As retailers increasingly respond to public demand to sell products that contain fewer toxic chemicals, a group of corporate and NGO leaders today released a new tool to establish common benchmarks intended to inform and hasten market movement toward safer chemicals.
The tool, called the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) will enable purchasers, such as retailers, to preferentially evaluate how their suppliers are addressing toxic chemicals in their supply chain. The CFP results will enable brands to market their progress and success in using safer chemicals.
Mike Schade, campaign director for the Mind the Store campaign of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families said:
“Like carbon footprinting, the Chemical Footprint Project will help enable big retailers to measure their success in moving toward safer chemicals and products for their customers. We feel confident this new tool will empower big retailers to more comprehensively assess and address toxic chemicals in their supply chain. This will help retailers sell products that are safer for their customers and avoid the use of hazardous chemicals linked to chronic diseases.”
The Chemical Footprint Project was founded by the environmental non-profit Clean Production Action, the research institute The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the sustainability consultancy Pure Strategies. Its mission is to transform global chemical use by measuring and disclosing data on business progress to safer chemicals.