Wal-Mart's chemical-cutting praised

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is leading the way among major U.S. retailers in efforts to drive harmful chemicals out of the products on its shelves, according to a study by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.

The Washington-based coalition, which is an advocate for safer consumer products, ranked Wal-Mart along with 10 other major retailers in a report published Wednesday. The Bentonville-based company earned a 'B' on the coalition's inaugural report card to lead a list of retailers that included Target, Costco, Amazon, Best Buy, Lowe's and Kroger.

"Wal-Mart has shown really impressive leadership in tackling toxic chemicals, while other retailers like Amazon and Costco -- two of its biggest competitors -- are lagging woefully behind," said Mike Schade, who leads the coalition's retail campaign and was a co-author of the report.

Authors of the report spent several months evaluating retailers in 13 categories, which included policies, commitment to transparency and public disclosure, and the reduction of chemicals within the past three years. Companies could earn as many as 130 points for their work, and a corresponding letter grade was assigned.

Wal-Mart received 78.5 points to earn the 'B' and was followed closely by retail rival Target (76.5). CVS Health (53) and Best Buy (41) earned a C and C-, respectively. Amazon (7.5), Costco (9.5) and Albertsons (12.5) earned the lowest scores and were among seven companies to receive a D or F in the inaugural report.

"Unfortunately, most retailers are not making the grade," Schade said about the results. "The average grade of the retailers was a D+ so, clearly, it shows that most retailers are not doing an adequate job to meaningfully address harmful chemicals in everyday consumer products."

Schade said it's important to make the issue a priority as consumer interest in what chemicals are in products continues to grow.

In 2013, Wal-Mart published a Sustainable Chemistry Policy that included plans to call on suppliers to disclose all product ingredients online for greater transparency; urge suppliers to "reduce, restrict and eliminate" certain chemicals and replace them with safer substitutes; and increase the number of Environmental Protection Agency-certified "Safer Choice" offerings in its private brands.

The policy also indicates that any priority chemical used in products in categories like health and beauty, pet supplies, baby products, and household and cleaning items must be disclosed on packaging by 2018.

Earlier this year, the retailer provided an update by announcing it had been working with suppliers to remove eight "high-priority" chemicals -- like formaldehyde and triclosan -- from products.

Wal-Mart has reported removing 95 percent of the high-priority chemicals by volume weight, which company spokesman Ragan Dickens described in a statement Wednesday as a sign of "great progress."

"Looking forward, Walmart will continue to work with suppliers and (nongovernmental organization) partners on an ongoing basis to advance sustainable chemistry," Dickens said.

Michelle Mauthe Harvey, director of supply chain with the Environmental Defense Fund, said she believes Wal-Mart has put together the "best chemicals policy for a retailer." She established the agency's Bentonville office to work specifically with Wal-Mart several years ago and said it's important to see the retailer's efforts noticed.

"Any time you can help people understand when a company is doing a good job or tackling a problem, it's worthwhile," Harvey said. "The efforts like this never paint the full picture, but I think it's good to bring attention to topics that need consumer interest."

But Harvey and Schade agree Wal-Mart still has room for improvement despite leading the way in the study.

For example, Schade said, the coalition would like to see Wal-Mart tackle a larger list of chemicals to drive out of its products. He said the coalition also would like to see the retailer extend its efforts to include a "bigger universe" of products, stretching out to other areas like apparel, electronics and furniture.

Wal-Mart will have a chance to show growth in the years to come as the coalition plans to grade retailers on an annual basis.

"Our goal has been to encourage a race to the top among leading retailers in developing the most robust and the best safer-chemical policies in place," Schade said. "I would imagine any company would not be pleased to be graded an F or D- or a D. So we hope this will help motivate some companies to improve their policies and practices."

Business on 11/17/2016

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