Protest Home Depot Toxic Choices

From dKosopedia

Who: Defenders of Wildlife

When: you can

What: Let Home Depot know that toxic pesticides aren't the only choice

Home Depot - the nation's largest hardware chain - doesn't offer their customers much of a choice when it comes to animal and kid-friendly lawn and garden care. The chain doesn't offer enough natural alternatives to the toxic pesticides it stocks on its shelves. And many of the chemical lawn pesticides Home Depot offers are not only toxic to birds, bees, fish and other wildlife, but also harmful to children, pets and water quality. Let Home Depot know that toxic pesticides aren't the only choice for lawn and garden care. Take action now...

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

As a member of the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns, Defenders needs you to help us pressure Home Depot to carry a full range of alternatives to toxic pesticides. As the largest supplier of lawn and garden products in the country, Home Deport must do more to support sustainable land practices that won't pollute our environment, threaten our wildlife or harm our families.

We need to urge Home Depot to do three things:

  1. Carry a full range of natural, non-toxic lawn and garden products.
  2. Train staff to be knowledgeable about non-toxic alternatives.
  3. Reconsider the sale of "weed and feed" - a particularly toxic product.

Please download (or scroll down for) this letter, sign it, and deliver it to the Customer Service desk at your neighborhood Home Depot. We need to deliver as many letters as soon as possible. If you don't know where a Home Depot near you is located, go to http://www.HomeDepot.com and click on store locator. If you are able to deliver your letter, please email pesticidefree@defenders.org so we know how many letters have been delivered.

Thanks for supporting natural and safe lawn management products for yards across America!

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear Store Manager:

I am a regular customer at Home Depot and a supporter of the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns. I was very pleased to recently learn that Home Depot was asked by Defenders of Wildlife on behalf of the Coalition to carry a full range of natural, non-toxic lawn and garden products, to train staff to be knowledgeable about non-toxic alternatives, and to reconsider the sale of "weed and feed." It is currently impossible to shop at Home Depot and purchase the fully array of products needed to maintain a natural lawn or garden. I would very much like to see not just one or two natural lawn and garden products on your shelves - but a full range by Spring 2006. In addition to carrying these products, I would like Home Depot staff to be able to offer advice on the use and benefits of natural lawn and garden care. As a do-it-yourselfer, I would also appreciate written materials that provide instructions on how to create and maintain a natural l! awn.

I would like to shop at Home Depot for all my lawn and garden products, so I will be watching to see if more non-toxic products become available and if efforts are undertaken to train your employees and provide good materials. I urge you to work with the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns to help make this a reality.

Thank you for listening to my concerns and please convey my support to your corporate headquarters.

Sincerely,

BACKGROUND:

In April 2005, the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns publicly called on Home Depot and Lowe's Home Improvement to start selling a full range of natural, non-toxic lawn and garden products. They also asked the companies to train their staff to be knowledgeable about natural lawn care, to provide do-it-yourself natural lawn materials, to reconsider the sale of "weed and feed," and to work with the Coalition to make it all happen. By June 2005, the Coalition had heard back from the companies. Both essentially said they already carry natural lawn products and that product mix per store depends on demand. Our information tells us that neither company does any market research to determine demand but instead determines demand solely upon sales. Our response?

We understand that the company stocks the shelves depending on demand, but we also understand that the demand level is artificially skewed. The natural product(s) are completely eclipsed by the vast amount of toxic products, and customers are often referred to toxic products because staff do not adequately understand or know how to explain natural lawn and garden care.

Given the inaction of these companies, the Coalition is asking customers to speak up for natural lawn and garden care products and information. Because Home Depot is the largest seller of lawn and garden products and according to our information carries the least amount of natural products, we have initially targeted Home Depot for this action.

To learn more about the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns, please click here http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/birds/pesticides.html.

To learn how to have a pesticide free lawn, please click here http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticidefreelawns/resources/index.htm