Wal-Mart Puts Chemicals in Spotlight by Joining New Program
- Companies like J&J also partaking in Chemical Footprint group
- Program provides third-party standard to gauge chemical risk
An employee at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Los Angeles.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has joined a new program that rates companies on their use of chemicals, a move that puts fresh pressure on the consumer-products industry to police its ingredients.
The world’s largest retailer is participating in the Chemical Footprint Project, which seeks to help companies root out dangerous substances from the products they sell. Two dozen companies have joined the effort, including Johnson & Johnson, HP Inc. and Staples Inc., according to a report on Wednesday. The idea was to create a standard modeled on carbon-footprint scores.