Peeling Back the Green Facade highlights "greenwashing" by crib mattress makers

This report is a companion to The Mattress Still Matters, which we released in July 2020. It highlights the ways crib mattress brands exaggerate and manipulate claims about the health and environmental benefits of their products. Of the 37 companies we analyzed for The Mattress Still Matters, 10 made claims we were concerned about. This report shares those findings. In preparing this report, we realized it was not enough to share the information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has authority to require companies to stop “greenwashing,” and on the day we released this report, Clean and Healthy New York, a lead organization in the Getting Ready for Baby campaign, lodged a complaint against L.A. Baby with the FTC.

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WHY A REPORT ON GREENWASHING?

Based on our conversations with friends, allies, and strangers, most people - including parents - assume that products on store shelves are safe for use, and rely on the claims on the packaging and websites. However, too many companies misdirect shoppers. We reviewed the websites of crib mattress makers from 2020’s The Mattress Still Matters and identified misrepresentations and overstatements, which because they are intended to overstate the health and environmental benefits of the product, are considered “greenwashing.” We then translated them into four Tiers of Greenwashing (below).

“Greenwashing” means the use of marketing claims to over-state or misrepresent a product or company’s efforts to be environmentally sound.

Using the information we gathered for The Mattress Still Matters, we identified 10 companies that appeared to be engaging in various forms of “greenwashing” and documented those concerns through screenshots. We sent dossiers of our concerns and grounds for objection to each company.

We asked that:

• Eight companies more accurately describe and provide evidence of their certifications;

• Two companies remove marketing claims and imagery that strongly suggest or state their products are natural when they contained lab-made substances;

• Four companies remove claims that their products are non-toxic without providing sufficient evidence to state as such;

• Two companies remove claims that their products are organic when the products contained some or mostly non-organic materials; and that

• Three companies clarify or adequately disclose the materials used in their products.

FINDINGS

• Two companies made sufficient changes that we identify them only as Company A and Company B in the body of this report.

• L.A. Baby made the most greenwashing claims, and failed to respond to our outreach. They make inaccurate or unverified claims of “natural,” “non-toxic.” and “organic,” and their claims did not match prior product testing.

• Babyletto and DaVinci Baby claim to offer “non-toxic” crib mattresses without verification. They also overstated the UL GreenGuard Gold certification. Both made changes to their description of GreenGuard.

• Delta Children also made the claim that their crib mattresses are “non-toxic” and overstated the UL GreenGuard Gold certification meaning. They adjusted their language regarding GreenGuard but continue to use “non-toxic” on their website.

• Nook Sleep misrepresented claims of both “natural” and “organic.” Previously, products produced under the same marketing claims had undisclosed PFAS in the cover. They did not respond.

• Graco® misused “organic” claims, made public claims at odds with previous product testing, and misrepresented the UL GreenGuard Gold certification. They provided no response.

• Colgate Mattress® and Dream on Me misrepresented UL GreenGuard Gold certification. Dream on Me disputed our findings and made no changes. Colgate Mattress® did not respond.

Tips for Parents

1. Get curious about words like “nontoxic,” “organic,” and “natural.” Look for verifiable certifications – not just logos – to confirm these claims.

2. Be wary of claims about what isn’t present: “BPA-free” or “PFOA and PFOS-free” items may have very similar chemicals, with similar impacts.

3. Watch out for misrepresentations about materials. Foam labeled as “plant-based” or “soy foam” are still polyurethane, with a little plant oil.

4. Remember: not all certifications are the same. Look for strong certifications like MADE SAFE®, GOTS, and GOLS, and for proof of the certification

Must-Dos for Brands and Manufacturers

1. Make products to meet consumers’ expectations for human and environmental health. Then document that by securing robust certifications.

2. When you have secured a third-party certification, include explanations and documentation wherever you share the certification.

3. Don’t use meaningless terms like “natural” or “eco-friendly.” Use third-party certifications to prove the benefits of your products.

4. Don’t use “non-toxic” unless every single component and process used to make your product from raw material to final products is free of all known or suspected harmful chemicals.

5. Stop confusing consumers by telling them what isn’t in your product. Be up front and provide full transparency about what is in your product.

6. Don’t mislead by focusing on a minor improvement in one component of your product, such as claiming polyurethane foam is “soy foam.”

