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Non-profit

Clean Water Action Rhode Island

Website:

cleanwater.org/states/rhode-island
Location:

Providence, Rhode Island
Status:

501(c)(4)
Type:

Environmental Lobbying Organization

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Clean Water Action Rhode Island is an advocacy organization committed to the elimination of environmental plastics in Rhode Island. The group opposed the SAVE Act, legislation that would require voters to prove citizenship before registering for federal elections. 1

Background

Clean Water Action Rhode Island is a subsidiary of Clean Water Action, a national left-of-center environmentalist organization founded by David Zwick in 1972. 2

The nonprofit is dedicated to the removal of microplastics in consumer products, 3 improving water quality, 4 and improving flood resilience in vulnerable communities. 5

Staff

As of 2025, Jeff Carter was the president and CEO of both Clean Water Action and its sister group, Clean Water Fund. Jeff previously served as executive director of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, an environmentalist and anti-nuclear organization.  6

Mare Carbone assumed the role of regional canvass supervisor at Clean Water Action Rhode Island in 1996. As of 2025, Mare was overseeing Clean Water Action offices in Rhode Island, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas and California. Prior to joining Clean Water Action, Mare spent five years as a canvasser for Greenpeace.  7

As of 2025, Cindy Luppi was serving as the national field director at Clean Water Action Rhode Island. Cindy spent over three decades at Clean Water Action Rhode Island working in different positions. 8

Amber Schmidt assumed the role of New England zero waste organizer in 2023, ten years after working as staff and outreach director. Amber previously worked at Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a left-leaning New York-based environmental organization and affiliate of Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment.  9

As of 2025, Bethany Dickerson held the position of New England director of operations for Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund. 10

Campaigns

Clean Water Action Rhode Island opposes the use of plastic bags, balloons, and plastic straws. 11 The nonprofit also views chemical recycling, a process that breaks plastic down into its basic chemicals, as a deceptive approach to reduce plastic waste in the environment. 12

The nonprofit collaborated with over 100 organizations in 2020 to send a letter to the U.S. Senate expressing opposition to the proposed “American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020,” a bipartisan U.S. Senate bill aimed at building and supporting American nuclear infrastructure.

In September 2021, Clean Water Action Rhode Island’s partners, Toxic-Free Future and Safer States, launched a campaign called “REI, Time to Opt-Out of PFAS.” Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) are harmful man-made chemicals that are difficult to break down. As a result of the campaign, the outdoor retailer REI decided to remove PFAS from all its fabrics. 13

In July 2022, the nonprofit successfully advocated for the passage of the Toxic Packaging Reduction Act which prohibited the sale of food items packaged in PFAS-containing materials. 14

Clean Water Action Rhode Island runs a “ReThink Disposable” campaign that helps businesses transition away from disposable plastics to reuseable alternatives. 15 During the 2024 presidential election, the nonprofit endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.  16

Clean Water Action Rhode Island spearheaded the passage of the 2024 Consumer Product PFAS Act which prohibited the sale and manufacturing of domestic products containing PFAS chemicals, including cookware. 17

In February 2025, the group collaborated with Rhode Island Voting Access Coalition to launch a campaign promoting same-day voting in Rhode Island, 18 and in May, it filed a petition to oppose the SAVE Act which would require prospective voters to prove citizenship when registering. 19

The nonprofit led efforts to implement a “bottle bill,” a 10-cent refundable deposit tax on beverage containers purchased in Rhode Island. 20 On June 16, 2025, state legislators voted against the bill, replacing it with legislation to study the costs and benefits of implementing a deposit tax. 21

Partnerships

Clean Water Action RI is a member of the Rhode Island Voting Access Coalition (RIVAC), a coalition of more than 30 left-leaning organizations in Rhode Island including the Latino Policy Institute and Rhode Island AFL-CIO. 19

The nonprofit is also affiliated with Climate Jobs Rhode Island, 22 a coalition of environmentalist, labor, and community organizations. 23

References

  1. “Where We Work.” Clean Water Action. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/about/where-we-work.
  2. [1] “Where We Work.” Clean Water Action. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/about/where-we-work.
  3. “Zero Waste in Ri.” Clean Water Action. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/campaign/zero-waste-ri
  4. “Getting the Lead out of Rhode Island’s Drinking Water.” Clean Water Action. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/getting-lead-out-rhode-islands-drinking-water
  5. “Green Infrastructure in Rhode Island.” Clean Water Action. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/campaign/green-infrastructure-rhode-island
  6. “Jeff Carter – Clean Water Action.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffcrtr/
  7. “Mare Carbone – Clean Water Action.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mare-carbone
  8. “Cindy Luppi – Clean Water Action.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-luppi-9373765/
  9. “Amber Schmidt – New England Zero Waste Organizer -.” linkedin . Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-schmidt-8268b414b/
  10. “Bethany Dickerson – New England Director of Operations.” LinkedIn . Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanyid
  11. Bazarsky, Kate. “Plastic Pollution in Rhode Island: Part Two.” Clean Water Action, October 25, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/2021/10/25/plastic-pollution-rhode-island-part-two
  12. Doyle, Kerry. “This Earth Month, Call out the Myth of ‘Chemical Recycling.’” Clean Water Action, April 15, 2024. https://cleanwater.org/2024/04/15/earth-month-call-out-myth-chemical-recycling
  13. “Rei Announces It Will Ban Pfas in All Textiles.” Clean Water Action, February 22, 2023. https://cleanwater.org/releases/rei-announces-it-will-ban-pfas-all-textiles
  14. “Rhode Island Governor Signs into Law Notable Ban on Toxic Pfas Chemicals in Food Packaging.” Safer States, November 13, 2023. https://www.saferstates.org/press-room/rhode-island-governor-signs-into-law-notable-ban-on-toxic-pfas-chemicals-in-food-packaging/
  15. “Rethink Disposable in Rhode Island.” Clean Water Action. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/campaign/rethink-disposable-rhode-island
  16. “Clean Water Action in Rhode Island Announces Candidate Endorsements for the 2024 Election.” Clean Water Action, August 9, 2024. https://cleanwater.org/releases/clean-water-action-rhode-island-announces-candidate-endorsements-2024-election
  17. “Pfas (per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) in Consumer Products.” PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) in Consumer Products | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://dem.ri.gov/pfas-products
  18. “Advocates Launch Campaign for Same Day Voter Registration.” Common Cause Rhode Island, February 2, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/rhode-island/press/advocates-launch-campaign-for-same-day-voter-registration/
  19. “Coalition Urges Sens. Reed, Whitehouse to Oppose Anti-Voter Save Act.” Common Cause Rhode Island, May 1, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/rhode-island/press/coalition-urges-sens-reed-whitehouse-to-oppose-anti-voter-save-act/
  20. “Rhode Island Bottle Bill.” Clean Water Action, January 28, 2025. https://cleanwater.org/tags/rhode-island-bottle-bill
  21. Kuffner, Alex. “Ri Lawmakers Kill the Bottle Bill for Another Year. Here’s Why, and When It Could Return.” The Providence Journal, June 17, 2025. https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/17/ri-wont-get-a-bottle-redemption-program-this-year-heres-why/84242795007/
  22. “The Coalition.” Climate Jobs RI. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://climatejobsri.org/the-coalition/
  23. “Moving Rhode Island to a Green Economy.” Climate Jobs RI. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://climatejobsri.org/
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