New research that traces Coca-Cola’s likely plastic bottle supply chain brings to light further evidence of air and water pollution, climate pollution, and environmental racism that may be wrought by the beverage industry’s addiction to cheap plastic bottles made from oil and gas.

Last year, the environmental health nonprofit, Defend Our Health, tested 20 individual samples of popular beverages packaged in plastic bottles and found detectable levels of a toxic chemical called antimony in every single sample, six of which were Coca-Cola brand beverages. Follow up testing conducted in early 2023 detected antimony in all eight bottles of the Coca-Cola brand beverage bottles tested.

In some of the beverages tested, Defend Our Health found potentially unsafe levels of antimony, which is used to make plastic bottles and is known to potentially leach out of some bottles. Some key data about antimony:

• Chronic antimony exposure can increase the risk of cancer and liver disease, and can increase risk factors for heart disease and diabetes;
• Children may be exposed to antimony at more than twice the level of adults;
• National data show that Latinx and Black communities may be disproportionately exposed to antimony from all sources, which can contribute to environmental racism.

In the newly released report titled Hidden Hazards: The Chemical Footprint of a Plastic Bottle, we detail evidence that the chemical footprint of plastic bottles is unsustainable and we are challenging The Coca-Cola Company to put consumers first and move to secure commitments from its suppliers to end any use of toxic plastic additives like antimony that may be harmful to our health!