We know that sometimes it’s challenging to pick the sustainable, good-for-you products you’re looking for. That’s why Target is taking an important step toward greater transparency, which we hope will lead to more sustainable and innovative products.
The Target Sustainable Product Standard, which was developed over the last two years in partnership with industry experts, vendors and NGOs, will help establish a common language, definition and process for qualifying what makes a product more sustainable.
“Using UL PurView Platform*, powered by GoodGuide, Target will collect information from vendors and evaluate products against the standard.”
Beginning this month, Target will ask vendors representing 7,500 products in household cleaners, personal care and beauty, and baby care to complete the assessment. Each product in these categories will be assigned up to 100 points based on the sustainability of ingredients, ingredient transparency and overall environmental impact.
“Currently, there is no widely accepted industry standard by which vendors and retailers can judge the environmental impact and sustainability of products,” said Dara O’Rourke, co-founder and chief sustainability officer of GoodGuide, one of the world’s largest sources of information on the health, environmental and social impacts of consumer products. “With the Target Sustainable Product Standard, Target will help push the industry toward consensus on what sustainable standards should be and create incentives for innovation in this highly competitive space, ultimately broadening the sustainable product selection for their guests.”
“We were thrilled to be a partner in developing the Target Sustainable Product Standard,” says John Replogle, president and CEO, Seventh Generation. “We know more and more Target guests want greater transparency about the ingredients in the products that they’re purchasing. This tool will help us showcase the authenticity of our products while pushing for industry-wide clarity around what really makes a product sustainable.”
As the Product Standard rolls out and matures, it will inform Target’s merchandising and product-placement decisions. And, in 2014, Target will develop a standard for cosmetics and will begin assessing products in that category as well.
The Target Sustainable Product Standard is just one example of how Target integrates sustainability in all areas of our business, from the way stores are built to the products on our shelves. Learn more at Target.com/environment.
Note: UL Purview Platform was previously known as ‘GoodGuide’s Transparency Platform.’
