The European Union recently voted to ban toxic chemicals called organohalogen flame retardants in TV plastic casings starting April 2021. While the U.S. began to take similar action, efforts have been stalled under the Trump Administration, leaving American families vulnerable. 

TVs containing hazardous flame retardants in their plastic casings can release them into the air and dust—exposing a family in their own home.

Tell Best Buy, the #1 North American electronics retailer, to stop selling TVs with plastic containing toxic flame retardants to families here.

Recent testing confirmed that the plastic casings of three out of three TVs purchased from Best Buy, including store brand Insignia TVs, contain these toxic chemicals. 

And with the Trump administration dragging its feet on restricting toxic chemicals, we need retailers like Best Buy to lead the charge in safeguarding us from these harmful chemicals. 

If European families will be getting TVs without these toxic chemicals, American families deserve the same. And Best Buy has the power to make it happen!

In 2017, along with the vote to put in motion a ban on these toxic flame retardants, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a strong warning to manufacturers and retailers to stop using and selling them in TV plastic casings. But so far Best Buy has NOT eliminated these chemicals. It’s outrageous that companies like Best Buy are ignoring a government safety warning!

Scientists have found that exposure to flame retardants is linked to cancer and hormone disruption. Studies have found them in the bodies of adults, children, and fetuses in the womb. And when TVs and other products containing flame retardant chemicals burn, the chemicals can make the smoke even more hazardous for firefighters.

They can also be especially dangerous to workers and children who recycle the plastics from TVs and other electronics in facilities around the world. And these chemicals make it much harder to recycle the plastic—adding to our global plastic waste crisis. 

Here’s the good news: these harmful chemicals can be replaced with safer alternatives.  Some companies are already using alternative chemicals or innovating to avoid these chemicals altogether. Electronics brands like Apple have done this for laptops, and TV brands can innovate too!

The bottom line is that buying a TV shouldn’t pollute your home with toxic chemicals—or exacerbate the plastic waste crisis.

Let’s tell Best Buy: No toxic TVs! Please use your power as North America’s top electronics retailer to get toxic chemicals out of the TVs you sell.