Dollar General

In November 2019, Dollar General shared a written safer chemicals policy, which states: “[w]here practicable and in keeping with the Company’s obligation to create long-term value for its shareholders as a whole, the Company will endeavor to go beyond what is required by law and take additional steps to reduce or eliminate certain high priority chemicals (the ‘Chemicals’) in and from its private label core formulated products in certain departments (initially, Home Cleaning and Beauty & Personal Care) (the ‘Products’).”

This policy references a BRSL of eight chemicals: formaldehyde, toluene, triclosan, nonylphenol ethoxylates, butylparaben, propylparaben, trichloroethylene, and triclocarban and notes that Dollar General will require these chemicals to be eliminated from the target product categories by December 2022. The company will also encourage national brand suppliers of products in these categories “to reduce or eliminate their use of the Chemicals in products sold to Dollar General.” Dollar General pledged to “[r]eview and evaluate the list of products and chemicals covered by this policy on an annual basis.”

Dollar General does not have any locations outside the U.S.

Dollar General does not have a publicly available manufacturing restricted substance list (MRSL), and the policy does not appear to apply to operations or packaging.

Dollar General’s VP of Government & Public Relations has been assigned responsibility for the company’s safer chemicals policy.

The company does not appear to offer financial incentives for senior management to implement its safer chemicals policy.

In its new safer chemicals policy, Dollar General notes that by the end of 2019, the company will communicate expectations to suppliers for full formulation disclosure through the WERCSmart system, and these expectations will be included in vendor guidance and applicable supplier agreements. Partial credit is awarded as this is planned for the future.

Dollar General has not specifically disclosed that it trains suppliers on the company’s safer chemicals policy or reporting requirements, that it requires suppliers to conduct testing in third-party laboratories and provide results to the retailer to ensure conformance with the policy or that it conducts its own testing to ensure suppliers comply with the policy.

Dollar General stated in its safer chemicals policy that it expects its suppliers (presumably only private label) to disclose full formulation data, including fragrance constituents (but not specifically including allergens), to the company via UL WERCSmart. The company set a deadline of March 31, 2020 for suppliers to register product formulations in WERCSmart, and an extra credit point has been awarded for this deadline.

Dollar General has not publicly documented progress on reducing chemicals of high concern (CHCs) beyond regulatory compliance in the last three years.

Dollar General’s safer chemicals policy states: “By the end of fiscal year 2019, [the company will] urge its suppliers to use safer alternatives for the Chemicals on its RSL with alternatives (e.g., those identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Choice program).”

Dollar General plans to disclose its safer chemicals policy and BRSL in its annual report in 2020.

Dollar General’s new safer chemicals policy states that the company intends to “[e]ncourage core private label suppliers in the [home cleaning and beauty & personal care] departments to improve transparency with consumers regarding the ingredients in their products.” Partial credit is awarded as it is unclear how far this will promote the public disclosure of ingredients in products online or on product packaging or lead to the public disclosure of the identity of articles or formulated products that are free of CHCs going beyond regulatory compliance.

Dollar General’s website sells a small number of private-label products that are “paraben-free” and/or “triclosan-free,” but the number of products is too minimal to receive full credit for the 1.5-point level.

Dollar General has not made any discernible progress on measuring its chemical footprint via the Chemical Footprint Project.

Dollar General sells a few products recognized by EPA’s Safer Choice program online but does not appear to promote these products. The company states that it intends to “[b]egin collecting information regarding any third-party certifications awarded to products sold by the Company based upon the use of safer ingredients or environmental performance” but has not provided more details.

Dollar General has not made a discernible public commitment through a joint announcement or other coordination effort in advance of a major announcement within the time periods specified in the scoring rubric.

In November 2019, Dollar General shared with us a copy of its written safer chemicals policy that is centered around a commitment to eliminate eight chemicals from its private-label formulated products in the home cleaning and beauty & personal care categories by December 2022. The policy also includes expectations on suppliers reporting chemical ingredient information to Dollar General and conveys preferences regarding safer alternatives.

Dollar General has no discernible program to feature and market safer products on its store shelves and/or website.

There is no indication that the retailer actively participates in a collaborative process or retains an independent expert body to promote safer chemicals or that it has created an external advisory board to provide input on implementation of any safer chemicals policy.