Mind the Store Campaign: Getting Toxic Chemicals Out

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As part of the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families blogging team, I am thrilled to be part of the Mind the Store Campaign launched on April 11th, 2013. The goal of the program is to get the nation’s top ten retailers to avoid carrying products containing the “Hazardous 100+” chemicals; long term we need to fix our broken laws on toxic chemicals. Over the past week, we have visited local stores in 11 states across the country, spoken to people at corporate offices of the “top ten retailers,” and reached out to national and local press to help us “get the word out” about the Mind the Store Campaign. Have a look at this short video I made just before I set out to visit my local CVS store.

So how did my visit go? I think it went really well! I spent some time with Katie, one of the Assistant Managers at my local CVS store. Katie shared with me many of the sustainable initiatives that CVS is incorporating into their programs for staff and for customers. She told me that their store regularly interacts with “corporate” and that she was “pretty sure” we would get positive feedback on our letter, for which we have asked for a response by June 1st. I hope she is right, and in the meantime we will continue to “keep the pressure on!”

It’s “DO SOMETHING WEDNESDAY” so why don’t you join me by sending your own letter to the nations top 10 retailers – it’s easy just “click here.” Also, on your next visit to one of these retailers, consider asking to talk to the manager and let them know about your concerns too. Bring the kids in your life with you, show them the power of “people” to help right wrongs and make positive change. Feel free to download the list of the Hazardous 100+ and take it with you. Check out the list of of the ingredients in some of the products you buy for your family. The disturbing part is that many of the chemicals on the Hazardous 100+ are in the products we use everyday.

Stay tuned, we will update you regularly on the campaign.

Yours,

Climate Mama

P.S. So what does this have to do with Climate Change you may be asking? Simply, many of the Hazardous 100+ are derived from petrochemicals (fossil fuels). More complicated but equally relevant to me is the fact that my children and I seem to be part of a big “experiment” and at the mercy of companies that aren’t really sure “how harmful” their products are, but are willing to bargain with my health and that of my children while we all wait to find out. This same attitude and lack of adherence to the precautionary principal is ingrained in the production, distribution and transportation of fossil fuels and “big agriculture” products where the “experiment” not only involves my children’s health but that of our planet’s as well.