It’s been a banner year for the Mind the Store campaign. We have been challenging the nation’s biggest retailers to tackle the most toxic chemicals in the everyday products they carry.
And guess what—thanks to your help and support— they are listening up!
Let’s just take a look at some of these major Mind the Store campaign victories in recent months…
- In March, Ashley Furniture, the nation’s largest furniture retailer, announced a timeframe for eliminating toxic flame retardants in furniture, after we launched a public campaign.
- In early April, after nearly two years of campaigning, we revealed how Walgreens has finally committed to developing a chemicals policy, which they will be announcing in the coming months! Our partners across the country, from Texas to Connecticut, called on Walgreens it’s time to “spring into action”.
- After a year of behind the scenes meetings and research, in April we announced that the world’s largest home improvement retailer, Home Depot, is phasing out added phthalates in flooring by the end of the year. Check out the story in the NY Times.
- In April, we released a report by HealthyStuff.org that showed other big retailers like Lowe’s were lagging behind Home Depot and selling vinyl flooring laden with phthalates. We called on #2 and #3 home improvement chains Lowe’s and Menards to also ban phthalates in flooring, and we won in April and July with both retailers committing to eliminate phthalates by the end of 2015!
- Walmart and Target, have both been making meaningful progress to implement and expand their chemicals policies
You can bet we have plans up our sleeves to leverage these victories and continue our momentum in the months to come.
Over the past month we have sent letters to top retailers urging them to join the market movement away from toxic phthalates in flooring and flame retardants in furniture. We can’t wait to update you on the progress we’re making with these brands.
And for those retailers that continue to drag their feet, we’ll be out there in the streets and on social media and at their headquarters holding them accountable and telling them it’s time to “mind the store.”
Stay tuned for how you can get involved in the next stages of the campaign in the weeks to come, and in the meantime pat yourself on the back for the work that you’ve done to help us get big retailers to clean up their supply chain!
Together we can! Join the Mind the Store movement today!
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.
