Major retailers are failing to protect consumers from hazardous chemicals and plastics in the products they sell, according to the 2024 Retailer Report Card released Thursday by Toxic Free Future, a nonprofit consumer product safety organization.
On average, the 50 largest retailers in the United States and Canada — which represent 160 businesses that generate over $4 trillion in annual revenue — received a grade of D+ for their failing efforts to protect customers, according to the publication.
“It’s not an accident that this report is being published during the middle of the holiday shopping season, just a couple weeks before Black Friday,” said report coauthor Mike Schade, director of Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program, which released the report.
“This is a critical time of year, the time when most retailers make a lot of their money,” Schade said. “We want to get this information out to consumers so that they can make more informed shopping decisions — but also so that retailers can see that we’re going to hold them accountable if they do not take meaningful action on the dangerous chemicals and plastics in the products they sell.”
Failing grades
Of the top 50 retailers, 17 received a grade of F, placing them in the report’s “Toxic Hall of Shame.”
Lowest-ranked retailers include restaurant giants such as McDonald’s, Chipotle, Subway and Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Inspire Brands, which owns Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and Sonic, also received an F.
Trader Joe’s received a failing grade, as did Publix, the Canadian supermarket chain Sobeys, and Ahold Delhaize, which owns Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford, and a number of other global grocery and liquor stores.
Dollar store chain Five Below, the quick-stop market 7-Eleven, and Canadian convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard also earned an F for failing to take action to reduce the use of toxic chemicals and harmful plastics. So did Sherwin-Williams; Sally Beauty; LL Flooring, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators (which is going out of business); and Macy’s and Nordstrom department stores.
Only four companies in the top 50 retailers earned an A or A- — Apple, Sephora, Target and Walmart. Three companies — Ulta Beauty, IKEA and Whole Foods Market — received a B grade, while 26 companies were equally split between C and D grades. Ulta Beauty was called out as the most improved company, nearly doubling its score since 2021.
“Ulta Beauty is proud of the progress we have made in advancing our commitment to transparency and providing safer alternatives,” said Jodi Caro, general counsel, chief risk and compliance officer at Ulta Beauty. “This year, we published our first Chemical Policy, affirming our dedication to ingredient transparency, and joined the ‘Know Better, Do Better’ collaboration to strengthen chemical safety across the beauty industry.”
The National Retail Foundation, which represents major retailers, told CNN that they do not comment on external reports.
CNN reached out several times via email and phone to the 17 companies who received an F grade, but only heard back from Ahold Delhaize before publication.
“Like many health and sustainability issues, this is a highly complex topic and therefore we made the decision not to respond to this survey. As always, each (of) our brands comply with all federal requirements and state regulations pertaining to chemicals of concern,” a spokesperson said via email.
A much tougher grading scale
Mind the Store began grading companies on their commitment to consumer safety in 2016. The last report, published in 2021, gave a failing grade to 12 companies. Some of them, such as Publix, Subway, Nordstrom, 7-Eleven, Sally Beauty, Sobeys and Alimentation Couche-Tard are repeat offenders.
“There’s a greater number of companies earning failing marks this year, including three out of four of the new retailers that we’re evaluating for the first time,” Schade said. “That can largely be attributed to the more comprehensive and stringent criteria that we have developed.”
For the new report, companies were graded on how committed they are to change, how easily consumers can tell what’s inside their products, and how willing they are to ask manufacturers in their supply chain to get rid of a number of chemicals of high concern before they are put on shelves.
“Substances of high concern include carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxicants, endocrine disruptors, neuro toxicants, and persistent bio-cumulative toxins,” said coauthor Cheri Peele, senior project manager for Toxic-Free Future.
“We also grade companies on whether the changes requested from their suppliers are actually implemented, if they have truly ‘banned the bad,’ so to speak,” Peele said.
Companies are also graded on knowing whether the chemicals removed from products have been replaced with safe alternatives instead of another chemical that may be equally harmful, Peele said.
“Retailers play a key role in ensuring products are safe for consumers,” said Homer Swei, senior vice president of healthy living science at the Environmental Working Group, a health and advocacy organization which also ranks companies on their approach to safety.
“Almost half of the retailers scored zero for transparency on plastics and plastic additives. This underscores the urgent need for broader industry accountability to meet consumer expectations for safer products,” said Swei, who was not involved in the Mind the Store report.
The good news was that 68% of the retailers in the report made progress reducing toxic chemicals and plastics through what Mind the Store refers to as “Ban the Bad” policies. However, most retailers do not use that opportunity to ensure that any new chemicals put into a product are actually safe — 80% of the retailers did not check or choose the least hazardous chemicals to reformulate the products, according to the report.
Dangerous toxins
Many of the chemicals of high concern listed in the report include “well-known bad actors” such as PFAS (or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants and heavy metals, “as well as some of the worst of the worst plastics like PVC and polystyrene,” Schade said.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals are in the blood of an estimated 98% of Americans. The PFAS chemicals are so worrisome that in July 2022 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine set “nanogram” levels of concern and called for testing of high-risk individuals, including infants and older adults.
Used since the 1950s to make consumer products nonstick, oil- and water-repellent, and resistant to temperature change, PFAS chemicals have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, fertility issues, high cholesterol, hormone disruption, liver damage, obesity and thyroid disease.
Recent research has linked some flame retardants to cancer. People with the highest levels of one type of flame retardant in their blood, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, had approximately a 300% increased risk of dying from cancer compared with people with the lowest levels, the April study found.
Bisphenols are endocrine disruptors that have been linked to fetal abnormalities, low birth weight, and brain and behavior disorders in infants and children. In adults, the chemical has been linked to the development of diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, cancer and a 49% higher risk of early death within 10 years.
Phthalates, which are found in shampoo, makeup, perfume, children’s toys and food containers, have been linked with genital malformations and undescended testes in baby boys and lower sperm counts and testosterone levels in adult males. Studies have also linked phthalates to childhood obesity, asthma, cardiovascular issues, cancer and premature death in people ages 55 to 64.
Consumers can take steps to reduce their exposure to toxins and plastics such as PFAS. Some tips include avoiding stain-resistant carpets and upholstery, and steering clear of waterproofing sprays, experts suggest. Trade in nonstick cookware and opt for stainless steel, glass or enamel products. Boycott takeout containers and other food packaging. Instead, cook most of your meals at home and eat more fresh foods.
Consumers can also protect themselves from exposure to such hazards by using tools such as Mind the Store and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s “Safer Choice” products, Peele said.
“They can also shop at stores we’ve highlighted that are doing the best work towards safer solutions,” she said. “Companies are actually pretty sensitive to what their consumers think, and so we have an action alert on our website that will send an email to the CEO of each company and ask them to work towards safer solutions.”
CNN’s Julianna Bragg contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of retailers who earned an A or A-.