Tell Robert Niblock, CEO of Lowe’s: Stop Selling Bee-Killing Plants and Pesticides!
Earlier this year the OCA, Friends of the Earth and other groups gathered more than a half-million petition signatures to Frank Blake, CEO, Home Depot and Robert Niblock, CEO, Lowe's, asking them to stop selling plants pretreated with bee-killing pesticides.
A representative for Mr. Blake and Home Depot has reached out, and we are in discussions with Home Depot about how to source plants that are not coated in deadly neonicotinoids (the pesticide most implicated in the die-off of bees).
But so far, no word from Mr. Niblock or Lowe’s.
Please tell Robert Niblock, CEO of Lowe’s, stop giving us the silent treatment! Please tell us that Lowe’s will stop selling bee-killing plants and pesticides!
A recent study co-authored by the Friends of the Earth and Pesticide Research Institute found that seven out of 13 samples of garden plants purchased at top retailers in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area and Minneapolis contain neurotoxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids.
Neonics, made by Bayer CropScience and Syngenta, are the fastest-growing class of synthetic pesticides.
They’re also linked to the mass die-off of honeybees.
How do we get bee-killing plants out of garden centers? We start by asking the CEOs of two of the largest national chains – Home Depot and Lowe’s – to stop selling them.
Thank you, Home Depot, for reaching out—we hope to work closely with you until there are no more bee-killing plants and pesticides in your stores.
Lowe’s? Can you hear us buzzing now?
Dear Mr. Niblock,
I’m writing to you again, in the hope that you’ll respond.
I’m one of a growing number of people who are concerned about the die-off of honeybees. That’s why I’ve joined hundreds of thousands of consumers who are asking Home Depot and Lowe’s to stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides and flowering plants coated in neonics.
Home Depot has reached out to the organizations that are spearheading this campaign. But so far, Lowe’s has remained silent.
A growing body of science has implicated neonicotinoids (neonics), the world’s most widely used pesticide, as a key factor in recent global bee die-offs. Unfortunately, many of the “bee-friendly” seedlings and plants sold to unsuspecting consumers in your stores have been pre-treated with neonicotinoids at much higher doses than are used on farms, where levels of neonicotinoid use are already raising concerns among beekeepers and scientists.
Because there is no clear labeling to indicate the presence of neonics in nursery plants, customers like me may unknowingly purchase pre-treated “bee-friendly” plants with the intent of providing habitats for bees and other pollinators, but end up causing them harm. Obviously, this situation does not benefit bees, customers like me, or my trust in you as a retailer.
- See more at: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=13510#sthash.zcn0WQ2c.dpuf
Earlier this year the OCA, Friends of the Earth and other groups gathered more than a half-million petition signatures to Frank Blake, CEO, Home Depot and Robert Niblock, CEO, Lowe's, asking them to stop selling plants pretreated with bee-killing pesticides.
I’m writing to you again, in the hope that you’ll respond.
I’m one of a growing number of people who are concerned about the die-off of honeybees. That’s why I’ve joined hundreds of thousands of consumers who are asking Home Depot and Lowe’s to stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides and flowering plants coated in neonics.
Home Depot has reached out to the organizations that are spearheading this campaign. But so far, Lowe’s has remained silent.
A growing body of science has implicated neonicotinoids (neonics), the world’s most widely used pesticide, as a key factor in recent global bee die-offs. Unfortunately, many of the “bee-friendly” seedlings and plants sold to unsuspecting consumers in your stores have been pre-treated with neonicotinoids at much higher doses than are used on farms, where levels of neonicotinoid use are already raising concerns among beekeepers and scientists.
Because there is no clear labeling to indicate the presence of neonics in nursery plants, customers like me may unknowingly purchase pre-treated “bee-friendly” plants with the intent of providing habitats for bees and other pollinators, but end up causing them harm. Obviously, this situation does not benefit bees, customers like me, or my trust in you as a retailer.