Menards
said Wednesday it would stop selling vinyl flooring containing a toxic
chemical — an apparent response to a public-relations campaign to
pressure the Eau Claire-based company to join other retailers and end
its use of the product.
Menards said it planned to stop selling any products containing phthalates (pronounced "tha-layts") at its home improvement stores by the end of year.
The toxic chemical compound has been banned by federal regulators from many children's products, but not flooring. The chemical has been linked to an array of reproductive and development problems in humans.
The Home Depot and Lowes — two of Menards' chief competitors — agreed this spring to phase out products containing the chemicals by the end of the year.
Phthalates are a family of chemical compounds that are used to make polyvinyl chloride or vinyl more flexible.
The concern by health and environmental groups is that phthalates can migrate from flooring and potentially harm children who are more vulnerable to exposure and are more apt to play on the floor.
The company had not responded to letters and phone calls from environmental and health groups dating back to Feb. 25 asking Menards to phase out phthalates in flooring, according to Eric Uram of Madison, a leader of efforts in Wisconsin to end its use in floor products.
On Thursday, a coalition of public interest groups in the state was planning to publicly call on Menards to end the use of phthalates.
The Wisconsin initiative is part of a larger campaign led by Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that has asked Menards to pull products with the chemicals. The organization is pressuring major retail companies to identify and find alternatives to more than 100 chemicals in consumer products that are deemed unsafe.
Also, a petition on Change.org is asking John Menard Jr., founder of the company, to stop using the compounds. As of Wednesday, the online petition had more than 3,400 signatures.
Menards told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel it would stop using floor products with the chemicals after the newspaper called about Thursday's plans by organizers in Wisconsin.
In the statement, spokesman Jeff Abbott said all of the company's vinyl flooring products meet government standards.
"We are still aware of the phthalate concern and have been working diligently with our vendors to eliminate any flooring products that contain phthalates," Abbott said in an email.
Abbott said less than 7.5% of its vinyl flooring products contained phthalates and the company is no longer purchasing such products.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has no limit on phthalates in flooring. The agency has banned six types of phthalates in child care products.
"The take-away of this is that Menards has heard from the public, understands the concern and is responding to this," Uram said. "We applaud that."
According to the American Chemistry Council, an industry group, phthalates are used in hundreds of products in homes, vehicles and businesses.
In a statement before the Menards' announcement, the council said the chemicals "have been thoroughly studied and reviewed by a number of government scientific agencies and regulatory bodies worldwide and these agencies have concluded that phthalates used in commercial products pose no risk to human health at typical exposure levels."
Menards said it planned to stop selling any products containing phthalates (pronounced "tha-layts") at its home improvement stores by the end of year.
The toxic chemical compound has been banned by federal regulators from many children's products, but not flooring. The chemical has been linked to an array of reproductive and development problems in humans.
The Home Depot and Lowes — two of Menards' chief competitors — agreed this spring to phase out products containing the chemicals by the end of the year.
Phthalates are a family of chemical compounds that are used to make polyvinyl chloride or vinyl more flexible.
The concern by health and environmental groups is that phthalates can migrate from flooring and potentially harm children who are more vulnerable to exposure and are more apt to play on the floor.
The company had not responded to letters and phone calls from environmental and health groups dating back to Feb. 25 asking Menards to phase out phthalates in flooring, according to Eric Uram of Madison, a leader of efforts in Wisconsin to end its use in floor products.
On Thursday, a coalition of public interest groups in the state was planning to publicly call on Menards to end the use of phthalates.
The Wisconsin initiative is part of a larger campaign led by Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that has asked Menards to pull products with the chemicals. The organization is pressuring major retail companies to identify and find alternatives to more than 100 chemicals in consumer products that are deemed unsafe.
Also, a petition on Change.org is asking John Menard Jr., founder of the company, to stop using the compounds. As of Wednesday, the online petition had more than 3,400 signatures.
Menards told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel it would stop using floor products with the chemicals after the newspaper called about Thursday's plans by organizers in Wisconsin.
In the statement, spokesman Jeff Abbott said all of the company's vinyl flooring products meet government standards.
"We are still aware of the phthalate concern and have been working diligently with our vendors to eliminate any flooring products that contain phthalates," Abbott said in an email.
Abbott said less than 7.5% of its vinyl flooring products contained phthalates and the company is no longer purchasing such products.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has no limit on phthalates in flooring. The agency has banned six types of phthalates in child care products.
"The take-away of this is that Menards has heard from the public, understands the concern and is responding to this," Uram said. "We applaud that."
According to the American Chemistry Council, an industry group, phthalates are used in hundreds of products in homes, vehicles and businesses.
In a statement before the Menards' announcement, the council said the chemicals "have been thoroughly studied and reviewed by a number of government scientific agencies and regulatory bodies worldwide and these agencies have concluded that phthalates used in commercial products pose no risk to human health at typical exposure levels."