The next Retailer Report Card will feature a revamped scoring rubric and a new list of high priority chemicals and plastics to further catalyze market transformation away from toxic chemicals and plastics and towards safer solutions.
Developed in 2016 by Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program, the Retailer Report Card is the first-of-its-kind publication to score and benchmark the biggest retailers in the U.S. and Canada on their movement to safer chemicals, products, and packaging. The retailers evaluated in this report have more than 200,000 stores in the United States and Canada and sell billions of dollars of products. Because of their size, these retailers have tremendous market power to drive toxic chemicals and plastics out of global supply chains.
A routinely updated, comprehensive report, the Retailer Report Card is made possible by in-depth research and original analysis by Toxic-Free Future and key partners. By highlighting retail leaders and calling out laggards, the report drives a competitive race to the top to eliminate toxic chemicals and plastics and replace them with safer alternatives.
What’s new for 2024?
For 2024, the Retailer Report Card will have a reorganized scoring rubric called the Four Essential Elements for a Safer Marketplace. The sharpened grading criteria provide a clear roadmap to safer solutions, with best-in-class approaches for retailers to continuously improve products, packaging, and operations.
Additionally, we have developed a new list of high-priority chemicals and plastics for retailers to reduce and eliminate, embedded in the updated criteria.
How can you learn more?
We hosted a webinar earlier this month to present the revised scoring criteria, as well as the updated list of high-priority chemicals and plastics. The webinar also summarized the process and timeline for the publication of the 2024 Retailer Report Card.
The webinar was a huge success! More than 170 representatives of retailers, brands, chemical suppliers, investors, government agencies, sustainability consultants, and NGOs registered, including sustainability leaders at 32 of the 50 retailers evaluated in the Retailer Report Card.
A recording of the webinar can be viewed here:
Additional resources
Download these resources to learn more about the changes to the Retailer Report Card, and how retailers can help improve the sustainability of products sold at stores in your community:
- Webinar slides (PDF)
- 2024 Scoring Rubric: The Four Essential Elements for a Safer Marketplace
- Key Supporting Materials, which contain:
- Summary of changes to the criteria
- List of High-Priority Chemicals, Chemical Classes, and Plastics
- Glossary
The next iteration of the Retailer Report Card will be published in 2024. Stay tuned for additional blog posts this fall as we continue to share more about it.
Director of Mind the Store
Mike Schade leads Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program, which challenges retailers to shift the marketplace away from hazardous chemicals and develop comprehensive safer chemicals policies.
Senior Project Manager
Cheri Peele joined Toxic-Free Future in 2022 to play a leadership role in both the Retailer Report Card and public policy advocacy. She has worked for over 20 years to create and implement leadership strategies for the transition to safer chemicals.
