Good Morning America clip featuring Hannah Robertson and CAI

Ripple teamed up with Corporate Accountability International to publicize a shareholder resolution targeting McDonald’s predatory marketing practices to kids. The hero of this story was a 9-year-old girl, Hannah Robertson, who flew from Canada to the company’s annual meeting in Chicago with her mom to give McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson a piece of her mind: “I don’t think it’s fair when big companies try to trick kids into eating food that isn’t good for them,” she said. “It isn’t fair that so many kids my age are getting sick. Mr. Thompson, don’t you want kids to be healthy so that they can live long and healthy lives?”

The U.S. and international media loved this adorable girl’s chutzpah and our story was featured in major outlets all over the world including: Good Morning America, Morning Joe, CBS, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall St. Journal, Japan Times, MSN Money, NPR, Babble, Grist, Advertising Age and more.

McDonald’s strategies to lure in kids share many tactics from Big Tobacco’s playbook, especially in terms of targeting youth. Despite the Academy of Pediatrics and other experts noting that marketing to children under 8 is “inherently deceptive” and “wholly exploitative,” McDonald’s continues to advertise to kids at a critical stage in their development when they are most susceptible to advertising.

The White House, four federal agencies (the FTC, FDA, CDC and USDA) recommend curbing junk food marketing kids and the American Academy of Pediatrics goes even further recommending Congress ban junk food advertising during children’s programming. Nevertheless, McDonald’s continues to lure in young customers, while convincing their parents that their food is healthy.

MSNBC’s Morning Joe clip featuring Hannah Robertson and CAI

Fox clip featuring Hannah Robertson and CAI

CNN International clip featuring Corporate Accountability International

Fox Business clip featuring Hannah Robertson and CAI

Ripple worked with Corporate Accountability International’s ‘Think Outside the Bottle’ campaign to get bottled water out of our national parks – which seems to us like a pretty obvious thing to do. But this is yet another story of a mega-corporation, in this case Coca-Cola, acting blatantly in it’s own self-interest rather than the interest of the environment. Our job was the get this message into the media to educate the public and galvanize support for these parks to go bottle-free.

Prior to phasing out bottled water last year, the Grand Canyon found plastic bottles accounted for 20 percent of its overall waste stream, or more than 500 tons of waste annually. It’s been estimated that eliminating this waste could save parks as much as 30 percent of their costs for recycling removal.

Meanwhile, Coke executives are making it extremely difficult for other parks to get rid of plastic water bottles. They are on the record as having influenced the National Park Foundation to require that each park overcome a series of bureaucratic hurdles, simply to phase out bottled water.

With 280 million visitors each year in parks, Coca-Cola, bottler of Dasani, has seen marketing and sales as a vehicle to paint its eco-unfriendly product green. From 2007-2012, Coke’s revenue totaled more than $192 billion. Meanwhile, over the same period, Coke paid a modest $2.5 million to the National Park Foundation for exclusive use of park logos in its cause-marketing.

And bottlers’ interest in the parks is not just about greenwashing, it’s about influence. When Coke discovered the Grand Canyon’s plan to phase out bottled water and sell reusable bottles instead, executives used their relationship with the National Park Foundation to water down their national policy on bottled water. Now parks must individually petition regional superintendents and overcome additional hurdles to go bottled water free.

And a growing number of parks are phasing out bottled water despite the beverage giant’s efforts. From Zion in Utah to Hawaii Volcanoes, at least 14 parks out of 398 park “units” have already given bottled water the boot. Reusable bottles have proven a lucrative revenue source for some concessionaires, while new hydration stations have ensured visitors remain hydrated even in desert parks like Saguaro in Arizona.

Going bottled-water free is a part of the Park Service’s plan to serve as a worldwide model of sustainability. To this end, Mount Rainier and GGNRA have initiated the process to follow the Grand Canyon’s lead.

Ripple publicized a press conference held by Move To Amend in which Minnesota Congressman Rick Nolan introduced a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not people and money is not speech (effectively overturning the Citizens United decision which opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate money in politics). Stories ran all over the country including ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS DC, International Business Times, Washington Post, HuffPo, Miami Herald, Salon, SF Chronicle, Daily Kos, and dozens of other outlets. Hopefully, the introduction of this amendment will spark a meaningful national dialogue on campaign finance reform.