That greenwashing has become such a prevalent trend is itself evidence that consumers demand products that are right for their health and for their environment. Manufacturers need to make safer products, not just to change marketing claims.

As consumers become more judicious and knowledgeable about their health, brands that authentically practice sustainability and safety will be rewarded and those that mislead and deceive their clients will be punished.

Retailer Advice

65% of consumers state they want to buy from purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability. Think like a parent when stocking your (physical or virtual) shelves. When retailers earn a reputation for selling misrepresented or greenwashing products, customers learn to look elsewhere.

Urgent Requests of Regulators, particularly the Federal Trade Commission

Take a more proactive stance in pursuing manufacturers that engage in greenwashing. Manufacturers only misrepresent the sustainability and health of their products because they believe they can do so with impunity, or that any financial consequences from their behavior will be compensated for by increased sales. The Federal Trade Commission has all the legal authority it needs to punish bad actors, and it should do so more vigorously.

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Disclaimer

The content of this report is intended to provide information about claims brands make about the qualities of the crib mattresses they sell, and includes a summary of findings about materials used in crib mattresses as reported by companies via their websites, via email and written communication, or identified through laboratory testing. We provide links to the websites we reviewed for the new information presented in this report on the date the website was reviewed using the “wayback machine,” a website that tracks older versions of information on the internet. We have made appropriate efforts to share our findings with the relevant companies, and have updated the information in this report based on their communications and changes made to their websites.

Any oversights were entirely unintentional and do not represent discrimination by the authors. We make no claim that a specific chemical or material of concern as identified in this report will cause a specific health outcome for a specific child, or that its absence would prevent any specific health effects. The information herein is intended solely as an educational tool, to provide parents with useful information to consider in their decision-making process. We also intend manufacturers, brands, retailers, child care providers, and government bodies to use this as guidance for best practices in crib mattress construction, ingredient transparency, and marketing.

Publication date: May 13, 2021

buybuy BABY Raises Grade to C+; One of the Most Improved Retailers in 2019

New Report Reveals Top Retailers Making Major Chemical Safety Advances

A new report reveals that many of North America’s largest retail companies are embracing chemical safety policies to help protect consumers from toxic chemicals in products. In the largest-ever analysis of its kind, 63% of evaluated companies improved over the past year alone.

The fourth annual Who’s Minding the Store? A Report Card on Retailer Actions to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals evaluated and graded the chemical policies and practices of 43 retail chains with more than 190,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, as part of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ Mind the Store campaign. 

The only major retailer focused on baby products, buybuy BABY, and its parent company Bed Bath and Beyond, was one of the most improved, raising their score this year from a D+ to a C+, through new documented policies to restrict harmful chemicals in padded products like furniture and toys and personal care products for babies.

"It's heartening to see marked improvement Bed Bath and Beyond and its subsidiary buybuy BABY have made to reduce harmful chemicals in baby products in this year's Retailer Report Card. Increasing their grade from a D+ to a C+ is a great step - and parents will look forward to seeing this trend toward safer products continue in 2020," said Bobbi Wilding, Director of the Getting Ready for Baby campaign and Deputy Director at Clean and Healthy New York.

This consumer protection progress comes at a time when the Trump Administration has weakened or delayed action on hazardous chemicals that can cause cancer, reproductive harm, and other serious illnesses, which also requires state action to overcome.

 “Our federal government has failed to act on hazardous chemicals that can cause cancer, reproductive harm, and other serious illnesses,” explains report co-author Mike Schade, Mind the Store campaign director for Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. “In light of this growing regulatory void, major retailers are stepping up to safeguard our health. This is helping to bring healthier products into the hands of consumers across North America and drive the development of safer chemicals and green chemistry solutions.”

For the first time ever, major retail grocers and restaurants are focused on eliminating classes of toxic chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ortho-phthalates and bisphenols from food packaging materials, which have been found to be a source of exposure to harmful contaminants. These actions respond to growing consumer concern about food safety and toxic chemicals.

“A growing body of scientific evidence has shown health hazards from exposure to chemicals such as phthalates, PFAS, and flame retardants. Exposure to phthalates during pregnancy is of particular concern. The fact that so many companies have improved their chemical policies over the last year is thus inspiring and hopefully will be a strong impetus for others to act,” said Dr. Robin M. Whyatt, Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University.

