Author: Green Seal

Green Seal® is a global nonprofit committed to making sustainability everyone's business.

Aqua ChemPacs on the Rise of Dissolvable Cleaning Packs

Posted on by Green Seal
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO AQUA CHEMPACS?

We are relentlessly focused on water-soluble innovation in the cleaning products world — not just to satisfy customer demand for sustainability, but also to help protect our planet. Over the last year alone, we have prevented 36 million bottles, the equivalent of 7 million pounds of plastic waste, from reaching landfills, oceans and water ways. Our mission is to make cleaning more sustainable and keep people and businesses safe, clean, and healthy.

Over the last year alone, we have prevented 36 million bottles, the equivalent of 7 million pounds of plastic waste, from reaching landfills, oceans and water ways.
WHY DO YOU PARTNER WITH GREEN SEAL?

Green Seal is a leader in recognizing green cleaning products. With their respected name and our shared commitment to safe, sustainable products, they are a natural fit with our philosophy of creating a healthier planet.

In our marketing, we not only tout the ease of use of our innovative products but also promote the benefits of having certified green formulations. Many of our customers request this.

AQUA CHEMPACS WAS AN EARLY LEADER IN DISSOLVABLE CONCENTRATED CLEANING PRODUCTS. HAVE YOU SEEN AN UPTICK IN INTEREST IN THESE TYPES OF PRODUCTS IN THE HOUSEHOLD CONSUMER MARKET? 

We’ve been approached by numerous national brands to produce green, sustainable cleaning products. There has been a substantial increase in interest for dissolvable, concentrated packs. Today’s consumers not only recycle, but they also think that companies should take the lead. Plastic waste is a top consumer concern — especially when it ends up in landfills, oceans and waterways.

WHAT INNOVATIONS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF FROM A SUSTAINABILITY STANDPOINT?

Traditional cleaning product packaging (premixed liquids in single use plastic containers) has worked for the past 100 years or so, keeping people safe and businesses up and running. It also brings some major problems — namely plastic waste and carbon emissions. 91% of plastics are not recycled, and much of that ends up in landfills and oceans. We need to stop thinking only about what we can do with plastic waste once it’s created, and instead think about what we can do to prevent it from being created in the first place. We take great pride knowing our 100% dissolvable packs replace heavy, outdated conventional products with lightweight packaging and the concept of keeping your bottle for future use. Every time an Aqua ChemPac bottle is reused, that is one less bottle polluting the environment!

WHAT’S NEXT FOR AQUA CHEMPACS?

Innovation is our focus and Aqua ChemPacs proudly continues to research new, sustainable packaging materials and formulations. We are also launching a consumer focused brand to complement our industrial line. To help accomplish this, Aqua ChemPacs is moving into a new, state of the art facility…7 times larger than our current home!

We believe we not only sell a product but a “system”. This system delivers on a key principle that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. This concept has met great success and cost savings with our retail chain customers in the form of custom cleaning kits. We believe, along with being “green”, our water-soluble technology will meet equal success with the consumer as well.

Microbial-Based Cleaning Products

Posted on by Green Seal

Update:  On November 11, 2021, Green Seal issued six standards with updated criteria for microbial-based cleaning products. Spray-applied microbial-based cleaning products are now eligible for Green Seal certification. All documents on this criteria revision can be found on Green Seal’s Library of Standards page. 

Green Seal is proposing several important improvements to our standard criteria for microbial-based cleaning products to better recognize leadership in this popular product category.  These updates will remove unnecessary requirements and provide more opportunities to highlight healthier, safer options for buyers.

The Benefits of Microbial Products

Formulating with microbes is an exciting application of green chemistry. These naturally occurring ingredients can allow product formulas to reduce or eliminate hazardous solvents and surfactants and make it easier for producers to formulate with biobased rather than petroleum-based ingredients. In certain cases, these products are likely to be healthier, to degrade at a faster rate and under more natural conditions, and to be less harmful for aquatic life. 

When Green Seal first issued criteria for microbial-based cleaning products in 2011, we took a precautionary approach by designing heavy restrictions until more information was known about the safety and environmental impacts of this newer product type. In the decade since then, these products have proliferated across the North American and global markets with no scientific evidence they present a higher level of risk to human health or the environment than traditional cleaning products. Adding to our understanding of their safety profile, these types of products are being studied as safer options in healthcare settings. 

Removing Excessive Requirements  

Recognizing the green chemistry benefits and safety profiles of microbial-based cleaning products, Green Seal is proposing to remove unnecessary and burdensome requirements for these products that exceed those we set for other cleaning products. These key updates include:

  • Allowing certified microbial-based cleaning products to the be sold in spray packaging
  • Reducing certain labeling requirements

The requirements proposed for revision are located in the “Microorganisms Annex” of each of the following standards:

  • General Purpose Cleaners (GS-8, GS-37)
  • Laundry Care Products (GS-48, GS-51)
  • Specialty Cleaners (GS-52, GS-53) 

Seeking Feedback

Green Seal is accepting public comments on this proposal until April 8, 2021. To submit comments or schedule a conference call, contact us.

