
*A report from the nonprofit Toxic-Free Future highlights that many retailers in the U.S. and Canada are not prioritizing the use of safe chemicals and materials in their products. Out of 50 brands evaluated in their Retailer Report Card, only four received top marks, while 17 failed.
Many of the retailers on the list sell products with harmful manmade chemicals known as PFAS (known as forever chemicals). Once these toxins enter the bloodstream, they can damage the immune system, liver, kidneys, and other organs.
“With PFAS in our drinking water and toxics found in black plastic spatulas, it is shocking how little retailers are doing to help solve this health crisis linked to hazardous chemicals and plastics in consumer products,” Cheri Peele, senior project manager for Toxic-Free Future, said in a press release, New York Post reports.
Mike Schade, director of Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program, added, “Simply banning toxic chemicals isn’t enough–retailers must go further to ensure that replacements are truly safer for consumers, communities and workers.”
We reported earlier that, according to a separate study, the presence of cancer-causing substances is found in band-aids, toilet paper, food packaging, kitchen utensils, and furniture.

“It’s alarming that more than half of the companies in the Retailer Report Card don’t ask suppliers for ingredient information,” Caroline Boden, director of shareholder advocacy at Mercy Investment Services, said.
“This lack of transparency puts consumers, businesses, and shareholders at risk.”
So who made rhe latest ‘Toxic Hall of Fame’ list: Here’s more from The Post:
Who failed?
Top offenders earning Fs include Chipotle, Subway, Trader Joe’s, Publix, McDonald’s, Macy’s, 7-Eleven, Five Below, LL Flooring (Lumber Liquidators), Nordstrom, Sally Beauty, Sherwin-Williams and Sobeys, a supermarket chain in Canada.
Also getting an F is Inspire Brands, the parent company for Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and Sonic, as well as Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
Ahold Delhaize, which owns Stop & Shop, and Alimentation Couche-Tard, which owns Circle K, also flunked.
But there’s good news
On the bright side, four retailers — Apple, Sephora, Target, and Walmart — passed with flying colors, earning an A. Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market, IKEA and Ulta earned a B ranking.
Ulta also received high marks for improvement as the brand doubled its score from 2021 to 2024, proving that progress is possible.
Amazon landed in the middle ground with a grade of C.
“It’s not an accident that this report is being published during the middle of the holiday shopping season … when most retailers make a lot of their money,” report coauthor Schade told CNN.
“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.”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Report Warns Band-Aids Contaminated with Cancer-Causing Chemicals