Rite Aid

Rite Aid has a safer chemicals policy that aims to avoid eight chemicals of high concern in its private label products: Butylparaben, propylparaben, triclosan, formaldehyde, toluene, diethyl phthalate, nonylphenol ethoxylates, and dibutyl phthalate.

Rite Aid employees state: “we have requested our suppliers to have reformation plans completed by January of 2018. Our goal is to achieve 100% elimination of the eight priority chemicals in all formulated private label products by 2020.” Rite Aid is also conducting an internal review of ingredients in products that may contain formaldehyde-releasers and developing plans to remove them.

The above statement indicates Rite Aid has set quantifiable goals for reducing and eliminating CHCs in its products, but the goals were not publicly announced or posted on their website.

The company does not have a publicly available Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL), and the policy does not appear to apply to packaging or to its operations.

A Rite Aid senior vice president has responsibilities that include chemical safety. This senior VP noted: “this topic is important to the entire Rite Aid team, from senior management to the internal teams who make consumer product purchasing decisions every day. We will continue to evaluate our private label … product offerings and work aggressively to ensure new products meet the needs of consumers and contain fewer ingredients of concern.”

It is not clear if the chemical policy is included in job descriptions, if the board is engaged in the chemical policy, or if there are financial incentives for senior management to implement safer chemical policies.

Next year, Rite Aid plans to engage a leading science safety company to “conduct independent audits to validate the results of our suppliers’ surveys” revealing chemicals in their products.

Rite Aid has not specifically disclosed initiatives to train suppliers on its chemical policy, to require third-party testing, or to conduct its own testing to ensure supplier conformance with its safer chemicals policy.

Since the fall of 2016, Rite Aid has sent two surveys to its private label product suppliers “to collect chemical ingredient information…[enabling] us to track the presence of the following eight chemicals, commonly referred to as Chemicals of High Concern (CHCs), which we have elected to focus on initially: Butylparaben, propylparaben, triclosan, formaldehyde, toluene, diethyl phthalate, nonylphenol ethoxylates, and dibutyl phthalate.”

Rite Aid also “collected product ingredient information covering Prop 65 [and] allergens” and since November 2016, has gathered “updated formulation and ingredient information on thousands of private label products” for its product specification database.

The company set a deadline of four weeks for suppliers to respond to the surveys, but the deadline was not made public.

Rite Aid states: “since last fall, we have seen a 59% decrease in both the number of suppliers reporting any presence of the CHCs Rite Aid is focusing on in formulated products and a 49% decrease in the reported number of total products containing the same CHCs. …[and] suppliers have indicated that the following four CHCs no longer exist in formulated products: triclosan, formaldehyde, diethyl phthalate, and dibutyl phthalate.”

According to Rite Aid employees: “Since the initial survey [for suppliers] was released, we have been actively working with suppliers to eliminate these chemicals and reformulate products using safer alternatives.”

Rite Aid likely prefers safer alternatives to the chemicals of high concern it has identified, but has no clear guidance or process for evaluating alternatives. The company states: “We will continue to evaluate our private label … product offerings and work aggressively to ensure new products meet the needs of consumers and contain fewer ingredients of concern”. Rite Aid employees are “actively working with suppliers to eliminate these chemicals [of high concern] and reformulate products using safer alternatives.”

Rite Aid’s safer chemicals policy and Beyond Restricted Substance List (BRSL) are not publicly available.

Rite Aid has search filters allowing customers to more easily search for products in the Skin Care and/or Bath & Body categories that are paraben free and phthalate free, under the heading of “Ingredient Preference.” Rite Aid’s list of Chemicals of High Concern (its BRSL) includes parabens and phthalates.

The company does not appear to further encourage or require the disclosure of ingredients in products sold online or on product packaging.

No discernible progress on chemical footprint.

No discernible progress on credible third-party safer chemicals standards going beyond regulatory compliance.

No discernible public commitment via joint announcement.

Rite Aid is assessing its private label products to determine whether they contain chemicals on the company’s BRSL list as “part of a broader initiative to engage suppliers on the removal of those chemicals.” Since issuing the first survey to suppliers in fall 2016, Rite Aid has actively worked with suppliers to eliminate these chemicals and reformulate using safer alternatives, and has seen a drop in the presence of these chemicals. The company is working on “retaining a leading science safety company” for assistance and advice.

Rite Aid has requested that its suppliers develop reformulation plans by January 2018 and has a goal of “100% elimination of the eight priority chemicals in all formulated private label products by 2020.”

Rite Aid has a variety of search filters allowing customers to more easily search for products in the Skin Care and/or Bath & Body categories that are all natural, BPA free, fragrance free, paraben free, petroleum free, phthalate free, preservative free, sulfate free, and talc free. These filters fall under the heading of “Ingredient Preference.” The company also provides filters under “Allergy Option” for fragrance free, talc free, and dye free products.

The company is also redesigning its stores as “Wellness Stores,” and they highlight as an offering: “All-natural personal care and home care products.” It’s unclear how much signage this section will have in-store.

No indication of active participation in collaborative process to promote safer chemicals.

No indication that company invests significant financial resources into independent research into safer alternatives to chemicals of high concern and/or green chemistry solutions