When it comes to chemical manufacturing for products for use by consumers, ensuring that those used are safe should always be a key concern. However, some large retailers have come under fire for their use of chemicals of concern in products that they retail.
The brands, including Amazon, Ikea and Kingfisher, have been pulled in front of the Environmental Audit Committee who launched an inquiry earlier this year titled ‘Toxic chemicals in everyday life on human health and the environment.’
Last week, the director of compliance and safety for EMEA, Daniel Kingdon, was probed by the committee chair MP Mary Creagh on how Amazon ensures the products it sells meet legislation on chemical safety. Kingdon explained that while all its own brand products were tested for compliance, it did not test those of its sellers to ensure they met requirements.
Creagh raised the issue of a previous Which? Investigation, which found that a child’s ‘slime’ toy contained high levels of Boron – a substance which is a chemical of very high concern and which was also sold on Amazon. Creagh accused Amazon of ‘relying on Which? and trading standards, the public sector, to do the company’s due diligence,’ according to Chemical Watch.
While Amazon could not promise to test all products, Kingdon spoke of a Restricted Products, which monitors products in real time to look for restricted chemical use and removes them, however, as Creagh pointed out, its unlikely most products would be listed with a full chemical ingredient list, especially naming chemicals of concern in it. Amazon said that it relies on information from its sellers, and as a third party there is only so much they can do.