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 The retailer named the chemicals including formaldehyde, a
carcinogen found in wood products and building materials, in the
wake of pressure from consumers who are increasingly becoming
conscious of what goes into their food and household items.
Target Corp also moved last year to remove more than 1,000 chemicals
from its household cleaning, personal care and beauty products, and
has been promoting the products that comply.
The chemicals Wal-Mart wants to remove include butylparaben, used as
a preservative in cosmetics, and triclosan, used in toothpaste for
treating plaque.
P&G, a major supplier to Wal-Mart, uses parabens within safe limits
set by scientific and regulatory agencies and their presence is
disclosed on labels, according to the company website.
It also said it had eliminated triclosan from more than 99 percent
of the products where it was used and had an exit plan for the few
remaining.
Colgate-Palmolive, another supplier, has defended the use of
triclosan, saying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other
regulatory bodies have confirmed it was safe for use in toothpaste.
Wal-Mart committed in 2013 to increase transparency about
ingredients in products it sells, advance safer formulations and
attain the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Safer Choice
certification for its private brand products.
The policy, effective from January 2014, focuses on products sold at
Walmart and Sam's Club stores in the United States, according to the
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which said it worked with Wal-Mart
to develop and implement its policy. (http://bit.ly/2auuSDA)
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Wal-Mart said in April that its suppliers had removed 95 percent of
the eight high-priority chemicals by volume weight from the products
it sells in the United States.
"These eight chemicals and chemical classes were among the most
ubiquitous found in home and personal care products sold at Walmart,"
the EDF said in a statement.
Wal-Mart's policy also requires that the use of any priority
chemical must be disclosed on its packaging starting 2018, EDF said.
The retailer also said on Wednesday it would work with suppliers to
encourage them to disclose ingredients in all markets where they
operate, not just the United States.
(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru, additional reporting
by Abhijith Ganapavaram and Gayathree Ganesan; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
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