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Have you heard of Kroger? We don’t have Kroger in the Boston area, but I know it’s the primary grocery store in many of your cities and towns.
Kroger is the largest grocery chain in the United States and one of the largest worldwide. They have over 3,500 stores and sales of over $98 billion.
I’ve been working with Safer Chemicals Healthy Families and many others on a campaign called Mind the Store for almost a year. Remember when I went into Walgreens [2] and asked them to take steps to remove toxic chemicals [3]from products they sell? I’ve also traveled to Washington DC [4]– twice [5]– to fight for safer products.
That same day that I headed into Walgreens I joined forces with many others. As part of the Mind the Store campaign we asked the nation’s top 10 retailers (including Walgreens and Kroger) to avoid carrying what are being calling the Hazardous 100+ [6] toxic chemicals. These toxic chemicals have been linked to cancer, infertility [7], learning and developmental disabilities [7], behavioral problems,obesity, diabetes, and asthma.
Other big retailers like Walmart and Target have developed plans to screen out over 1,000 chemicals in products on their store shelves.
But not Kroger. Kroger has continued to be largely unresponsive to the campaign. It’s time to turn up some heat this holiday season.
Kroger still doesn’t have a comprehensive policy to screen out and eliminate toxic chemicals in their products. They have the power and a fundamental moral responsibility to ensure products on their store shelves, especially food, are safe and free of hormone-disrupting chemicals.
We have a BIG problem in our country. Toxins are basically unregulated and can make their way onto the shelves of our stores without our knowledge. That’s why we’ve been asking retailers to take the lead and create their own policies to insure safer products on the shelves of their stores.
If Target and Walmart can do it, so can Kroger! There’s a bit of good news: Kroger has taken some initial steps to eliminate certain chemicals like BPA in canned food. That’s a promising first step.
It’s time to tell Kroger they need to ensure packaged foods and other products they sell are safe, especially for children and pregnant women. [8]
As many of us are getting ready for our big holiday meals for Christmas,Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, dangerous chemicals may be lurking in our favorite dishes.
Studies have shown toxic chemicals like phthalates [9], chemicals that have been linked to birth defects in baby boys and asthma in children, can migrate out of food packaging and get into the food we eat.
It’s not just toxic chemicals in food packaging. Many consumer products contain chemicals that have been linked with chronic diseases and health conditions, including cancer, reduced fertility, learning and developmental disabilities, behavioral problems, obesity, and diabetes, chemicals that are getting into our bodies.
A recent study found children’s Halloween trick-or-treat bags laced with dangerous flame retardants sold at Kroger. Kroger has reported selling over 150 products with hazardous chemicals harmful to children to the state of Washington under an innovative state law. For example they reported selling tableware with formaldehyde, parabens in skin care products, and phthalates in children’s clothing.
Hope you’ll join me in telling Kroger it’s time to be a leader-it’s time to take the toxins out [10]!
P.S. If you liked this post you might enjoy our Groovy Green Livin Newsletter [11]. Receive new posts and special opportunities delivered right to your inbox! Sign up HERE [11].
photo credit: Nicholas Eckhart [12] via photopin [13] cc [14]