The study also found dramatic improvement in retailer chemical action between 2016 to 2019, with the average grade moving from D+ to B- (for the eleven retailers evaluated since 2016).

The eleven retailers who have been graded in every year’s report card dramatically improved their average grade from a D+ in 2016, the first year of the report card, to a B- this year. Most of these companies have made substantive, measurable progress toward chemical safety improvements over the past four years. The average grade earned by all forty-three retailers evaluated was a C-. This is a gain from last year’s D+ average, but also reveals room for improvement.

For the second year in a row, four retailers lead the pack by receiving the highest grades for their work to protect customers from toxic products and packaging: Apple (A+), Target (A), Walmart (A) and IKEA (A-).

The most improved companies are Ahold Delhaize, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dollar General, Lowe’s, Panera Bread, Sephora, and Staples. The report reveals for the first time Dollar General has launched a new safer chemicals policy banning eight toxic chemicals in private-label beauty, personal care, and household cleaning products over the next three years. In the two months leading up to the release of the report, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ahold Delhaize, and Staples also made notable, new chemical safety commitments, including adopting new policies restricting certain toxic chemicals such as PFAS harmful to human health and the environment.

Mike Belliveau, Executive Director of Environmental Health Strategy Center and report co-author said, “We applaud retail market leaders for protecting public health and the environment while our federal government refuses to act. Eliminating toxic chemicals - like PFAS and phthalates - from food packaging meets growing customer demand for greater food safety.”

About one-third (14 out of 43) of all retailers evaluated received an F grade for failing to adopt basic public policies to address toxics in their products and packaging. In 2018, about half of the cohort received F scores. Nine retailers failed to score a single point in 2019, and eight out of those nine failed to score one point over the past two years of inclusion in the analysis. The worst performing retail sector was restaurants, with an F grade average for six retailers.

For a full list of the evaluated companies and their detailed grades, analysis of trends, recommendations, and more, visit RetailerReportCard.com.

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Clean and Healthy New York works for safer chemicals, a sustainable economy, and a healthier world. It coleads the JustGreen Partnership, representing over 50 organizations working for environmental health and justice for New York’s people and communities, and leads the national Getting Ready for Baby campaign working to ensure all baby and children’s products are free of harmful chemicals.

Safer Chemicals Healthy Families leads a nationwide coalition of organizations and businesses working to safeguard American families from toxic chemicals. The group’s Mind the Store campaign challenges big retailers to eliminate toxic chemicals and substitute them with safer alternatives.

SELECTED QUOTES

Jose Bravo, Coordinator of the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, said, "For five years, the Campaign for Healthier Solutions has been calling on dollar stores to protect our children's health and eliminate any toxic chemicals that may be in products and food they sell, and finally, some are beginning to listen. Dollar General's new initial chemical policy, revealed for the first time today, is a good start, and we're looking forward to hearing more about the progress Dollar Tree has made. Unfortunately, 99 Cents Only Stores continues to fail to publicly address toxic chemicals that can impact public health and safety. People of color and the poor rely on the food and products sold at dollar stores, so we'll continue to encourage these stores to eliminate any toxic chemicals from their products, and do so in a transparent and publicly accountable way—because every family deserves the opportunity to make healthy choices."

 Sarah Doll, National Director for Safer States, said, "It is exciting to see companies follow the leadership of states like Washington and Vermont in adopting safer chemicals policies. Together, states and leading companies can help move us towards a world free of harmful chemicals.”

Muhannad Malas, Toxics Program Manager of Environmental Defence, said, “As evidence piles up about the dangers of chemicals like PFAS and bisphenols, many retailers are rising to the challenge by taking steps to make products safer and more sustainable. Such change shows even more clearly that companies like Sobeys and Metro, among others, that have received failing grades don't have an excuse to justify not taking important action to protect consumers and the environment from toxics.”  

Roger McFadden, Senior Scientist for McFadden and Associates, LLC and science and green chemistry advisor to retailers, consumer brands, and product designers, said, “This new report highlights a growing sustainability trend and call to action for consumer brands, product designers and the chemical industry. Retailers are increasingly stepping up to drive harmful chemicals out of consumer products, packaging, and global supply chains. The Mind the Store campaign's annual report card is helping to benchmark and incentivize retailers to establish, improve and expand their policies by driving a race to the top in the retail sector. This is helping to drive the development of green chemistry solutions and bring safer products into the hands of families across North America.”