The Campaign for Healthier Solutions is coordinated by:
José Bravo
National Coordinator
619-838-6694
Send Jose an email
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Campaign for Healthier Solutions
All families deserve safe and healthy products, and all communities deserve business partners that will prioritize the health of their customers.
Unfortunately, millions of American families live in intentionally food-deprived areas without access to fresh fruits and vegetables—forcing them to rely on dollar stores for much of their food and household items. We tested dollar store products and found that many contain toxic chemicals at alarming levels. Sadly, the nation's largest dollar store chains have done very little to protect our families and their workers.
People of color and low-income communities are often already over-exposed to toxic chemicals and unhealthy foods, and that’s why the Campaign for Healthier Solutions is working to get toxic chemicals out of dollar stores. Our campaign is focused on environmental and economic justice, led by grassroots community activists, and we’re fighting to make sure dollar stores help solve our problems—instead of adding to them.
We’ve already won partial commitments from some of the nation’s largest dollar stores, but there’s still lots of work to do to get them caught up to other major retailers. Please support our work for a more just and nontoxic future.
Stay tuned for campaign events and yearly actions you can join to get involved!
Actions and Resources
Click here to visit the Campaign for Healthier Solutions website, with research reports, background materials, media links, and action alerts. Also, please visit and 'like' the Campaign Facebook page.
Reports and Videos
- A Day Late and Dollar Short report
- Campaign for Healthier Solutions Brochure
- BPA Buyer Beware report
Related News
November 19, 2019
Report Card: Dollar General Adopts New Chemical Policy, Dollar Tree Improves Grade, and 99 Cents Only Scores an ‘F’
Shortly before Black Friday, the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, Coming Clean, and the Mind the Store campaign released our annual report card grading retailers on the actions they have taken to protect customers from toxic chemicals in consumer products and food packaging.
Our 2019 report card has revealed substantial progress by some dollar stores. For the first time, Dollar General is taking action by implementing a policy to ban eight toxic chemicals in private-label beauty, personal care, and household cleaning products over the next three years. Dollar General has also committed to expanding its action on toxic chemicals in the coming years. Dollar Tree has committed to removing 17 highly-hazardous chemicals from products it sells by the end of the year and recently joined the Chemical Footprint Project, a system that helps companies assess their market risk from toxic chemicals and opportunities for safer alternatives. 99 Cents Only Stores earned an ‘F’ grade and scored zero points for the second year in a row. Read More
November 19, 2019
Release: Dollar General Develops New Toxic Chemical Policy, Other 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 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). 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.
The report also reveals for the first time that 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. Read More
October 17, 2019
Report: What's in my Baby's Food?
A national investigation finds 95 percent of baby foods tested contain toxic chemicals that lower babies’ IQ, including arsenic and lead.
This new report covers safer choices for parents, manufacturers and retailers seeking healthy foods for infants. Learn more about how to protect your child's health from arsenic and lead in baby foods. Read More
October 17, 2019
Release: New Report Finds Arsenic, Lead and Other Toxic Contaminants in 95% of Baby Foods Tested
In a new investigation released today, Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) and its partner organizations report that 95% of baby foods tested contain one or more toxic chemicals, including lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. One-quarter of foods tested contain all four toxic chemicals tested by the lab, all of which are heavy metals that can affect brain development. Read More
October 17, 2019
Difusión: Nuevo Informe Encuentra Arsénico, Plomo y otros Contaminantes Tóxicos En el 95% de las Comidas para Bebés Analizadas
En una nueva investigación publicada hoy, Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) y sus organizaciones asociadas reportan que el 95% de las comidas para bebés analizadas contienen uno o más químicos tóxicos, incluyendo plomo, arsénico, mercurio, y cadmio. Un cuarto de las comidas analizadas contienen los cuatro químicos estudiados por el laboratorio, los cuales son metales pesados que pueden afectar el desarrollo del cerebro. Read More
June 12, 2019
Blog: Campaign Pushes for Fresh, Local Food at Dollar General
On May 29, 2019, a delegation from the Campaign for Healthier Solutions’ non-toxic dollar stores project attended the annual Dollar General shareholder meeting in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. We were there to insist that Dollar General phase out toxic chemicals from its consumer products and source locally grown, fresh produce to better protect the health of their consumers, workers, and frontline communities. With more than 15,000 stores, Dollar General is the largest retail chain in the United States and more than 75 percent of people in this country live within five miles of a store. Read More
