AARP to mark Home Depot products with seal of approval for older Americans

<p>Bath and electrical fixtures may soon be under higher scrutiny by the nation's largest senior's group. AARP will use The Home Depot to test its plan to mark retail products with a seal of approval for people 50 and over.</p><p>Home Depot, in turn, is hoping the program will allow it to tap into the growing customer base that older people represent.</p><p>"They are very home oriented with significant disposable income," merchandising chief John Costello said.</p><p>The criteria and types of products for the seal of approval program are still being determined, but some being considered may include bath and electrical fixtures, as well as certain types of hardware that will help seniors live in their homes more independently.</p><p>Atlanta-based Home Depot plans to start rolling out the seal of approval items in an unspecified number of its 1,835 stores by next year, officials said. The program, an extension of a hiring partnership between AARP and the nation's largest home improvement store chain, is to be officially launched Thursday.</p><p>Information centers with brochures and materials to help older customers be more handy around the home will be opened in Home Depot stores. The chain also will begin offering clinics to teach seniors home improvement skills.</p><p>AARP will form a panel to determine standards for home improvement products that should receive the group's seal of approval. AARP chief executive William Novelli said AARP hopes to extend its seal of approval to products at other types of retail stores.</p><p>He said more seniors today want to live independently and home improvement projects will help them do that.</p><p>"They don't want to go into nursing homes. They don't want to go live with their children. They want to live at home," Novelli said. "Obviously, there are limitations. But even if someone is in a wheelchair, there are ways to modify kitchens."</p><p>Grab bars in bathrooms, ramps and wide doorways are types of items older Americans are looking for when they shop at home improvement stores, Novelli said.</p><p>Rob Roy, a 65-year-old retired aerospace engineer from Thornton, Colo., was hired recently by a Home Depot near him as part of the AARP-Home Depot hiring initiative. He said older Americans shopping at home improvement stores are looking for people to explain how to do things.</p><p>"It's not just products, you're looking for people that can help you get the job done," Roy said.</p><p>Home Depot's Costello said the clinics for seniors should be starting sometime next year.</p>