The Proposed Revisions and supplementary documents are available on Green Seal’s Standard Projects page. 

Green Seal’s reputation for credibility and market impact rests on an open and transparent process for developing and revising our science-based standards. All major standard revisions include extensive stakeholder outreach and opportunities for public input. Green Seal publishes all formally submitted comments, as well as a response to each substantive issue identified by commenters. 

TO SUBMIT COMMENTS OR SCHEDULE A CONFERENCE CALL,

Cleaning Leader Diversey Shares Views on Ecolabelling

Posted on by Green Seal
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO DIVERSEY?

As Diversey approaches 100 years of providing revolutionary cleaning and hygiene technologies, we’ve demonstrated that improving health and protecting the environment is good for business. Although it has been given many names since 1923, sustainability has been at the core of the value Diversey delivers to our customers. Energy efficiency, water conservation, waste prevention and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are not only good for the health of the planet, but they also invariably translate into economic benefits. In short, sustainability is at the core of the Diversey business strategy.

We’ve offered Green Seal certified solutions to our customers for over 15 years. Our customers often use Green Seal as a definition of a green cleaning product.
HOW DO YOU SELECT YOUR ECOLABEL PARTNERS?

We’re careful when selecting ecolabel partners, focusing on those that follow international best practices such as those outlined in ISO 14024. Ecolabel standards need to be transparent, reward more sustainable solutions, based on good science, and unbiased. Green Seal meets all those requirements and is trusted by our customers.

WHY DO YOU PARTNER WITH GREEN SEAL?

We’ve offered Green Seal certified solutions to our customers for over 15 years. Our customers often use Green Seal as a definition of a green cleaning product in addition to the water savings, energy conservation, and waste prevention that Diversey delivers to the marketplace.

The HOW HAS EARNING THE GREEN SEAL CERTIFICATION HELPED YOUR BUSINESS?

Diversey has hundreds of ecolabelled products sold around the world. Having our core cleaning products carry an ecolabel in North America allows us to transform our customers’ portfolio of solutions while also saving them money. Green Seal’s leadership on rewarding closed-loop dispensing has facilitated use of green cleaning products on a much larger scale than seen in other parts of the world.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR DIVERSEY?

Diversey recently announced the acquisition of Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide® (AHP®), an innovative and revolutionary technology. Alpha-HP® is a Green Seal certified multi-purpose cleaner that helps customers simplify the number of products needed for general purpose cleaning. The active ingredient, hydrogen peroxide breaks down to oxygen and water after the cleaning process giving Alpha-HP® an excellent environmental profile.

Safer, Healthier Hand Sanitizers

Posted on by Green Seal

Update: Green Seal accepted comments on our proposed health-focused requirements for alcohol-based hand sanitizers during a public comment period from July 30 to August 13. Green Seal published final criteria in GS-41 Hand Cleaners and Hand Sanitizers for Industrial and Institutional Use and GS-44 Soaps, Cleaners, Hand Sanitizers and Shower Products.  

Our Focus on Health

Since entering the US marketplace in the 1980s, hand sanitizers have provided an effective and efficient option for hand hygiene. US and international health organizations have called the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers the second-best hand hygiene option, after hand washing with soap and water. Hand sanitizers are now critical to public health worldwide as governments and healthcare groups work to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

However, hand sanitizers available on the US market are sometimes formulated with hazardous ingredients linked to cancer, allergies, skin and eye irritation, and other harmful health effects. 

In addition, with sudden demand spurring many first-time producers to enter the market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers to beware of incorrectly formulated hand sanitizers. As of now, the FDA has listed 75 hand sanitizer products to avoid because they contain high levels of hazardous ingredients, like methanol. 

Given the strong demand for these products and their critical role in providing safer, healthier spaces from schools to grocery stores, Green Seal has developed a health-protective framework for alcohol-based hand sanitizer certification.

Our Requirements 

Green Seal’s proposed criteria for hand sanitizers set protective health requirements to provide purchasers and consumers a simple way choose safer and effective products. 

Because people apply hand sanitizer directly to their skin up to 30 times a day, it is vital that products are formulated with healthier ingredients. Under the proposed requirements, certified hand sanitizers must be free of carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins and endocrine disruptors, with additional ingredient restrictions to prevent skin irritation, eye damage and allergies.

As always, consumers can be confident that Green Seal-certified products:

  • meet uncompromising performance standards
  • conform to rigorous health requirements
  • do not pollute waterways, and
  • use environmentally preferable packaging materials

Final Criteria Coming Soon

Green Seal’s reputation for credibility and market impact rests on an open and transparent process for developing our science-based standards. All of our major standard revisions are open for review and public feedback. Green Seal publishes all formally submitted comments, as well as a response to each substantive issue identified by commenters.

Green Seal accepted public comments on the proposed criteria between July 30 and August 13. All comments are now under review, and Green Seal will publish a Response to Comments before issuing the Final Criteria for alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

The Proposed Criteria and supplementary documents can be reviewed on Green Seal’s Standard Projects page.