June 13, 2019
Release: Parents and Health Experts Praise Dollar Tree for Toxic Chemical Progress, Criticize Lack of Transparency and Junk Food 'Zones'
Chesapeake, VA — Today, customers and parents attended the annual shareholder meeting of Dollar Tree, Inc. and urged executives to tell the public what progress they are making toward their commitment to remove 17 highly-hazardous chemicals from products it sells. They also asked executives to move toward selling fresh fruit and vegetables in its 'snack zone' concept rather than just junk food. Dollar Tree executives did not announce new policies to protect customers, but said they are listening to shareholder concerns and trying to do the right thing. They also said they plan to issue another sustainability report before the end of this year which will summarize the company's progress on efforts to address toxic chemicals in products. Read More
June 13, 2019
Aviso: Padres de Familia y Expertos en Materia de la Salud Elogian a Dollar Tree por su Progreso en cuanto a Sustancias Químicas Toxicas, Critican la Falta de Transparencia y ‘Zonas’ de Comida Chatarra
Chesapeake, VA — Hoy, consumidores y padres de familia asistieron a la junta anual de accionistas de Dollar Tree, Inc. e instaron a ejecutivos a hacer público los avances que han logrado hacia su compromiso para eliminar 17 sustancias químicas altamente peligrosas de los productos que vende. También les solicitaron a los ejecutivos que tomen medidas para vender frutas y verduras frescas en sus ‘zonas de snack’ en lugar de pura comida chatarra. Los ejecutivos de Dollar Tree no anunciaron nuevas políticas para proteger a sus consumidores, pero indicaron que están escuchando las preocupaciones de los accionistas y tratando de hacer lo correcto. También dijeron que planean emitir un informe de sostenibilidad corporativo actualizado antes de que termine el año, lo cual incluirá los esfuerzos corporativos para abordar el tema de las sustancias químicas en los productos. Read More
May 30, 2019
News: Dollar stores moving to pull dangerous plastics from shelves
Dollar stores, those ubiquitous businesses that sell everything from bathroom cleaner to eggs, are starting to take action that begins to right what consumer advocates call a clear wrong: Many of the plastic products on their shelves contain chemicals that can have grave health effects for their customers. Read More
May 29, 2019
Release: Toxic Chemical Activists Pressure Dollar General Executives
Nashville, TN — The Campaign for Healthier Solutions, a coalition of health experts, parents, and concerned customers, attended Dollar General Corporation's annual shareholder meeting and urged the national discount retailer to take action to protect customers from toxic chemicals found in products, toys, and food sold by the chain. After purchasing shares to gain access to the meeting, these customers and experts shared their concerns directly with executives and some of the corporation's top shareholders and encouraged steps toward publicly accountable chemicals management policies as other retailers have already done. The campaign also held a brief meeting with the Dollar General executive team following the shareholder activities but no new actions toward customer health and safety were announced. Read More
May 29, 2019
Difusión: Padres de Familia y Expertos en Materia de la Salud Asisten a Junta Anual de Accionistas de Dollar General para Enfatizar Preocupaciones sobre Sustancias Químicas Toxicas en Productos
Nashville, TN — Una coalición de expertos en materia de la salud, padres de familia y consumidores consternados asistieron a la junta anual de accionistas de la Corporación de Dollar General e instaron a la cadena nacional de descuentos a tomar medidas para proteger a sus clientes de sustancias químicas toxicas halladas en productos, juguetes, y alimentos de venta por la cadena. Después de haber adquirido acciones de la empresa para poder tener acceso a la reunión, estos consumidores y expertos compartieron sus preocupaciones directamente con los ejecutivos y algunos de los accionistas más grandes de la empresa y los alentaron a tomar medidas hacia políticas de manejo de sustancias químicas con rendición de cuentas al público así como ya lo han hecho otras cadenas de tiendas. Activistas llevaron a cabo una breve reunión con el equipo ejecutivo de Dollar General que tuvo lugar después de las actividades de los accionistas, pero no se anunció ninguna acción hacia la salud y seguridad de los consumidores. Read More
May 6, 2019
Release: Dollar Tree Moves To Address Toxic Chemicals in Products
One of the nation's largest discount retail chains, Dollar Tree Stores Inc, has taken an important step toward increased health and safety for customers by joining the Chemical Footprint Project, a bench-marking metric that helps companies assess their market risk from toxic chemicals and understand the opportunities for safer chemicals in its supply chain. This decision may carry important implications for public health, consumer rights, and Dollar Tree's extensive supply chain, as the discount retailer is a Fortune 200 company which operates over 15,000 stores across the United States and Canada. Grassroots justice groups cheered this step toward quantifying toxic chemical risks—but also warned it falls short of a more complete, transparent and protective toxic chemical policy, which should include public disclosures and specific goals to reduce hazardous chemical use. Read More
The Campaign for Healthier Solutions is coordinated by:
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