Target joins the party

Better late than never...

I was SO happy to see this news over at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families yesterday, that Target is finally on board with selling cleaner, healthier, products. Yay!!

Starting in 2014, Target will begin to rank the manufacturers based on what they're calling their "Sustainable Product Standard." A set of criteria ranging from chemical ingredients to animal testing and recyclable packaging will be used to generate scores for manufacturers and as part of a larger incentive program with Target's corporate buyers.

GreenBiz.com has the back story to the news, which is based on a partnership between Target and GoodGuide, a products-rating website. Not surprisingly, inquiring minds want to know if this announcement was Target's way of catching up to its nemesis Walmart, which just a few weeks ago announced its own plan to reduce the chemicals in popular consumer products. At the time, just about a month ago, I wrote:

"...Wasn't I just saying last week that Target needed to man up, because offering better products at a good value really aligned with its corporate image? Well sorry, Spot, you really missed the boat on this one. Everything (anything) Target does now will be playing catch-up to its longtime rival. Best of all, Target will have to do something to avoid being seen as unresponsive to a major industry change..."

So there it is. Two of the nation's top retailers, if not THE top two retailers, are getting in the game. Sounds great, but where's the consumer in this process? Transparency is actually one of the categories in the new standard, but Target itself won't be offering any transparency to consumers about the scores different manufacturers receive or how to purchase safer, lower-chemical products.

There's still a bit of work to do, but this is still a great step in the right direction. Consumers are being heard, which means we need to keep doing what we're doing -- asking and demanding our retailers to uphold their end of the bargain. You know it's only a matter of time before towns and counties catch on to passing laws banning different chemicals, the same way plastic bags and soda have been shunned.

Happy Hump Day,
Jazzy