Robert Gedert, Untangling Plastics: The Missing Link in Mitigating Climate Change, River Grove Books, 2026
Judith Enck with Adam Mahoney, The Problem With Plastic, 2025, The New Press
Watch for reviews of these excellent new books in the Fall 2026 ZWNY newsletter!
Also check out the 2026 documentary, Plastic Detox, which you can watch on Netflix.
The film follows six couples struggling with infertility who work with epidemiologist Shanna Swan, PhD to reduce their exposure to plastic chemicals. Lab experiments have demonstrated that chemicals such as phthalates and biphenyls used to give plastics desirable properties such as flexibility and durability negatively affect sperm and depress male hormone levels. These chemicals are also found in many personal care products.
The film ends on an uplifting note. The sperm counts of some of the men increase and a few of the couples become pregnant. The participants also report improvements in their well-being, like better sleep, and they express enthusiasm about continuing to avoid plastics and plastic chemicals and fragrances (which contain phthalates).
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