Interview from the Front Lines: Cleaning for COVID-19

Posted on by Green Seal

With cleaning workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, Green Seal caught up with Michael Doherty, president of BMS Building Maintenance Service, to learn how the industry-leading green cleaning company is approaching the challenges of operating during a pandemic.   

Certified to Green Seal’s GS-42 commercial cleaning standard since 2014, BMS cleans more than 100 million square feet of space across New York, Chicago and the Mid-Atlantic, including iconic buildings like Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. 

GS: What are your clients asking you for right now, and how are you communicating to them about how you’re addressing the outbreak? 

MD: Now more than ever the importance of the work we do is top of mind for clients.  The biggest concern is how our staff is cleaning their spaces, and whether our procedures and the chemicals we use will disinfect for COVID-19.  In many cases, clients are asking us to increase the frequency of cleaning, particularly for high touch surfaces such as doorknobs, kitchen surfaces and appliances, and restroom fixtures.  Additionally, there’s a high demand for certain supplies such as hand sanitizer liquids and wipes.  We are providing these to clients, and continually working our supply chain to ensure we have stock.

We are communicating through a variety of methods, including mass communications, email, but most importantly, over the phone in real time.  As the situation is evolving so rapidly, voice communication is often the quickest means to get the work done.

GS: How have you had to adjust your operations or internal communications to deal with this crisis?

MD: As the COVID-19 situation began to unfold, BMS established an internal emergency communications team, consisting of company leadership and representatives from our operations, safety, and quality assurance departments.  The team members are in regular communication to evaluate factors affecting our ability to deliver service, and to make operational adjustment to meet new demands.

In many cases, roles and responsibilities have also shifted.  Team members are being pulled from their regular work to focus on critical COVID-related initiatives that wouldn’t normally fall in their scope of responsibility.  It’s an “all hands-on- deck” mentality.  I’m proud of how our team has risen to the occasion.

Our internal communications have also been affected by the fact that all “non-essential” staff is now working from home.  The company is holding more virtual meetings than ever and has established new tools for group communication such as mass-texting.

GS: Have you had to handle any supply chain issues and adjust your procurement? Have you had to quickly switch to different products and conduct new trainings?  

MD: We are working closely with our suppliers to stay abreast of changing supply conditions and supply chain shortages.  Products in highest demand include sanitizing wipes and liquids, disinfecting chemicals, and face masks.  

We are adding safety stock where possible for these critical products.  We are sourcing from multiple suppliers, not relying on one sole vendor or one brand manufacturer.  As worldwide demand for these items continues to grow, shipping times are often in flux, so we are closely tracking all orders.

GS: How are you protecting your frontline employees? 

MD: For our cleaning staff, we are taking proactive approaches to infection prevention and emergency preparedness in response to concerns about COVID‐19, including providing personal protective equipment as necessary, and continued safety and hygiene training.  Additionally, we are closely tracking cases or potential cases in our buildings and notifying our staff as soon as we are notified.

We are also attempting to educate them with whatever information becomes available.


GS: Are you encountering questions about the effectiveness of green cleaning for coronavirus? If so, how are you addressing them? 

MD: The EPA has published a list of approved disinfectants for COVID-19, which has been the number one concern for our clients.  While some disinfectant manufacturers claim to be green, the reality is that EPA considers all disinfectants to be a part of the pesticide family and requires them all to be EPA registered.  

That said, some disinfectants have less harsh ingredients than others.  Product with ingredients such as alcohol, lactic and citric acid, and hydrogen peroxide are examples of what we look for. 

Additionally, another thing to note is that before we disinfect, we clean.  We continue to use the same green products and processes already in place for cleaning.

GS: Can you give us an overview of your protocols for de-contamination of a building that may have had an individual with coronavirus? 

MD: In the regions where we provide this service, we follow very specific protocol.  To start we isolate the area and dispose of any contaminated materials.  We then use an advanced electrostatic disinfecting application that offers 360 degrees of touchless disinfection and sanitizing.  It’s important to note that even with the electrostatic disinfecting application there is no way of knowing if every infected surface has been treated. BMS cannot guarantee surfaces are contamination-free.

After the job is done, we dispose of all PPE according to BMS’s Pathogen Exposure Control Plan, and remove signage and barricades following completion of cleaning and disinfection.

GS: How are you supporting and responding to any fears and concerns or sick leave requests by your staff?  Have you been able to respond to new requests for services with the staff you have?   

MD: We are requiring staff to stay home if they are sick or experiencing any symptoms of acute respiratory illness. Additionally, if staff has had contact with someone who has or may have coronavirus, we are requiring them to stay home.  We are closely tracking staffing, and continually assessing the need to shift staffing to maximize resources.

GS: With more people teleworking, have you been able to shift work hours for your cleaning crews? 

MD: As more clients are work remotely, tenant spaces are shutting down completely.  Our goal is and will be to continue to reallocate those cleaning crews to other projects to the best of our ability.   