Uh oh…The nonprofit corporate watchdog As You Sow just found nanoparticles in the Dunkin Donuts they tested! How they got in there and why they’re in there is not well understood. But what is known is that the tiny titanium dioxide particles are found in the powdered sugar. The scary part? These chemical additives — also potentially used to enhance flavors, keep food from spoiling, and reduce fat — have not been proven safe to eat by anyone – including children. Nevertheless, they are in our food supply, totally unregulated (they are regulated in Europe).

On behalf of our client As You Sow, we propelled the issue of nanotechnology in food products into the mainstream media. With two amazing stories in the New York Times (and here), plus CNN, Scientific American, New York Magazine, Food Politics, Food Production Daily, Supermarket News, and lots of other high-profile outlets, we are hoping to pressure companies into coming clean about their use of nano.

Because of their small size, nanoparticles can to go places in the body that larger particles cannot. Nanoparticles in food or food packaging can gain access via ingestion, inhalation, or skin penetration. Once inside our bodies, nanoparticles can penetrate cell walls and pass into the blood and lymph system. From there, the particles can circulate through the body and reach potentially sensitive target sites such as bone marrow, lymph nodes, the spleen, the liver, the heart, and cross the blood brain barrier. This unregulated new technology is clearly entering our food supply. There has been little if any safety testing, and there is no transparency of what products it is in. As we learned from a recent survey of 2,500 food companies, many companies may not even know that they have nanomaterials in their supply chain.

The FDA could be doing a lot more about understanding the health implications of nanomaterials in our food supply. Please help us uncover the truth by giving what you can to this campaign so that we can test more kid-friendly products and pressure companies to get these ingredients out of our food until safety studies have been conducted.

Days before the 2012 Presidential election, Ripple worked with Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman to publicize a lawsuit filed against Ohio’s Secretary of State, GOP operative Jon Husted, after discovering that Husted authorized the use of an untested, uncertified “experimental” software patch that controls vote counting tabulators in electronic voting machines in 39 counties in Ohio. Fitrakis believes this dubious last-minute modification violates FEC rules by circumventing outside review, testing and approval.

Fitrakis and Wasserman are renowned voting rights advocates who broke many of the major stories surrounding the theft of the 2004 election in Ohio, leading to a federal injunction and numerous criminal convictions.

The 2012 Fitrakis v. Husted story has been covered so far in many high profile outlets including the Associated Press, CBS News, BusinessWeek, MSNBC, CNN, TechCrunch, Salon, San Francisco Chronicle and countless others.

A hearing was held to determine whether this software patch will be removed and analyzed. We are currently awaiting the judge’s ruling.

Update: The judge denied the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) brought forth in Ohio’s Federal Court to stop the software patches from being used on voting machines in Ohio. Plaintiff Bob Fitrakis and attorneys are now in state Common Pleas Court for a hearing on same issue.

Update 2: Fitrakis returned from State Common Pleas Court, reporting that the judge ruled against his request for a TRO to remove the uncertified, untested software from some Ohio voting machines. The judge declined to interfere in an ongoing election, but indicated that he would consider taking action after the election if it was needed.

Ripple teamed up with HealthyStuff.org and iFixit.com to release a new study on toxic chemicals in 36 different cell phones, including the iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S III.

The study justifiably received massive media attention – especially in technology press. Stories ran in The New York Times, CNET, Mother Jones, CBS News, GigaOm, Grist, TechMeme and dozens of other outlets.

Every phone sampled in this study contained at least one of following hazardous chemicals: lead, bromine, chlorine, mercury and cadmium. These hazardous substances can pollute throughout a product’s life cycle, including when the minerals are extracted; when they are processed; during phone manufacturing; and at the end of the phone’s useful life. Emissions during disposal and recycling of phones as electronic waste, or “e-waste,” are particularly problematic. The mining of some tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold used in mobile phones has been linked to conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Most of the 36 cell phones analyzed were models released in the last 5 years. The phones tested represent 10 mobile phone manufacturers, including: Apple, Hewlett-Packard Development Company, HTC Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia Corporation, Palm, Research in Motion and Samsung Electronics. The sample represents the largest set ever released for any electronic product.

