The annual report card Who’s Minding the Store? Ranking retailer actions on toxic chemicals just came out today. And guess what—it’s working!

As retailers are ranked against each other, more and more of them are creating policies to address toxic chemicals in products and packaging. In the last year, Ahold Delhaize (parent company of Stop & Shop, Giant Food and more), Sephora, Staples, Lowe’s and others launched new safer chemicals policies to drive toxic chemicals out of their products and supply chains.

BUT, about a third of the companies that were graded still earned Fs for failing to publicly address the chemical safety of the products they sell.

Will you send an email to all fourteen companies that earned F grades? These companies, including Ulta, Starbucks, and TJ Maxx/Marshalls need to hear from you!

Because consumers like you are calling on stores to make sure the products they sell are safe, this year:

• The Home Depot and Lowe’s both announced they’re banning PFAS “forever chemicals” from carpets and rugs they sell.
• Sephora set a goal to reduce toxic chemicals, including phthalates, in brand-name beauty products it sells by 50% over the next three years.
• Bed Bath & Beyond and its subsidiary buybuy Baby committed to get toxic flame retardant chemicals out of certain padded products and get chemicals of concern out of its store-brand baby products.
• Whole Foods Market was the first major grocery chain to commit to removing PFAS from some food packaging, including take-out containers and deli/bakery paper.
• Ahold Delhaize, owner of Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop, banned PFAS, phthalates and bisphenols (such as BPA) in its store-brand products and packaging. This is one of the first major grocery chain commitments to end the use of dangerous chemicals in food packaging.
• Staples released a public-facing chemicals policy just last month, which includes a list of priority chemicals for the retailer and its suppliers to address.

But many other retailers have failed to publicly act on toxic chemicals. Fourteen retailers made the 2019 retailer report card “Toxic Hall of Shame” by earning an F grade.

With a single click, you can send a message to 99 Cents Only, Sally Beauty, Subway and all the other companies that earned Fs in this year’s report card.¹

If we all come together, we can hold these corporations accountable and get them to put customers’ health above the profits of the chemical industry.

Thank you!

Cindy Luppi
Clean Water Action

P.S. – As consumers, we have incredible power to drive change in the marketplace to build a toxic-free future. Take action now!

¹ The retailers that earned Fs are: 99 Cents Only, Ace Hardware, McDonald’s, Metro, Nordstrom, Publix, Restaurant Brands International, Sally Beauty, Sobeys, Starbucks, Subway, TJX, Ulta and Yum! Brands.