In many cases we are rotating the cleaning crews methodically to avoid an entire crew being infected should one person become infected.  

Our cleaning staff are on the front lines of this pandemic, working tirelessly, day and night. The work they do will save lives, and we could not be more grateful to them.  

GS: When was the last time you had to implement these kinds of emergency protocols? For example – during flu season at a school, or during the 2009 H1N1?

MD: In 2009 during H1N1 we provided continuous sanitizing of public areas in buildings.  But unlike what we are dealing with today, we did no heavy-duty disinfecting of tenant spaces.  

Other comparable events would be the emergency procedures the company implemented after 9/11 and after Hurricane Sandy in New York City.

GS: What are some lessons that you’ve learned in this tough time and while addressing urgent requests?

MD: Keeping spaces clean and helping keep clients healthy has always been our goal.  We have seen validation of this goal and the work we already do.  That said, we have also learned more than we’d like to about infectious disease protocol.  However, we have also adapted our practices to major disinfecting of tenant and building spaces in accordance with CDC protocol.  We have learned that communication between management and building staff is critical in extended emergencies.  It is vital to make line managers and cleaning staff feel informed, valuable, and safe.   Also, we have learned that working by telecommunication is not nearly as painful as we had anticipated.

Mike Doherty is President of BMS and its subsidiary companies. He has over 35 years of experience in the building service industry. Since 1998, he has run all operations for BMS and is currently responsible for janitorial, security, architectural surface maintenance and window cleaning services managing more than 2,800 employees.

Agile Methods Lead to Better Processes and Better Standards

Posted on by Green Seal

In the last year, Green Seal has been reviewing our Standard Development Program to identify opportunities to accelerate market transformation through our standards. We’re excited to roll-out the first of several new and improved standard development tools planned for 2020.  

Today, we’re glad to introduce a new agile process that will allow us to quickly correct and improve the standards in ways that do not substantively change the requirements. This new process is the release of quarterly Corrections and Clarifications Reports.

Corrections and Clarifications Reports (CCRs)

CCRs include the list of standards that have been improved, their new edition numbers, and the details and justifications of the changes. Non-substantive changes include minor wording and phrasing changes to improve clarity, formatting changes to improve readability, corrections of typos, and updates of external references. 

Today we published our first CCR, which lists 28 changes across 7 standards, including six cleaning product standards and two personal care product standards. To dive into the details, head to our website and download the April 2020 CCR. As a quarterly report, the next CCR will be published in July. 

Improvement, Transparency, and Best Practices

Green Seal’s standards are market transformation tools. They are the products of thousands of hours of research, hundreds of stakeholder discussions, in-depth collaborations with industry and public health experts, and at least 120 days of public scrutiny. We do not make any changes to these documents without careful consideration. The content published in CCRs will reflect our careful review with issues being resolved through this scheduled quality assurance.

Adhering to best practices in standard development, Green Seal maintains at least five years of public records of any changes – substantive and non-substantive – to our standards. You can scroll through the evolution of our standards in our Library of Standards Documents.

Substantive changes to standards – those that raise or lower the bar of health and environmental leadership – will still be proposed to stakeholders via a 60-day public comment period.

More Details on Non-Substantive Changes

  • The changes will not affect the certification status of a product or service. Companies that are in conformance will remain in conformance regardless of the changes published in the CCR
  • The changes noted within CCRs do not change the intent or stringency of the standard requirement. CCRs do not raise or lower the bar of Green Seal standards.

We look forward to sharing more improvements and new tools in the coming months. If you have questions about the CCRs or a comment on any of our standards, please reach out to us.  

Honoring the Custodial Workers Who Keep Our Schools Healthy

Posted on by Green Seal

Right now, 15 states and 2 U.S. territories have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year due to concerns with the rapid spread of COVID-19. These closures have disrupted the formal education of approximately 55 million students across U.S. public and private institutions.  But they have not slowed the activity of school custodial and housekeeping workers, who have been working tirelessly to maintain a healthy and safe environment for students and staff when onsite learning resumes. 

While many schools are closed for learning, some higher-ed students remain on campus due to lack of housing alternatives. Critical scientific research must proceed. And essential facility operations continue. These inhabited spaces must be kept clean and free from potential exposure, and custodial and housekeeping workers are on the frontlines of protection.

Schools with robust green cleaning programs have risen to the occasion, as demonstrated by those represented through our Healthy Green Schools & Colleges (HGSC) Program. The University of Washington has developed creative ways to communicate their cleaning efforts to the broader community and assure those on campus they are up to task. Salt Lake City School District has provided their bloodborne pathogen training publicly so other schools and school districts can benefit. And HGSC school facility & custodial directors banded together to create a COVID-19 Webinar Series to provide immediate peer-to-peer learning opportunities centered on cleaning for COVID-19.

