Green Seal is proposing a certification standard for trash bags and can liners to recognize products that use less virgin plastic while maintaining top performance. This standard introduces the new concept of plastic efficiency, which prioritizes the result – curbing virgin plastic use – over the method used to achieve it.
Category: Science-Based Standards
Green Seal Partnership with Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly Expands to EU
Green Seal’s partnership with Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly has expanded to the U.K. and the European Union. Amazon customers in the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, and Spain now see a “Climate Pledge Friendly” label on the listings for products certified by Green Seal.
The Healthy Green Schools & Colleges™ Standard
Update: The third public comment period for the Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Standard has ended. Green Seal and Healthy Schools Campaign are proposing several improvements to our Healthy Green Schools & Colleges™ standard criteria to clarify and consolidate standard criteria; better address differences between K-12 school districts and higher education institutions, and provide more flexibility for schools to implement measures that foster healthy indoor environments for students and staff.
Taking a Leadership Position on PFAS in Certified Products
Green Seal’s standards have long prohibited long-chain PFAS formally classified as hazardous. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that short-chain PFAS known as “safer substitutes” have the same harmful health and environmental effects as the legacy PFAS they are replacing. Green Seal’s newly expanded prohibition on all PFAS in certified cleaning and personal care products promotes safer options for consumers and recognizes industry leaders who are taking important steps to protect human health and reduce environmental pollution.
Announcing a National Pilot Standard for Healthier School Facilities
Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) and Green Seal launched a pilot standard for healthy and sustainable school facilities that focuses on measures that can make a big difference without major capital investments. This is the first national standard focused on healthier school facilities, and it is publicly available for any school district or university to use today to improve air quality.
The Green Seal Compass: Ensuring Clean Water
Producing greener products, fostering greener supply chains, and implementing water conservation policies are critical steps that today’s leaders are taking on the path to a low impact economy. Green Seal recognizes these leaders with third-party certification so that you can identify choices that protect public health, safeguard our rivers and lakes, and preserve our climate.
Prohibiting PFAS Chemicals
Green Seal is proposing a new prohibition on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a large class of chemicals that are commonly used in consumer products and associated with a number of adverse health and environmental effects. Green Seal is taking a multi-year phased approach to this initiative, with the end goal of ensuring all certified product formulas and product packaging are PFAS-free across product categories.
Eligible for Certification: Spray-Applied Microbial Cleaners
Green Seal has made important improvements to our standard criteria for microbial-based cleaning products to better recognize leadership in this popular product category. These updates allow Green Seal to verify important health protections while removing the restriction on spray-applied products. Now product manufacturers with spray-applied microbial cleaners can demonstrate that their products are formulated to be healthier, safer options for buyers.
The Green Seal Compass: Minimizing Waste
Preventing and minimizing waste is a critical goal for shifting to a low impact economy. With improved product design, less shipping of water, greater use of recovered materials, and well-performing, long-lasting products, we can reduce the waste that is so costly to our society and ecosystems. With the complexity of the market, the Green Seal Certification Mark provides clarity, signifying that a product meets a strong benchmark of health and environmental leadership — thereby making it simple for buyers to make the greener choice.
Our New Standard is Defining Sustainability for Paints and Coatings
Green Seal’s Standard for Paints, Coatings, Stains, and Sealers (GS-11) has been rewarding leading manufacturers for low-VOC content, safer formulas, and effective functional performance since it was first issued in 1993. Now, Green Seal’s paint certification is the only mark in the marketplace to qualify products for both LEED v4.1 low-emitting materials credit requirements and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly badge — making it simple for health-focused buyers to identify safer products.
Introducing Green Seal’s Compass: Health, Waste, Water, and Climate
Whether you’re exploring the Green Seal certification process or identifying safer products for your home or workplace, you may be interested in understanding what Green Seal prioritizes in its standards. From hand sanitizers and cleaning products to paints and sanitary paper, the Green Seal Compass guides our work to ensure only the healthiest, most responsible,
3M Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets – Innovation Criteria
Update: The public comment period for 3M has ended. Green Seal accepted public comments between May 17, 2021 and June 18, 2021. Learn more about 3M and its product certification status on Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Registry page. 3M has modified the claims associated with their application for Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation certification for their Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets. The company’s proposed
Expanding the Impact of our Environmental Innovation Program
Green Seal has finalized key updates to our Environmental Innovation Standard to expand the program’s ability to promote market transformation and ensure measurable health and environmental impact reductions. About Environmental Innovation Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard (GS-20) is designed for manufacturers striving to advance product innovation for environmental good. The Environmental Innovation program allows manufacturers pioneering the integration of leading-edge design and performance aspects into their products
Nyco Products’ Bug Eliminator – Innovation Criteria
Update: The public comment period for Nyco Products Company has ended. Green Seal accepted public comments between November 18, 2020 and December 23, 2020. Learn more about Nyco Products Company and its product certification status on Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Registry page. Nyco Products Company, a family-owned cleaning chemicals manufacturer, has applied for Green Seal’s
Why We’re Certifying Safer Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers
Green Seal is now certifying hand sanitizers that meet the highest standard for safety and performance in the marketplace. With the COVID-19 pandemic spurring many first-time producers to enter the market, the FDA has warned consumers to avoid hundreds of hand sanitizers because of high levels of hazardous ingredients including methanol (wood alcohol) and the contaminant 1-propanol.
