Apple gets an ‘A+’ for efforts to protect customers from toxic products and packaging

Apple has received an “A+” from Mind the Store, a coalition that focuses on tracking toxic chemicals in consumer products. That’s up from the tech giant’s grade of “A” in 2017.

Four retailers received the highest grades for their work to protect customers from toxic products and packaging: Apple (A+), Target (A), Walmart (A-) and IKEA (A-). Top-ranked performers continually work with suppliers to disclose and replace dangerous chemicals with safer alternatives, according to Mind the Store’s third annual Retailer Report Card.

Average grades in the report show steady improvement over time. Eleven retailers improved their average grade from a “D+” to a “C+” since the first report card was published. Another 18 retailers bumped up their grade from “D” to a “D+” over the past year, on average. Twenty-one out of the twenty-nine retailers (72%) that were evaluated in both 2017 and 2018 improved their score over the last year.

However, nearly half the retailers scored were slapped with an “F” grade for failure to adopt even the most basic policies and practices to ensure the chemical safety of their products and packaging. Restaurants (average grade of F) are by far the worst performing sector, says Mind the Store.