Dollar Tree, one of America’s largest dollar store chains that also recently acquired Family Dollar, has joined the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP), which is a program that will help the company phase out heavy metals like lead, and harmful chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) from their products.
They are the third retailer to have signed up for the CFP, after Walmart and Target. Although signing up is just the first step. We won’t know how much of their shelves hold harmful products until Dollar Tree submits their data and completes a survey, all of which the CFP will use to measure the problem and calculate a baseline score.
Though getting rid of these harmful chemicals seems like a no brainer, here’s why it’s even more important⏤food deserts. No, not the sweet treat you have after dinner, but an area, especially one with low-income residents, that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food.
When the nearest big-box grocery store is 20-miles away, dollar stores like Dollar Tree are many families’ main source for everything from milk and eggs to school supplies and personal care products. So why should the people who can’t afford organic products inadvertently be sold the most toxic ones?
At the end of the day, all retailers, but especially dollar stores, need to do more and do right by their customers, workers, and the environment. While this isn’t a pledge to remove plastic packaging from their products entirely, it is a step in the right direction.
The 4th Annual CFP Survey results with Dollar Tree’s results will be published in the third quarter of 2019.