Cleanfax, MayJune 2018

EPAs program In 1990 the EPA formed the Design for the Environment DfE program Its creation came in response to the publics increasing interest in and concerns for the safety of chemicals in common household and commercial products DfE began to focus on two areas Assessing alternatives to agency priority chemicals and recognizing companies for making bestin class products containing safer chemical ingredients In the mid 2000s Safer Product labeling began In order to add incentive to the chemical selection process DfE developed the certification program based on its standard for safer products and safer chemical criteria This allowed companies to differentiate their products in the marketplace and make it easier for consumers and business purchasers to identify products that are safer for people families and the environment In 2015 the DfE standard for safer products was replaced by the Safer Choice standard The new Safer Choice label has a more modern look to help consumers businesses and institutional buyers easily recognize products that have earned the label Safer Choice is not registered with ISO 14024 but it is accountable to the EPA Products that qualify to carry the Safer Choice label must pass category specific performance standards as defined in the Safer Choice standard All products must perform comparably to conventional products Safer Choice reviews all product packaging and partners are required to implement sustainable packaging measures and to improve the packaging profile for their recognized products during the partnership Safer Choice restricts VOC content to minimize indoor air pollution and associated respiratory concerns As of June 2017 2000 products have the Safer Choice label in the U S Eco labeling from the top three organizations serves to assure contractors that the product has been verified by third party testing UL EcoLogo program The Canadian Government started The Environmental Choice Program in 1988 which was the first eco labeling program in North America While still owned by the Canadian government management and delivery of the EcoLogo Program was licensed in 1995 to the private for profit environmental marketing company TerraChoice which took the program international TerraChoice and the EcoLogo program were purchased by UL Environment in 2010 and became part of the Underwriters Laboratories UL global network of standards and certifications All products certified to an EcoLogo standard must meet or exceed each of the listed criteria before receiving the mark EcoLogo certification is classified as an ISO 14024 Type 1 program for standards development and has been approved by the Global Ecolabeling Network GEN There are more than 7000 products certified with the EcoLogo Label internationally EcoLogo certified products services and packaging are certified for reduced environmental impact Ecologo certifications are voluntary multi attribute lifecycle based environmental certifications that indicate a product has undergone rigorous scientific testing exhaustive auditing or both to prove its compliance with stringent third party environmental performance standards To view specific standards that a product has been certified under product details can be found in the EcoLogo Sustainable Product Guide GreenSeal GreenSeal was the first non government sponsored and not for profit environmental certification program Launched in 1989 it is also classified as an ISO 14024 Type 1 program for standards development GreenSeal certification ensures that a product meets rigorous performance health and environmental criteria These criteria are listed as Green Seal Standards Achieving certification of products helps manufacturers back up their environmental claims and helps purchasers identify products that are safer for human health and the environment GreenSeals standard development procedures have been reviewed by third parties and meet the guidelines of two ISO standards ISO 14020 Environmental Labels and Declarations General Principles ISO 14024 Environmental Labels and Declarations Type I Environmental Labeling Principles and Procedures Currently GreenSeal has more than 4000 certified products MAY JUN 2018 cleanfax com 27 At the core of any green cleaning program is a move to improve the efficiency of the use of chemicals