School custodial and housekeeping staff are unsung heroes during this global pandemic. On National Healthy Schools Day, they deserve our thanks for everything they’re doing to keep us safe. Even if we’re not able to thank them in person, sending a letter or an email to your school’s custodial department is a simple way to let them know you value their role. It’s the least we can do. Visit the Healthy Schools Network and click on the National Healthy Schools Day: Plan Your Activity Page to help you plan your way to celebrate the custodial and housekeeping team keeping our schools safe and healthy.

ABCO Natura Yarn Mop Heads – Innovation Criteria

Posted on by Green Seal

Update: The public comment period for ABCO Products has ended. Green Seal accepted public comments between April 6, 2020 and May 7, 2020. Learn more about ABCO Products and its product certification status on Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Registry page.

Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Beta Advisory Program allows product manufacturers to explore environmental and health impacts, engage in transformative product innovation, and achieve global recognition to a new type of sustainability standard. 

ABCO Products is a member of the initial cohort of beta program participants who are pursuing certification of their products under the Environmental Innovation Standard (GS-20, Edition 2.0).  The company submitted their NaturaYarn mop head for GS-20 Review with the following innovation claim: NaturaYarn mop heads are able to reduce environmental impacts as a result of proprietary equipment design using garment industry scraps resulting in 100% post-industrial reclaimed textile mop heads. 

According to ABCO Products, the NaturaYarn mop head eliminates the greenhouse gas impacts associated with extracting virgin materials for plastic textile production; the product eliminates the use of additional agrochemicals, water consumption, and disruption to habitats associated with growing and harvesting additional virgin cotton; and this product establishes a circular supply chain by increasing the value of and demand for post-industrial apparel scraps.

Seeking Feedback

Green Seal is seeking your feedback on the innovation criteria document, including innovation claims, impact analysis, and certification requirements for this product.  We invite all members of our stakeholder community and the general public to submit comments. Feedback will be accepted through 11:59PM ET on May 7, 2020.

About ABCO Products’ NaturaYarn

When used as intended, this product provides wet and dry floor care maintenance in commercial spaces including (but not limited to) industrial, hospitality, educational, and food service settings.

Innovation Claim Details

ABCO Products claims that through a proprietary equipment design resulting in mop heads made from 100% post-industrial blended cotton and polyester waste sourced from reclaimed textiles from garment manufacturing scrap, NaturaYarn mop heads are able to achieve a minimum of 20% reduction of two or more significant environmental or human health impacts associated with this product category.

The product design and manufacturing process leverages the textile waste material of a garment design center and promotes circularity within the apparel sector – one of the most well-documented and environmentally impactful manufacturing sectors. Textile waste is at an all-time global high; massive amounts of water and energy are used, and pollutants released into the environment, to generate textile material that would otherwise never reach an end user. 

In addition, ABCO has installed on-site solar arrays at its production facility to reduce energy demand from non-renewable sources during the manufacture of its mop heads. ABCO continues to increase the share of its energy demand from on-site, renewable sources.

Green Seal has not yet validated any of these claims. Once Green Seal finalizes the requirements after this public comment period, ABCO Products will submit documentation for third-party certification by Green Seal. NaturaYarn will achieve Green Seal Certification for Environmental Innovation if all requirements within the ABCO Products NaturaYarn Criteria Document are met.

Environmental and Human Health Impacts

Mop heads are commonly made from blends of cotton and synthetic materials. The production of both materials creates significant environmental impacts. 

Cotton serves as the basis for nearly 50 percent of the world’s clothes, household goods, and commercial products, and accounts for 85 percent of all natural fibers used in these materials. According to the World Wildlife Fund, “cotton’s most prominent environmental impacts result from the use of agrochemicals (especially pesticides), the consumption of water, and the conversion of habitat to agricultural use.  Conventional production practices for cotton involve the application of substantial fertilizers and pesticides. Pesticides threaten the quality of soil and water, as well as the health of biodiversity in and downstream from the fields. Heavy use of pesticides also raises concern for the health of farm workers and nearby populations.” The organization adds that “runoff of pesticides, fertilizers, and minerals from cotton fields contaminates rivers, lakes, wetlands, and underground aquifers. These pollutants affect biodiversity directly by immediate toxicity or indirectly through long-term accumulation.”

Synthetic fibers are made from synthesized polymers whose raw materials include petroleum-based chemicals. These material inputs  present significant resource extraction impacts, particularly related to greenhouse gas emissions. According to the World Wildlife Fund, polyester (a comparable synthetic material to nylon) requires 3-5 times more energy to produce than cotton textiles.

During the manufacturing phase, common environmental impacts from textile production (whether cotton or synthetic fiber) include soil and water quality degradation from toxic effluent emissions from wet treatment processes from the use of dyes, dye carriers, lubricants, detergents, and complexing agents.

According to van der Velden et. al., energy use for production of yarn, fabric, and the finished product (including shipping) is dependent on a wide range of variables related to the processes employed and the region of manufacturer. The variables include the type of fiber, the makeup, the dyestuff, the dyeing technique, and the machinery employed to produce the fiber. 

