Friends of the Earth Surveys Chemicals in High Street Stores

LONDON, UK, June 1, 2004 (ENS) - High street stores must do more to phase out chemicals which may adversely affect human health, Friends of the Earth said today. The call for action coincides with a new survey by the environmental campaign group showing some stores are still not removing risky chemicals from their products.

Friends of the Earth surveyed 28 major retailers on their policies towards a number of chemicals that are known to build up in the human body or may affect hormones and which have been linked to health threats such as increases in testicular cancer rates and the apparent earlier onset of puberty in girls.

Karine Pellaumail, safer chemicals campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said, "Retailers are responsible for the products they sell, and should remove chemicals that have been linked to health threats. Although a number of retailers have started to tackle this important issue, too many stores are still not doing enough to reduce the risks that their products pose."

British shoppers may be buying toxic chemicals they do not intend to purchase. (Photo courtesy FreeFoto)

Another chemical of concern to Friends of the Earth is bisphenol A, which may be used in the linings of food cans and lids, plastic bottles, and baby bottles.

Phthalates, which may be used as softeners in vinyl products such as floor tiles and toys and in glues, inks and solvents in cosmetics and toiletries are also of concern.

Alkyltin, which may be used as anti-bacterial agents in home textiles and upholstered furniture, and in some plastics, is also worrisome to the advocacy group.

Alkylphenols used in paints, clothing and plastics; artificial musks used as fragrances in perfumes, cosmetics, toiletries, and laundry detergents; and triclosan used as anti-bacterials in washing liquids, liquid soaps, mouthwashes, dishcloths and chopping boards, and also on the list of dangerous chemicals.

Companies were scored on whether the target chemicals are in the products they sell, if they are seeking alternatives, whether they plan to phase them out and by when, and whether they would inform customers which products contain them as well as on their internal policy regarding "risky" chemicals.

Friends of the Earth has listed the companies that have worked to replace risky chemicals with safer alternatives as Ikea, the Body Shop, Marks & Spencer, B&Q and Co-op.

But Mothercare, John Lewis and Argos languish at the bottom of the group's list of responsible companies, whereas Tesco, Asda and Morrison’s were among those that did not even reply to the survey.

Homebase and Sainsbury also failed to reply, even though they have committed themselves to reporting on their work by signing Friends of the Earth’s retailers’ pledge on safer chemicals.

Awareness of "problem chemicals" is increasing, the group says. All the retailers that responded to Friends of the Earth's survey have done some work, even if only on their own-brand products. The Co-operative Retail Group, for instance, has recently produced a line of household cleaning products without phthalates and some artificial musks, and the British Retail Consortium has produced a Chemicals Toolkit to help retailers prepare strategies for dealing with chemicals.

All the retailers who replied to the question on the subject supported the consumers’ right to know about chemicals in products.

But retailers may know what is in their products, often because suppliers do not know, said Friends of the Earth, pointing out that currently, many consumer products such as clothing, furniture, toys, and televisions are not labeled with their chemical content.

The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) says many of these chemicals, such as flame retardants, are essential for safety. "Most people do not realize that without the inclusion of chemicals called flame retardants, their television set, sofa, mattress or computer can be set alight by just a short circuit," CEFIC says.

Goods displayed at a British hardware store. (Photo courtesy FreeFoto)

In textiles the situation is similar, CEFIC says, "inherently less flammable materials are available, but often at a considerably higher price and usually with different material properties." The look and feel of the products would be different.

In addition to voluntary action, Friends of the Earth is calling for tough new laws to regulate chemicals. The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers are currently discussing proposed new chemical legislation known as REACH for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals. REACH would require the most toxic chemicals to meet a Europe-wide set of criteria before they could be used.

CEFIC says the chemical industry supports "the political objectives of the new chemicals legislation, namely the protection of human health and the environment, and ensuring the competitiveness of the European industry."

But CEFIC said in a December 2003 REACH position paper that the proposed system would "create a bureaucratic, costly and inefficient system which would endanger the competitiveness of the European chemical industry, and consequently that of European industry as a whole."

Pellaumail said, "Ultimately we need strong legislation to remove hazardous chemicals that accumulate in wildlife, humans or the environment, and disrupt hormones. Consumers must be protected from potentially dangerous chemicals that are found in everyday products."