Which 50 Retailers Are Protecting Your Family From Toxic Chemicals?

Details From the “Mind The Store” Retailers Report Card

Apple–A

Apple improved from last year scoring 106.25 points out of 135 points. Apple replaced methanol, xylene, cyclohexane, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone in cleaning products used during manufacturing with “safer alternatives including ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, glycerol, and water.” Apple has bisphenols in their thermal receipt paper so avoid touching it because it’s in powder form and can get on your hands.

Target–A

Target improved from last year scoring 95.5 out of 135 possible points. To meet the criteria for the Essentials and Beauty category, the company states a product must meet the following criteria at a minimum: “formulated without the following unwanted chemicals: propyl-paraben, butyl-paraben, phthalates, formaldehyde, formaldehyde-donors or nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). To understand the formulation and the chemicals therein, we also expect full ingredient transparency from our vendors of these products for screening purposes. This means that generic ingredients, like fragrance, must either be natural or have sub-ingredients listed.” Target expands that “18 percent of items in beauty, baby care, personal care, and household cleaning product categories are formulated without phthalates, propyl-paraben, butyl-paraben, formaldehyde, formaldehyde-donors or NPEs. We do not have 20 percent of our products formulated without these chemicals and do not have permission to screen 62 percent of our products.” That’s good and bad news. Only some of their personal care products are safe and you’ll still need to watch out for the rest.

Target is also starting to change their textiles. They are currently evaluating which companies are adding fire retardants to their products and are going to start pressuring them to phase out, so in the future, the furniture, clothes, and bedding will be safer for your family. That day has not come yet. Where Target got dinged was in safer alternatives. An example of that is when they reformulated their target receipt paper to BPS from BPA. BPS is a regrettable substitution because it’s likely more dangerous than the original chemical. We are asking Target to change this and you can join 50,000 other customers asking them to reformulate bisphenols out of their thermal receipt paper on our petition.

Walmart & Sams Club–A-

Walmart improved from previous years scoring 93.75 out of 135 possible points. Good news! They announced it was phasing out the sale of methylene chloride- and NMP-based paint strippers in all of its stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America and on walmart.com. They’ve also been working on their chemical policy, becoming the fourth major retailer to take action on these harmful chemicals They are focusing more on a list of concern with 2,700 chemicals, but hasn’t released a list of what those specific chemicals are. However, this list grew by adding two new authoritative lists of fragrance chemicals of concern. Walmart lost points for safer alternatives which tells us they are using “regrettable substitutions” in their products. This is where they can continue to improve. Walmart also uses bisphenols nn their thermal receipt paper, so try not to touch it.

Ikea–A-

Ikea improved from previous years scoring 87.75 out of 135 possible points. IKEA reported in 2018 that it has phased out cobalt, benzophenone, and two biocides (Biphenyl-2-ol, Sodium-2-biipphenylate) from surface coatings and coverings and banned benzophenone as a stabilizer in polymers. Additionally, the company banned all PFAS in textiles (2016), launched new fire barrier interline without the need for flame retardant chemicals (2015), banned bisphenols in food contact materials (2015), and replaced compact fluorescent lighting with LEDs, eliminating mercury (2015). IKEA says that FY 16 was the first year in which 100% of the leather used was produced with chrome-free processes, but no specific metrics on a reduction of chemicals used were reported. But one of the things they got dinged on was transparency. Ikea just basically asks us to trust them instead of getting 3rd party certifications for things. Another thing, their thermal receipt paper is made with bisphenols so please try not to touch them.

Whole Foods Market–B+

Whole Foods improved from previous years scoring 83.75 out of 135 possible points. Whole Foods Market has several policies around chemicals – including the Eco-Scale rating system, the first cleaning product standard of any retailer; Body Care Quality Standards; and protocols for chemicals not allowed in packaging, such as BPA in can linings. However, they aren’t perfect, hence the score. Whole Foods Market evaluates the ingredients in the body care products it sells and, as of last year, banned 117 chemicals in all products in this category and 471 chemicals for Premium Body Care products. Although one of the problems Whole Foods Market has is their packaging. Very little has been done making food packaging chemicals less toxic, so don’t assume packaging is any different. One place they can improve is a reduction or elimination of chemicals of high concern, and completely eliminating and safely replacing BPA and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging and food contact materials as well as phthalates in food and food contact materials in its supply chain. Whole Foods also has thermal receipt paper made from bisphenols so try not to touch them.

CVS Health–B+

CVS scored 82.5 out of 135 possible points. They improved on their cosmetic safety policy. In April 2017, CVS Health announced it “took a major step forward in advancing its efforts to address chemicals of consumer concern by announcing the removal of parabens, phthalates and the most prevalent formaldehyde donors across nearly 600 beauty and personal care products from its store brand CVS Health, Beauty 360, Essence of Beauty, and Blade product lines. The Promise Organic line of store brand products also does not contain any of these ingredients. CVS Pharmacy will stop shipping store brand products that don’t meet these standards to distribution centers by the end of 2019.” More than 4,100 CVS Pharmacy locations will carry items including bio-based, non-chlorinated diapers; biodegradable wipes; and a shampoo made with organic botanicals. Honest Company products will also be available on a dedicated microsite at CVS.com.”