Learn more about the environmental and human health Impacts of this product category by downloading the Innovation Claims.

About Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard

Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard (GS-20) provides a framework for the certification of environmental innovations in a variety of product categories. Applicants follow the steps below to complete the process: 

Green Seal GS-20 Environmental Innovation Cycle Graphic

Earning certification under the GS-20 Standard demonstrates that Green Seal, an independent third party, has verified the environmentally innovative aspect(s) of a product. The certification includes verification that the product innovation results in a significant reduction of human health and environmental impacts compared

Serving Our Stakeholders During the COVID-19 Health Crisis

Posted on by Green Seal

Green Seal is closely monitoring developments regarding the novel coronavirus COVID-19, which was declared a national emergency by the White House and a pandemic by the World Health Organization. During this emerging and rapidly changing situation, we rely on the CDC for updated information as it becomes available. 

Green Seal is committed to providing trusted information and resources on staying safe and healthy amid the challenges caused by COVID-19. Whether you’re a consumer, business owner, school leader or Green Seal certified provider, we have resources for you at www.greenseal.org/coronavirus.


Many Green Seal certified producers and providers are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing vital cleaning products, cleaning services, hygienic products, and lodging or food services while meeting the highest sustainability standard in the market. Green Seal is absolutely committed to serving these stakeholders with the highest quality support. To that end, Green Seal is taking the following steps

  • To reduce unnecessary added workloads on overburdened teams, Green Seal is suspending compliance monitoring activity until the crisis has abated.
  • Due to extreme impacts to the fiber supply chain, Green Seal will temporarily make reasonable accommodations to fiber sourcing compliance for certified paper producers, while also requiring periodic reporting on fiber content. This measure will aid in the continued market flow of hygienic and other paper products that consistently meet the highest sustainability standard in the market.
  • Green Seal will conduct virtual audits instead of in-person audits where necessary. This will allow any companies that have submitted for new certification evaluations to achieve conditional Green Seal certifications in a timely manner.

To protect the health of our staff and the general public, Green Seal transitioned to operating as a virtual workplace for all staff beginning March 12th.  While this measure allows us to do our part in our communities, we have taken steps to ensure that this will not affect our ongoing operations and customer support. 

We will continue to update this blog and our COVID-19 Resources page as new information and resources become available – and we are always available for questions here. 

Thank you for allowing Green Seal to serve you during this challenging time. 

Our Standard Means Uncompromising Cleaning Performance

Posted on by Green Seal

At Green Seal, we often hear the question: how do I know green cleaning products work as effectively as conventional ones? With coronavirus prompting more frequent use of cleaning products (and more inhalation of cleaning chemicals), here’s a window into Green Seal’s performance requirements for certified green cleaning products.

Defining Clean

Amid the coronavirus epidemic, it is important to remember that proper cleaning is a critical first step in the disinfecting process. Disinfectants are less effective when applied directly to dirty surfaces because germs can hide behind bits of dirt.

Proper cleaning is critical to disinfection

To clean is to remove visible soil from objects and surfaces where germs can hide. How you measure effectiveness depends on the kind of surface you’re trying to clean.

Shortly after launching, Green Seal worked together with hundreds of cleaning industry and public health experts to agree on how to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning products in a way that can be tested in a lab – so we can clearly see what works and what doesn’t work. 

For example, glass cleaners should be able to remove toothpaste splatters and hairspray from your bathroom mirror while avoiding leaving behind unsightly smears and streaks.

Carpet cleaners should be able to remove dirt and stains and to avoid re-soiling- which is where soapy, sticky residue from the cleaner ends up attracting more soil and dirt.

And general-purpose cleaners, like the kind used on kitchen counters, should be able to remove a minimum of 80% of dirt from a surface.

If It Doesn’t Work, It Won’t Be Certified by Green Seal

A foundational belief at Green Seal is that a product is not green if it doesn’t work as consumers expect it to.  The odds are that an under-performing product will be thrown away and replaced with one that works better – which is a terrible waste of resources. All of our standards include strict performance requirements so that consumers can be confident that Green Seal-certified products are proven-healthier and proven as effective as conventional alternatives.

When it comes to performance, not all certifications are created equal.  Purchasers and consumers should always check whether a certification body includes performance requirements in its standard.

Green Seal’s Testing Requirements

Before achieving Green Seal certification, general purpose cleaners are rigorously tested and re-tested to prove that they can successfully and consistently remove dirt and grime from surfaces.

How does this test work? Green Seal requires testing based on a nationally developed method for evaluating cleaning products. The standard, from ASTM (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials), details the steps to take to evaluate a cleaner’s efficacy in removing test soil from white vinyl tiles. This test method was not specially designed for green cleaning products – many conventional cleaners have been tested this way as well.

The standard provides a recipe for the test soil, which acts as a stand-in for dirt that most of us encounter in real life. The recipe includes ingredients such as natural humus (organic material that includes decayed leaf litter), used motor oil, iron oxide (rust), kerosene, vegetable shortening, and olive oil.  

