When brand-name retailers take a stand for safe and healthy products, industry takes note. We at MBDC are proud to see incredible momentum for support of Cradle to Cradle Certified™ products. As a third-party, multi-attribute certification and as a design framework, Cradle to Cradle has transcended industry into consumers’ homes and communities. This momentum propels us into a world of good design, and we know from the broad adoption of Cradle to Cradle practices, putting the ‘good’ back in ‘goods’ is good for business.
Last year we were proud to see Walgreens, the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, institute a Chemical Policy Statement and Restricted Substances List, encouraging its suppliers and brand partners to obtain credible certifications to make it easier for consumers to make informed, sustainable choices. Cradle to Cradle Certified™ was prominent on this list, and we support Walgreens as they strive to offer consumers safe and healthy, purpose-driven product and safety information.
And Walgreens isn’t the only major retailer taking a stand for safe and healthy products. The Home Depot has also recognized Cradle to Cradle Certified™ within its Eco Options program, along with the company’s chemical strategy, signaling its commitment to continue to address chemical improvements in products and the building industry. Walmart also made notable commitments over the past year to strengthen its sustainable chemistry policy for consumer products. The company’s encouragement of the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program reaffirms its support of increasing transparency and education for improved product formulations for customers.
Global e-commerce retailer Amazon is another company furthering transparency for its customers as it works to enable features on its website that make it easier to find and buy products with safer ingredients and sustainable attributes, promoting third-party certifications like Cradle to Cradle Certified and others. By making this information more readily available for customers, Amazon hopes it “will encourage additional brands to move away from potentially hazardous chemistries in their products and adopt safer chemistries.”
With these major retailers encouraging industry to put the good back in goods, we are more inspired than ever to continue our collective work in circular design, yielding notable reductions in waste, energy consumption, fugitive carbon emissions, and the elimination of harmful chemicals. As we continue into 2019, we are hopeful for the many ways in which global corporations both big and small will push safe and circular practices to the forefront of their agendas, which serves to benefit the consumer, industry and the environment as a whole. We are also inspired by the ways in which companies like these are not only practicing safe and circular practices, but also encouraging their peers in the space to adopt similar values.
Now is the time to join the Cradle to Cradle Design™ movement! If you’re uncertain of how to get started, contact MBDC today, and we’re happy to give your company a fast and affordable “Quick Scan” report on your product or materials’ potential for certification.