And they are making some strides in keeping brands accountable. “We have recently initiated a program to screen for restricted chemicals via the WERCS, we are the first retailer to implement this. This allows us to screen both publicly disclosed ingredients and any proprietary blends, which are not disclosed to the public, but are put into WERCS.” But one of the places CVS falls short is their thermal receipt paper. It’s contaminated with a regrettable substitution bisphenol chemical called BPS. Green American is petitioning them to skip receipts completely and you can sign that here. I’m sure that also means brands within their store would still contain products with regrettable substitutions. So don’t go rushing there yet. And about that loooooooooooong receipt they have? You can opt out of that receipt, but not many people are actually doing that because they don’t promote the program very well.

RITE AID–B+

RITE AID scored 81.5 out of 135 possible points. Suppliers have indicated to them that the following four CHCs no longer exist in formulated products: triclosan, formaldehyde, diethyl phthalate, and dibutyl phthalate. In reality, we don’t really know if this has happened. But to be more specific, they communicated the number of suppliers producing own-brand products for Rite Aid that contain these [initially listed chemicals of high concern] has dropped by 64%. RITE AID is talking a big talk but they haven’t set a tangible goal yet. I’d love to see them do that to see all this come to fruition soon. RITE AID also has bisphenols in their receipt paper, so try to avoid touching them.

Walgreens–B-

The Home Depot–B-

The Home Depot improved from their score last year by scoring 63 out of 135 possible points. The company has continued to demonstrate progress on toxic chemicals over the past year, announcing new restrictions on nine toxic chemicals in household cleaning products by 2022 and notably becoming the third major U.S. retailer to announce a ban on methylene chloride- and NMP-based paint strippers in all of its stores by the end of 2018. the company is committed to working with suppliers to improve chemicals in categories with the greatest potential impact to indoor air quality, and will conduct annual reviews of product categories to track progress and drive innovation.” The new strategy includes commitments to restrict hazardous chemicals of concern, such as flame retardants, PFAS, phthalates, vinyl chloride, and triclosan, from key product categories, including paints, vinyl and laminate flooring, wall-to-wall carpet, and fiberglass insulation. The Home Depot has also set restrictions on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, triclosan, coal fly ash, and other dangerous chemicals in wall-to-wall carpet, among other chemical restrictions. They can still improve by phasing out the use of ortho-phthalates, halogenated flame retardants, PFAS chemicals, methylene chloride, and NMP in other key product categories. The Home Depot also has bisphenols in their thermal receipt paper so please avoid touching it.

Aldi–B-

Best Buy–C

Best Buy earned 54.25 out of 135 possible points, which is a reduction because they did not work to improve on what they did last year. The company sells and promotes EPEAT-certified products that are free of certain hazardous chemicals. Best Buy remains active in the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council’s Retailer Leadership Council and is participating in the Responsible Business Alliance (formerly the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition). But this year they didn’t dedicate resources to going forward. We are hoping next year changes.

One thing of note to know that is positive about Best Buy is their thermal receipt paper is bisphenol free!

Costco Wholesale–C

Loblaws–C

Amazon–C

Sephora–C

Sephora scored 50.25 out of 135 possible points. Sephora has an restricted substances list (RSL) for its private-label products, which, according to information provided by the company, includes all but two of the “Hazardous 100+” chemicals identified by Mind the Store. However, this is not available for anyone to see online or anywhere else. Other than saying “trust us” we don’t really now what is happening over there. The thermal receipt paper at Sephora also contains bisphenols, so please avoid touching it.

Albertsons, Safeway & Vons–C+

Albertsons scored 45.25 out of 135 possible points. Since announcing the company’s chemical policy last year, it eliminated BPA from all self-manufactured beverage cans in its OWN Brands portfolio of products. However, they may have replaced those can linings with another bisphenol so hold your horses before you celebrate. They have not been strong on safer replacement chemicals using green chemistry yet. The company maintains a Beyond Restricted Substance List (BRSL) for its Open Nature private-label line of products, certifies a number of private-label products to EPA Safer Choice, has set restrictions on BPA in packaging, and on parabens, phthalates, and triclosan in its private-label baby products. Albertsons can make progress by developing public BRSLs for a broader assortment of private-label and brand-name products in key product categories, setting public quantifiable goals with clear timelines for reducing chemicals of high concern, and completely eliminating and safely replacing BPA and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging and food contact materials as well as phthalates in food and food contact materials in its supply chain. Albertsons also has bisphenols in their thermal receipt paper, so please don’t touch them.

