"Cargill and Dow are the parent of companies of Cargill Dow, maker of NatureWorks PLA, a synthetic material made without petroleum and instead uses corn. While the use of this biodegradable and renewable resource is an important step toward sustainability, the company fails to inform consumers that the corn used for its products is genetically engineered. Many environmental groups are adamantly opposed to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for a host of reasons, including concerns about what would happen if GMOs manage to contaminate non-modified crops. Cargill is one of the world’s largest producers of genetically engineered corn. Critics claim that Cargill Dow products are merely another manifestation of the company’s attempts to fight the growing criticism of genetically modified organisms through greenwashing."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=217

"Although the Bhopal disaster is often held up as the worst example of the chemical industry’s disregard for human life, Dow’s products have a terrifying tendency to cause massive health problems and birth defects even when used as intended. Products that cause these defects can cause suffering generations after the initial exposure. For example, the defoliant Agent Orange continues to plague American and Vietnamese civilians and soldiers exposed to it during the Vietnam War. Dow also produced the now banned pesticide DDT, which is linked to human cancer and resulted in egg shell thinning among birds, nearly wiping out many species of American birds including the Bald Eagle. DCBP (Nemagon), Dursban, Dioxin, and Vinyl Chloride are just a few more of Dow’s products that have caused, and continue to cause, health and other environmental problems for people the world over. The scope of the contamination Dow has achieved is as staggering as the number of chemicals it has contributed—Dow has contaminated areas as diverse and far flung as Bhopal, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; New Plymouth, New Zealand; Plaquemine, Louisiana; Seadrift, Texas; Uravan, Colorado; and finally, Dow has so thoroughly contaminated the area surrounding its headquarters in Midland, Michigan that residents are advised not to come into contact with the soil around their homes. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of Dow’s hazardous products and contaminations, it paints an undeniable picture of a company that is simply not concerned with human safety or the environment."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=217

"According to the nonprofit investigative journalism group the Center for Public Integrity, Dow Chemical has been linked to 96 superfund sites where it may be solely or partially responsible for contamination. A Superfund site is defined as a toxic waste site that falls under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program, which was enacted in 1980. Under the law, companies and other parties found responsible for polluting sites are required to clean up the area or pay the costs for cleanup to the EPA. So far, Dow has only managed to clean up 15 of their 96 sites, and on one site they have failed to prevent contaminated groundwater from spreading."

Quoting CoopAmerica http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=217