Wal-Mart flags toxic chemicals

NEWYORK— WalMart announced Thursday that it will require its suppliers to phase out about 10 hazardous chemicals from personal care products, cosmetics and cleaning products sold in its stores.

It will also require the suppliers to disclose chemicals in those products. Consumers have been calling for greater transparency in labeling to make it easier to avoid compounds that may be harmful.

The moves follow an announcement made by Procter & Gamble Co., the world’s largest consumer product maker, earlier this month that it will eliminate phthalates and triclosan from its beauty products by 2014.

In 2012, Johnson & Johnson pledged to eliminate phthalates, triclosan, formaldehydes and parabens from all its personal care products globally.

When Wal-Mart demands changes in its supply chain, it has the power to change the products that people buy anywhere, because it is such a large purchaser.

Wal-Mart Stores says that beginning in January, it will monitor progress on reducing and eliminating the chemicals in favor of more environmentally friendly alternatives and will begin to publicly report on it in January 2016.

In a conference call with the media, Andrea Thomas, Wal-Mart’s senior vice president of sustainability, declined to immediately identify all chemicals being phased out, explaining that the company wants to work collaboratively with suppliers before making that information public.

Thomas said the retailer came up with the chemicals based on their environmental impact and whether there were greener alternatives. Experts believe that the germ-killing additive triclosan is on the list.