of others. We put the public interest above all other concerns.

Justice

We are committed to an equitable, just, and inclusive society. We are intentionally anti-racist and oppose gender oppression. In all of our decisions, we consistently ask ourselves: Who is most impacted? Who is left out? Who is empowered? Whose voices are not yet being heard? We center justice in our decision-making and aim to dismantle structures of inequality and discrimination.

Fearlessness

To make toxic chemicals and products unthinkable, we speak truth to power, reimagine what’s possible, push for bold change, and are innovative, tenacious, and persistent.

How we collaborate

CHNY co-leads the JustGreen Partnership with WEACT for Environmental Justice. For 15 years, the roughly 50 organizations who collaborate through JGP have work for environmental health and justice for New York’s people and communities.

What’s next?

Everyone needs a healthy environment in order to thrive. After recognizing (often, too slowly) the harm human activity has on the planet and human health, leaders have created government infrastructure to phase out toxic chemicals and address our legacy of pollution. Some businesses have also led the way, at times based on the interests of their founders or leaders, or often due to advocacy and pressure from customers and public interest organizations.

At a time when federal regulations are being rolled back, and New York State lawmakers have an appetite for acting in the public interest, Clean and Healthy New York’s Roadmap to Environmental Health Leadership identifies roles and actions that can place New York State as a definitive leader in transparency, action on harmful chemicals and classes, innovation, and integration of chemical considerations into the broader field of sustainability.

Read the Roadmap.