First, a set amount of the test soil is applied to vinyl floor tiles and air dried for 24 hours. Then, a fresh sponge that has been soaked with the cleaning solution is attached to the cleaning apparatus, which scrubs the tile exactly 10 times at the same applied pressure.  Next, the tile is rinsed off with water.

The amount of soil removed is determined by using a reflectometer that measures light reflected off of the tile (0=black, 100= white). The more light that is reflected, the cleaner the tile. Each tile is measured three times and the average is used as the final cleaning score.

This process is repeated with at least 3 different sets of tiles and sponges. The cleaning product must receive an average score of 80% soil removal to be considered effective and to qualify for Green Seal certification.

Learn More

For more information about proper cleaning and disinfecting, visit the EPA and the CDC for the best guidance for preventing coronavirus in your home or building.  You can also find Green Seal’s blog on safely disinfecting for coronavirus here, including a curated list of some of the safest EPA-registered disinfectants.

USC Hotel: Why We Pursued Green Seal Certification

Posted on by Green Seal

by Ron Mackovich, USC University Communications

When USC rebranded our university-owned hotel as USC Hotel a year ago, we made it a goal to be an example of sustainability practices in the hospitality industry.  Traditional hospitality practices use significant resources and materials and generate substantial waste. We aim to serve our hotel guests and the Trojan Family responsibly and strive for a more sustainable future for the next generation of Trojans.

In a major step toward sustainability, USC Hotel has now achieved certification from Green Seal, a national leader in setting environmental standards. To earn this premier certification, the hotel underwent an in-depth audit of purchasing records, practices and on-site operations to meet Green Seal’s GS-33 green lodging standard.


A Sustainable Stay

USC Hotel’s sustainability efforts, aligned with Green Seal’s guiding principles, have produced impressive results. Since January 2019, the hotel has kept 250,000 plastic bottles out of landfills and composted 5,000 pounds of food waste. By switching to glassware in guest rooms, the hotel is saving 36,000 paper cups a year.

USC Hotel has transitioned to environmentally conscious vendors, including those that incorporate recyclables into their packaging and accept the packaging back after it’s been used. Linen, blankets and pillows that are being replaced are donated to local homeless and animal shelters. Thanks to waste diversion and composting, the hotel has kept over 30 tons of materials out of landfills. A property-wide conversion to LED lighting is nearly complete, which will cut electricity use by up to 75%.


Silver-Level Certification

USC Hotel is certified at the advanced silver level, which requires facility-wide measures to reduce waste, water and energy use, along with products that contribute to pollution. Single-use plastics are being reduced or eliminated under a “less is best” policy. Drought resistant landscaping and plumbing fixtures are cutting water use, and the hotel has switched to nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning products. Other sustainable steps include:

  • Durable equipment and furniture that can be reupholstered, refinished or recycled.
  • Shower curtains made of recycled plastic water bottles.
  • New, energy-efficient washers and dryers.
  • Extensive staff training in waste reduction, water conservation and energy savings.

USC could not have achieved this rigorous certification without the enthusiastic support from our people. Our team members are partners in sustainability and have us their full support in learning and following better practices.

USC Hotel’s Green Seal certification is a milestone in the hotel’s commitment to a sustainable urban future and lines up with the university’s forthcoming 2028 sustainability plan. We look forward to partnering with Green Seal as we continually seek new measures to reduce USC Hotel’s impact on the environment. 

Kittrich Shares What Green Seal Means for Consumers

Posted on by Green Seal

by Rachel Bolin, Kittrich Corporation Formulator

Update: You can find Kittrich’s Eco-Me brand certified products on Amazon here

Can cleaning products be effective and be safer for people and the planet?  At Kittrich Corporation®, we think they can.  

To prove just how serious we are about making a difference to the health of our planet, we set out to certify our plant-based formulations in our Eco-Me® and Little Twig® brands with Green Seal®. Having the Green Seal certification means a product has met rigorous standards proving they work just as effectively as conventional products without including harmful chemicals.

We are proud to announce that our Little Twig Dish Soap & Bottle Wash and Eco-Me Dish Soap, Steel Cleaner, and Wood Polish have officially been Green Seal certified.  

We choose to pursue Green Seal certification because we know just how high a standard Green Seal sets and what seeing that seal on our label would mean for consumers looking for better alternatives.  Having the Green Seal certification mark symbolizes that we care about the health of our environment and our customers, while setting us apart from the competition.   

Eco-Me and Little Twig are made with simple ingredients such as vegetable glycerin, coconut derived surfactants, and food grade preservatives. Each label includes every ingredient in our formulation, and our ingredients are free from harmful chemicals. Little Twig and Eco-Me cleaning products have become a staple in many homes – now, our customers can feel even more confident that they are using safer products that have been tested and certified by Green Seal. 

We work hard to put out the best possible products and being Green Seal certified is a great way to shout our mission out to the world. We are honored to apply this seal as we know that our consumers consistently search for brands that care about the future of the planet and the people who borrow it. 

(Read the press release here.)

