Two more retailers have signed up to Friends of the Earth's safer chemicals pledge [1], committing to phase out risky chemicals from their own brand products. Somerfield and Woolworths bring the number of high street retailers signing the pledge to 15 and the overall number of individual stores to more than 8000 [2].

Friends of the Earth is calling on retailers to phase out risky chemicals following concerns about the health effects of some of the chemicals used. Research has shown that a number of chemicals used in everyday household products build up in body fat and can affect the human hormone system [3]. Babies, toddlers and pregnant mothers are all particularly vulnerable to the effects.

Supermarket chain Somerfield joins supermarkets Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Sainsbury's in signing the pledge. Other general stores, besides Woolworths, which have signed up include Ikea, Debenhams and Argos. Major supermarkets Tesco, Asda and Safeway have not yet signed the pledge to phase out risky chemicals.

Somerfield plc owns some 1,250 stores in the UK, with nearly 600 under the name Somerfield and 650 Kwik Save stores, representing 6.3% share of the total grocery market [4]. Woolworths has more than 800 stores in the UK [5].

Friends of the Earth welcomed the pledges and said they were good news for consumers and, particularly, concerned parents.

Friends of the Earth Safer Chemicals Campaigner Karine Pellaumail said:

"We are very pleased that Somerfield and Woolworths have signed Friends of the Earth's risky chemicals pledge. This is good news for consumers who want to buy products free from health-threatening chemicals and shows that top retailers are becoming increasingly responsible about the products they sell and the chemicals they contain."

Somerfield's Director of Quality Assurance Stephen Ridge said:

"We have undertaken a serious review with regard to our policy on these chemicals. We have now either eliminated or are working to eliminate them from our supply chain."

Woolworths's Head of Corporate Affairs Nicole Lander said:

"Woolworths is committed to helping protect the environment and takes its corporate social responsibility very seriously. We therefore welcome this pledge, which will in turn help the environmental performance of the products we sell."

Notes

[1] Friends of the Earth's Risky Chemicals pledge reads:

As a regular customer of yours, I am concerned that my family and I are being exposed to risky chemicals in the products we buy from you. We do not want to be exposed to chemicals that will contaminate our bodies or interfere with our hormone, immune or nervous systems. Will you pledge to identify and eliminate these chemicals from the products I buy?

A responsible retailer would:

Using official lists, identify which man-made chemicals are suspected of building up in people's bodies (bioaccumulation), or interfering with the hormone, immune or nervous systems.

Produce a strategy to identify which of its own brand and branded products, including fruit and vegetables, contain these chemicals.

Produce a timeline to phase out these chemicals from its own-brand products, with the aim of eliminating them in 5 years, starting with those chemicals which pose the greatest threat.

Put pressure on manufacturers of branded products to do the same.

Report publicly on progress on an annual basis.

[2] Sources for this figure of 8000 are available from Friends of the Earth.

[3] Friends of the Earth, 2001, Chemicals and Health press briefing: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/chemicals_and_health.pdf

[4] Somerfield, 2003, About us http://www.somerfieldplc.uk/index.asp?sid=1

[5] Woolworths website http://www.woolworthsgroupplc.com/aboutus/group_overview.cfm