Trader Joe’s is still failing to publicly address toxic chemicals in the products it sells. Although the company’s score increased from 0 points in our last report card to 9.5 in this one, Trader Joe’s still receives an F and ranked 27th out of 40 retailers evaluated. In an online announcement dated November 27, 2017, the company explained its actions on BPA in receipt paper and can linings and noted an ongoing effort to reformulate Health & Beauty and Household products without certain chemicals. However, these statements are too limited to amount to an official safer chemicals policy. Trader Joe’s announced it would be moving to phenol-free reciept paper in January 2018, and the company updated the November 2017 statement in May of 2018 to notify the public that it would be rolling out non-phenol receipt paper in the next few months.
Opportunities for improvement: Trader Joe’s can make progress by developing a comprehensive public written safer chemicals policy, developing and enforcing a public Beyond Restricted Substance List, and setting public quantifiable goals with clear timelines for reducing and eliminating chemicals of high concern. The company should also confirm its progress on replacing phenol receipt paper with a safer substitute. Trader Joe’s should further completely eliminate and safely replace BPA and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging and food contact materials as well as phthalates in food and food contact materials in its supply chain. The company should become a signatory to the Chemical Footprint Project and pilot it with key private label suppliers.
Summary of Trader Joe’s Grade

0 out of 17.5 points
Policy: Adopted a retailer safer chemicals policy
The statements provided in Trader Joe’s November 2017 announcement, as updated in May 2018, do not amount to an official policy, as they are only related to actions on specific chemicals:
In an announcement dated November 27, 2017, Trader Joe’s states: “…when concerns related to the use of BPA were starting to build, we evaluated where and how it was being used within our operation and identified steps to take: changing the receipt-paper used at cash registers to a non-BPA version and working on canned products (eliminating BPA where we could in many products’ packaging and clarifying for customers which product packages still make use of BPA).” In a May 2018 update, the company adds: “We identified receipt paper that is free of phenol chemicals (including BPA and BPS), which we will be rolling out to all stores in the next couple months.” The company continued in its 2017 statement: “We continue to reevaluate our Health & Beauty and Household products, developing and introducing new formulas made without chemicals such as parabens.”

0 out of 7.5 points
Oversight: Established management responsibilities and incentives

0 out of 10 points
Accountability: Ensures supply chain accountability

0 out of 10 points
Disclosure: Requires suppliers to report use of chemicals in products to retailer

3 out of 15 points
Action: Reduced or eliminated chemicals of high concern within the last three years
TJ’s specifies which private-label product packaging doesn’t contain BPA. As of the writing of this report card, this list has not changed since November 13, 2017. The company also notes that certain private-label products are free of chemicals like parabens and phthalates but does not explicitly state whether this represents a “reduction” in chemical use.

0 out of 10 points
Safer Alternatives: Evaluates safer alternatives, avoids regrettable substitutes
TJ’s does not specify what they’ve moved to in place of BPA for some packaging (although the 2016 report “BPA Buyer Beware” found that out of the cans tested, Trader Joe’s alternative liners were mostly polyester resin and a few PVC co-polymer materials).
In its November 27, 2017 announcement, Trader Joe’s states: “We continue to reevaluate our Health & Beauty and Household products, developing and introducing new formulas made without chemicals such as parabens.” However, the company does not explicitly state that it intends to replace chemicals “such as parabens” with safer alternatives.
In this announcement, the company discusses the topic of safety but not safer alternatives: “While there are aspects of our product supply-chain beyond our direct control, we will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer…We take action quickly, aggressively investigating potential problems and removing product [sic] from sale if there is any doubt about its safety or quality….We won’t sell unsafe products.” Overall, Trader Joe’s indicates it will only take action after the fact, and not before a product is put on shelves, to investigate its safety.

1.5 out of 15 points
Transparency: Demonstrates a commitment to transparency and public disclosure
The company discloses which products have packaging that is BPA-free, in line with its limited BPA packaging policy.
Although the company stated in 2018 that “None of our products contain hidden ingredients; all are clearly labeled,” some of the ingredient lists for personal care products include a reference to “fragrance” despite the fact that fragrance can have many components, some of which are potentially toxic. Additionally, the company does not appear to require the disclosure of contaminants, impurities, or byproducts.

0 out of 7.5 points
Chemical Footprint: Evaluates its chemical footprint

0 out of 7.5 points
Third-party Standards: Promotes credible third party standards for safer products
Extra Credit:

0 out of 5 points
Joint Announcement: Public commitment demonstrated through joint announcement

5 out of 15 points
Continuous Improvement: Shows continuous improvement by steadily expanding safer chemicals policy

0 out of 5 points
Safer Products: Program to promote safer products in stores and/or on website
The company does highlight which products have BPA-free packaging under Product FAQs on its website (and notes whether a product is free of parabens, for example, on individual product pages), but this doesn’t amount to a program.

0 out of 5 points
Collaboration: Actively participates in collaborative process to promote safer chemicals

0 out of 5 points
Impact Investment: Investing financial resources into independent research into safer alternatives and/or green chemistry solutions