It can be tough navigating through the various third-party green certifications when choosing ingredients for your eco-friendly cleaning formulations. There is a wide variety of environmentally-preferred solutions available today that have undergone certification according to various guidelines & standards. At Barentz, we want to help you explore and understand the most commonly used certifications in the HI&I industry.
Green Seal:
Green Seal, founded in 1989, is an independent, nonprofit organization with a mission to transform the economy for a healthier, greener world. They use rigorous, science-based programs to identify eco-friendly products. Green Seal certifies a large assortment of cleaning products ranging from paper products to floor care solutions.
One of the most popular standards established by Green Seal is the GS-37 Standard. This standard covers general cleaning products used in industrial and institutional cleaning. It requires products to be sold in concentrated form, prohibits the use of harmful chemicals (such as halogenated solvents and ozone-depleting compounds), specifies sustainable packaging, and limits VOC content. Green Seal-certified products undergo extensive testing and evaluations to meet these strict criteria.
ECOLOGO:
ECOLOGO is a certification program operated by UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and is recognized internationally. ECOLOGO certifies products, services, and packaging that have a reduced environmental impact.
To obtain ECOLOGO certification, a product must undergo demanding scientific lifecycle testing. The certification specifies criteria for using safer chemicals and materials, promoting the use of recyclable materials, and minimizing pollution during the production, use, and disposal of products and their packaging. ECOLOGO-certified products provide assurance of environmental sustainability and reduced impact on human health.
EPA Safer Choice:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Safer Choice label is a trusted symbol that indicates every ingredient in the product has been through an EPA review, ensuring only the safest chemicals are used in cleaning products. This certification program was previously known as the Design for the Environment (dFe) label.
More than 2,000 products currently qualify to carry the Safer Choice Label. These products must disclose a complete ingredient list to consumers for complete transparency. The EPA Safer Choice certification encourages the formulation of cleaning products with ingredients that have been rigorously evaluated for their impact on human health and the environment.
CleanGredients:
CleanGredients is a unique resource that helps formulators find independently verified chemical ingredients that meet environmental and health standards. It is a database of ingredients used in green cleaning products that have been reviewed by third-party assessors for compliance with recognized certification programs.
CleanGredients provides transparency in the supply chain by offering a wide range of certified ingredients that formulators can choose from when developing green cleaning products. By using CleanGredients, manufacturers can access a comprehensive list of pre-approved ingredients, ensuring their cleaning products not only contain safe ingredients but also meet recognized certification standards for environmental sustainability and human health. This collaboration helps to create a marketplace of safer, more sustainable cleaning products that consumers can trust.
The presence of various green certifications in the cleaning industry plays a vital role in guiding consumers toward safer and more environmentally friendly products. Certifications such as Green Seal, ECOLOGO, and EPA Safer Choice are important indicators that a product has met rigorous environmental standards, ensuring reduced toxicity, lower VOC content, minimized pollution, and overall sustainability. These certifications provide assurance that certified green cleaning products are not only effective in maintaining cleanliness but also prioritize human health and the well-being of the environment.