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By Sheila Shayon

Steadfast retailing rivals Target and Walmart came together earlier this month under one uniting topic: sustainability. The pair co-hosted the����in Chicago alongside Forum for the Future to help “improve sustainability performance in the personal care and beauty industry.”

“We think it’s the right time to have a discussion” and come to a collaborative point of view, said Christina Hennington, Target’s SVP of health and beauty, the����reported, adding the demand for such products over the last five years “has been staggering,” but, “it’s a complicated value chain.”

Target has seen a 20-percent growth in natural and organic products, which 97 percent of its shoppers purchase in some form or another. Walmart, meanwhile, created a sustainability����for hundreds of product categories and has����its suppliers to eliminate or reduce 10 toxic chemicals from beauty products, household cleaners and cosmetics.��Similar commitments have been made by Avon and Procter & Gamble.

“We need to move faster toward that goal because the expectations are changing,”����Rob Kaplan, Walmart’s director of product sustainability. “We’re looking for our suppliers to demonstrate voluntary leadership and to make commitments and to move from a conversation to action.”