On November 14, 2024, U.S. civil society organization Toxic-Free Future, released its 2024 Retailer Report Card, an evaluation of corporate policies and implementation programs addressing hazardous chemicals and plastics among major retailers in the United States and Canada. The report assesses the efforts of 50 retail chains, including fast food chains and grocery stores, in four categories: corporate commitment, transparency, “ban the bad”, and safer solutions. The “ban the bad” category evaluates retailers against a priority list of substances of concern that “retailers should prioritize for reduction and elimination”, the press release reads.
The results reveal room for improvement, with an average grade of D+. 17 retailers, including names such as 7-Eleven and McDonald’s, received a failing grade F. 80% of retailers lack adequate policies to ensure the adoption of safer alternatives to harmful chemicals and plastics, and 54% do not require suppliers to disclose the chemical ingredients in their products. On a more positive note, 68% of retailers have made some progress by banning specific harmful substances such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC; FPF reported).
The Swedish civil society organization ChemSec, published a similar report card on November 28, 2024. The annual ChemScore report ranks the 51 biggest chemical companies in the world on the toxicity of their product portfolio, research and development of non-toxic chemicals, management and transparency, and the number and scope of controversies and scandals that the company has been involved in (FPF reported).
Over the last five years, European plastics producers have made little improvement in reducing their toxic footprints, and globally, progress toward transitioning to sustainable chemicals remains marginal. However, the data reveals that some companies are capable of consistently achieving high scores by effectively managing toxic chemicals, demonstrating that significant improvements are achievable with targeted efforts.
References
Toxic-Free Future (November 14, 2024) “Retailer Report Card: Ranking retailers on toxic chemicals.”
Toxic-Free Future (November 14, 2024) “New report exposes retailers’ failure to protect consumers from toxic chemicals and plastics.”
ChemSec (November 28, 2024) “ChemScore 2024: The report cards.”
ChemSec (November 28, 2024) “ChemScore 2024: Key findings.”
Read more
Shanda Moorghen (November 14, 2024) “US NGO report denounces retailers’ failure to restrict hazardous chemicals and plastics.” Chemical Watch news & insight