Ripple was hired to handle the media strategy and outreach for the 2012 Green Party presidential candidate, Dr. Jill Stein. In the early stages of this campaign we spearheaded a massive social media push to help her become the first Green Party member to qualify for federal matching funds. Prior to the Party’s convention in Baltimore we organized a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC during which Dr. Stein announced her VP choice, the nation’s leading anti-poverty advocate, Cheri Honkala. The results of this outreach, followed by precedent-setting coverage of the Green Party convention, were outstanding. Positive stories ran about Dr. Stein and her proposed Green New Deal in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Time Magazine, NPR, USA Today, Democracy Now!, Comedy Central, Jezebel, and literally hundreds of other outlets.

What does Stein have to say about the so-called “Nader-effect” of 2000? Here’s what she told Grist: “We have 10 years of experience with muzzling ourselves politically, and it’s very clear now that silence has not been an effective political strategy. In fact, the politics of fear has delivered all those things that we were afraid of.”

Click the video above to watch Jill Stein on Democracy Now!

Click above to watch a clip about Jill Stein on NBC in Washington DC

Ripple released this first-of-its-kind report by the Food Chain Workers Alliance which looks at wages and working conditions of workers across the entire food chain – a sector that employs 20 million people in the U.S., comprising one-sixth of the nation’s workforce.

Our role in this campaign was to develop and frame key messages, draft press materials, create media lists and outreach to reporters. As Spanish language media was an important target audience, we developed appropriate press lists and had our press materials translated into Spanish – which resulted in substantial Spanish language coverage.

“THE HANDS THAT FEED US: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers Along the Food Chain” was based on nearly 700 surveys and interviews with workers and employers in food production, processing, distribution, retail and service.

According to the report, there are some good jobs in the food system (13.5% of workers surveyed earn livable wages), but the vast majority are incredibly low-wage, with little or no access to paid sick days and health benefits, with dire consequences for consumers. More than 86 percent of workers reported earning subminimum, poverty, and low wages, resulting in a sad irony: food workers face higher levels of food insecurity, or the inability to afford to eat, than the rest of the U.S. workforce.

There are some solutions to these challenging problems. For starters policymakers can increase the minimum wage and guarantee workers health benefits and the right to organize. Consumers can support businesses that are providing livable wages and benefits, and speak out against those that are not. Employers can increase wages and benefits; adopt systematic and fair hiring and promotion practices; and adopt benefits, such as paid sick days, that would allow employees to care for themselves and their families.

Ripple’s release of a study on toxic chemicals in gardening products made major headlines in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CNN and many other TV, radio and print outlets. High amounts of lead, phthalates and BPA were found in the water of a new hose after sitting outside in the sun for just a few days, according to researchers at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center.

Nearly 200 hoses, gloves, kneeling pads and tools were tested for toxic chemicals that have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems.

We worked with our client to develop key messages, B-Roll for television, graphics for print and blog visuals, and a youtube video to maximize social media circulation.

To reduce potential toxic chemical exposure, make sure that your kids and pets don’t drink straight from a hose during the hot summer months! The full results and other tips to reduce exposure can be found at HealthyStuff.org.

When you see “lead-free” on a product, you may (logically) assume that there is no lead. WRONG. The Ecology Center’s recent study of toxic chemicals in low-cost jewelry – much of which is marketed to children – proves that not only may there be lead, but there may also be cadmium, nickel, mercury and other hazardous chemicals. Ripple publicized this new research – available at www.HealthyStuff.org – and garnered high profile coverage on CBS News.com, ABC News San Francisco, Boston Herald, Houston Chronicle, Fox Detroit, San Francisco Chronicle, United Press International, New York Magazine, Seattle Post and more. According to the CPSC, parents and caregivers should not allow young children to be given, or to play with, cheap metal jewelry, especially when unsupervised. The CPSC states that: “Swallowing, sucking on or chewing a metal charm or necklace could result in exposure to lead, cadmium or other heavy metals, which are known to be toxic at certain levels of exposure.” Why these chemicals aren’t regulated at all is another story. Grrrrrrrr.