Rite Aid announces expanded commitments to reduce toxic chemicals in the products it sells, reportedly increasing its efforts to ensure clean, safe product ingredients as part of the company’s RxEvolution strategy. Following an evaluation of current practices, Rite Aid has identified several new areas for improvement in its revised chemical policy, committing to:
- Issuing a food-contact materials restricted substance list and requiring own brand suppliers to certify that all packaging and packaging components sold to Rite Aid comply with the requirements of federal and state packaging laws, as well as with the company’s corporate restricted list for food-contact packaging materials.
- Suppliers will also be required to certify that restricted chemicals were not intentionally added to their packaging, and do not exceed restriction limits laid out in the restricted substance list. The full list of chemicals and corresponding restriction limits may be found as an addendum to the Company Chemical Policy on Rite Aid’s website.
- Offering increased product ingredient transparency by requiring suppliers to provide additional disclosure surrounding generic ingredients, like “fragrance,” by December 2023.
- Enhancing consumer transparency efforts around desired product attributes, such as organic, non-GMO, cruelty-free, and paraben free, making it easier for customers to identify cleaner products.
In 2016, Rite Aid reportedly executed a formal chemical management policy and committed to removing eight chemicals of concern (triclosan, propyl paraben, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, diethyl phthalate, butyl paraben and nonylphenol ethoxylates) from its own brand formulated products by the end of 2020. Rite Aid says it has reached 98% compliance with its commitment and is actively working with outstanding supplier partners to reformulate or transition remaining items to ensure total compliance.
Rite Aid also continues to screen all formulated products against its full restricted substance list (RSL) that contains 69 chemicals of concern, according to the company. This list was expanded to go beyond regulatory requirements and include additional chemicals that the U.S. retail sector has prioritized for elimination. The complete list may be found as part of Rite Aid’s chemical policy.
For more information, www.riteaid.com