Staples–D+

Staples scored 37.5 out of 135 possible points. Staples has not publicly released or implemented a chemical policy, although the company indicates it’s working on one. Staples “has informed us that it followed through on a public pledge made in 2016 to work to eliminate chemical flame retardants in chairs it sells. The company also informed us that it has eliminated phthalates from its private-label chair mats and BPA from its private-label add rolls, although it was not clear when these changes were made.” Other than that, nothing has really been done to create or follow through on a plan. And Staples also has bisphenols inside their thermal receipt paper, so please don’t touch them.

Bed, Bath & Beyond, Costplus World Market & Buy Buy Baby–D+

Lowe’s–D+

Lowe’s scored 36 out of 135 possible points. They made their first-ever commitment to developing a comprehensive chemicals policy and demonstrated impressive leadership by becoming the first major U.S.-based retailer to announce a global ban on the sale of paint strippers containing methylene chloride and NMP in all of its stores. This helped spur a major ripple effect among other large home improvement, paint, and big-box retailers who joined the market shift away from toxic paint strippers. In 2015, Lowe’s also adopted a policy to eliminate phthalates in its flooring by the end of 2015, making it the second largest home improvement retailer in the country to adopt such a policy. Lowes needs to start eliminating additional chemicals of high concern such as halogenated flame retardants and PFAS chemicals in other key product categories. Lowes also has bisphenols in their thermal receipt paper, so please avoid touching them.

Kroger, Harris Teeter & Ralphs–D+

Kroger has 34.75 out of 135 possible points. In 2018, the company shared it “removed parabens, phthalates and formaldehyde donors from several Kroger brand health and beauty care items including skin lotions, skin cleansers, sunscreen, oral care and shampoo.” Kroger has made some limited progress in reducing the use of BPA in canned food liners in 2018. In 2017, the company reported that it had converted 90% of its store-branded canned food liners away from BPA, and in 2018, it reported that the figure had increased to 92%. It has a goal to move to BPA-free liners in 100% of its brands of canned food. However, the company has not disclosed a timeframe or plan for completely eliminating and safely replacing BPA in canned food liners. Kroger needs to start eliminating and safely replacing BPA and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging and food contact materials as well as phthalates in food and food contact materials in its supply chain. Kroger also has bisphenols in their thermal receipt paper, so please don’t touch them.

Kohl’s–D

Kohl’s earned 29.75 points out of 135 points. Following the company’s recent posting of a chemicals policy on its website, Kohl’s achieved a significant improvement over its grade of F with zero points in 2017. It is unclear if the policy itself is new or just newly disclosed—Kohl’s did not respond to our opportunity to clarify its policies in 2017 and the policy itself is not dated. Kohl’s can make progress by adding more detail to its policy to specify the processes for testing and auditing its suppliers and setting public quantifiable goals with clear timelines for reducing and eliminating chemicals of high concern from its private-label and “direct import” products. Additionally, Kohl’s should work to apply its chemical policy to other products it sells beyond its private label and direct imports. Kohl’s also has bisphenols in their thermal receipt paper so please don’t touch them.

Dollar Tree & Family Dollar–D

Macy’s, Bloomingdales & bluemercury–F

Macy’s scored 13 out of 135 possible points. Macy’s started to take some actions to address toxic chemicals in its products back in 2015, but still has much room for improvement. Macy’s does not have a public safer chemicals policy. Macy’s committed to eliminating flame retardants in the furniture it sells in 2015, but has not publicly discussed the status of this commitment or disclosed any major initiatives since then. Macy’s subsidiaries do promote safer products online by highlighting natural or clean beauty products, but Macy’s itself does not currently highlight these products as much as it had in 2017. The company also sells sheets, bath towels, and rugs with the label of “Made in Green by OEKO-TEX,” which appears to mean that certain toxic chemicals are limited. However, the company doesn’t appear to require its products to be certified to a third-party safer chemicals standard and doesn’t appear to require the disclosure of ingredients to show that these products are in fact safer. Macy’s has bisphenol contamination in their thermal receipt paper, so avoid touching it.

Ulta Beauty–F

Ulta Beauty scored 13 out of 135 possible points. This decline was driven by the fact that Ulta provides no public accountability or detail on its chemical safety programs and therefore we have been unable to score improvements or changes. The company earned points for making efforts in recent years to require the suppliers of its private-label products to eliminate chemicals of high concern identified in a private list that goes beyond legal requirements as new products are added and existing products reformulated. This list includes prohibitions on parabens, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, BHA & BHT, alkylphenol ethoxylates, and toluene and xylene in nail products. Unfortunately, Ulta has made little of this information public, only sharing limited, non-quantified information with us for the purposes of this report. While it labels its reformulated products as “free from” specific chemicals, this information is not readily searchable on its website or displayed in store, making it difficult for consumers to identify safer products. Ulta does not appear to be taking action with suppliers outside of those producing its private-label brands.

Food Lion, Stop & Shop & Giant–F

Food Lion scored 11.5 out of 135 points. Ahold Delhaize, the parent company of many familiar supermarket chains, including Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Giant, and Hannaford, has failed to publicly address toxic chemicals in the products it sells.