Pharmacy retailer chain CVS Health announced the removal of parabens, phthalates 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.
The company has also published its full list of restricted chemicals by product category here. In 2016, CVS Health claimed to be the first major pharmacy chain in the country to become a signatory of the Chemical Footprint Project, which provides a tool for measuring and disclosing data on business progress toward safer chemicals.
CVS is just the latest of growing retailers taking initiative to advance their chemical management efforts in their products’ supply chain. Other retailers include Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Loewe’s, IKEA, etc. Consumer products companies such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and L’Oreal have also initiated their chemical ingredients disclosure initiatives.
Target also recently announced a new chemical strategy that will lend transparency to all of its ingredients including generics such as fragrance, in beauty products, baby care, personal care and household cleaning formulated products by 2020. It also aims to formulate these products without phthalates, propyl-paraben, butyl-paraben, formaldehyde, formaldehyde-donors or NPEs by 2020; remove PFCs as well as ame retardants that are potential carcinogens in textile products by 2022; and invest up to $5 million in green chemistry innovation by 2022.
According to the group, As You Sow, Target also recently agreed to engage its value chain and industry peers to discuss replacing polystyrene foam packaging with more environmentally-sustainable alternatives. McDonalds has already switched from foam to paper cups in 2013 although As You Sow noted that the company is yet to implement the switch globally. Dell and IKEA have also previously announced reduction or phase out of polystyrene foam as a packing material.
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Walmart launches sustainable shopping online | Green Chemicals Blog
Walmart initiates sustainable chemicals policy | Green Chemicals Blog
Apparel recycling updates | Green Chemicals Blog
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