GENEVA, -- Talks began this week on nine chemicals facing a worldwide ban. The chemicals, used as pesticides and flame retardants, are persistent when released into the environment and accumulate in human bodies.

NISKAYUNA, N.Y. -- Researchers at GE's Ecoassessment Center of Excellence have been helping the company understand the lifecycle impacts of products, and they're now working on a systematic approach to assessing overall impacts from products.

OSAKA, -- Teijin, a Japanese company with businesses ranging from plastics to aircrafts to pharmaceuticals, plans to halve its sales of polyester, PET and polycarbonate while increasing other business divisions like bioplastics and recycling.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- New research from Forrester looks at environmentally and socially responsible products and services, asking consumer product strategists what factors - both inside and outside of companies - are driving greener products.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- In its eighth annual CSR report, Hewlett Packard listed its significant green achievements from the past year, including the recycling of a cumulative 1.7 billion pounds of e-waste and comprehensive emissions tracking for its first-tier suppliers.

PAOLI, Pa. -- A variation of the International Product Sustainability Roundtable is coming down to the regional level for companies in the Northeast U.S., providing research, webinars, meetings and analysis.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A bill that would require makers of certain products to rethink the materials in their products and create methods to deal with the products at the end of their lives has been introduced in the California State Assembly.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The fourth Compostmodern gathering brought together inspirational messages for why designers of all types must integrate sustainability into their work, compelling ways to rethink products and services, and real-world examples of designs that do good.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has moved back most deadlines by which companies must test children's products for lead and phthalates, and has further explained how new lead rules will be enforced to quell retailers' fears.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- After three years of re-engineering, Herman Miller's 15-year-old Aeron chair has earned Cradle to Cradle certification.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A survey asking consumers about their spending habits found that most are buying just as many green products now compared to purchases during better economic times.

7-Eleven unveiled its new environmentally-friendly commissary and distribution center last week in Bohemia, Long Island. The facility will prepare and deliver fresh foods to 674 7-Eleven stores on the East Coast.

OTTAWA, CANADA -- The Canadian government has named eight substances as toxic to human health or the environment. Two of them are substances found commonly in shampoo, lipstick and other personal care products.