Target Invests in Safer Made

Target is making an investment in Safer Made, as a way to support safer chemistry innovation. This investment is part of Target’s renewed chemicals strategy, announced at the beginning of 2017. With this new strategy, Target aims to raise the bar for materials and ingredients transparency, improve chemicals management, and invest $5 million in support of green chemistry initiatives. Over the next three to five years Target aims to achieve transparency of all product ingredients, remove several classes of chemicals of concern from beauty, baby, and other formulated household products, remove fluorinated chemicals and flame retardants from textile products. “Our chemical strategy will be one of the most comprehensive in the U.S. retail industry, including all Target-owned and national brand products and operations, not just formulated products,” says Jennifer Silberman, chief sustainability officer, Target. “It’s ambitious, but using our size, scale and expertise, we think we’ll be able to make significant progress.” This kind of leadership towards reducing or removing materials that are dangerous to health and the natural world is needed given the lack of reliable federal action, challenges in finding available safer alternatives, and the slow pace suppliers usually adopt new technologies. Target wants this initiative to catalyze other similar efforts. “We hope our robust approach will accelerate similar efforts across the industry. Ultimately, we want to bring all stakeholders together to innovate and champion a consistent, industry-wide approach to greener chemistry” says Jennifer Silberman. We’re excited to see leading retailers like Target move beyond restricted substances lists, and proactively support safer chemistry innovation, essential to creating the next generation of consumer products safer for people and the planet.