Partnership Leads to Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Program

Posted on by Green Seal

For the past 30 years, Green Seal® has served as the nation’s most trusted ecolabel for products and services. Millions of Americans interact with a Green Seal label every day, from the cleaning procedures used in their office buildings to the low-VOC paint used on their bedroom walls. We have certified thousands of products, services, and spaces used by families, companies, government agencies, and institutions around the country. 

Now, we’re setting our sights on our nation’s schools: Green Seal is partnering with pioneer advocacy organization Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) to create the Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Program. Together, we envision a world in which everyone has equitable access to schools that improve the health of people and the planet. Every day in the U.S. more than 76 million people from all walks of life spend time in a school or university as students, staff, and faculty. This partnership brings great opportunity to improve how schools serve our communities and empower them as change agents for a more sustainable society. 

Healthy Green Schools & Colleges will be a simple, effective, verifiable program to help schools with the why, what, and how of designing and implementing healthy green facilities management practices. Building on HSC’s popular 5 Steps to Green Cleaning in Schools and Green Seal’s industry-leading cleaning services standard (GS-42), the program will expand to address a range of issues including indoor air quality monitoring, integrated pest management, and procurement. And most important of all, we will make sure facilities teams and green school champions have the knowledge, resources, tools, and support they need to succeed.

As we begin this journey, we’d love to hear from you. What green practices have you implemented in your school? Are you interested but don’t know where to start? Healthy Green Schools & Colleges is here. We’re looking to connect with K-12 and higher-ed practitioners of all experience levels. It takes a village to improve the health of our kids, neighbors, and planet. There’s a lot of work to do, and we’re excited to get started.

Titanium Dioxide Whitens in Enzyme-Based Cleaning

Posted on by Green Seal

Green Seal has issued new editions of our cleaning product standards with one minor change: We now allow titanium dioxide as an ingredient in enzyme-based products, within certain conditions.

Titanium dioxide is a colorant that is included to whiten and brighten many types of products – from food to paints and personal care products. In enzyme-based cleaning products, like with paints and makeup, consumers show preference for whiter and brighter options and this is why manufacturers see titanium dioxide as a key ingredient.

Titanium dioxide was previously prohibited in all cleaning products because it is classified as a “Group 2B” carcinogen, i.e., “Possibly Carcinogenic” when inhaled1 (and only when inhaled).  Because we’ve seen this ingredient in a wide range of enzyme-based cleaning products, we conducted several health impact analyses and identified a meaningful solution. We developed a set of requirements that ensures that titanium dioxide particles will not become airborne when the product is used. Below we’ve walked through this framework of requirements and summarized our key considerations, but you can find the full technical proposal on our website.

 Our Open and Transparent Process

As always, we published this proposal for public comment and actively solicited feedback during a six-month period in order to ensure that we heard perspectives from all interested groups. This open process and our evidence-based decision-making is at the core of Green Seal standard development.

Green Seal Focuses on What Matters

We take our role seriously as an environmental organization that sets the bar for sustainability and defines meaningful health protections for products and services. We work to advance industries toward healthier, safer, and greener practices, and also to ensure a wide range of certified products so that conscious consumers can have their pick.

In this case, the results of our health impact analyses demonstrated that we could confidently allow manufactures to provide certified products that are formulated with titanium dioxide. With this move, we ensure that these certified products can be just as white and bright as their conventional counterparts while being significantly healthier and greener. It’s a minor change for our standards; this is one of more than 65,000 chemicals that we scrutinize during our certification processes – however, it’s a meaningful change for our product manufacturing community and a reminder that we focus on real-world health and environmental impacts instead of simply checking the boxes.  

 Protecting the Health of the User

In our proposal, we demonstrated that titanium dioxide can be present in an enzyme-based cleaning product without any risk of the product user inhaling this compound.

  • For foam, gel, and liquid products – the product itself does not become airborne. Therefore, we set no conditions on allowing titanium dioxide as an ingredient.
  • For solid products, dust can be generated by the product that could be inhaled during the use phase. Therefore, in order to include titanium dioxide as an ingredient, the manufacturer must provide evidence that the titanium dioxide particles are bound within the product matrix or to bonded to other product ingredients. This protective requirement aligns with the protections stated by the State of California’s Proposition 65 program, which only considers titanium dioxide carcinogenic when it is airborne and unbound.
  • For liquid products, there is an existing Green Seal requirement that states that enzyme-based cleaning products cannot be sold in spray packaging; therefore, we’ve already set requirements that prevent liquid from becoming airborne via dispersed spray and inhaled by the product user.

Within this framework, Green Seal has maintained a strict level of health protections for product users. As always, when Green Seal appears on a product label, consumers can be confident that these products will work effectively, will protect their family, workers, and our environment – and now, thanks to this revision, these products might be a bit whiter.

Branch Creek De-Icer Melts Competition with Certification

Posted on by Green Seal
TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW CHLORIDE-FREE ICE MELT.

Entry® uses a potassium formate blend that spares homes, residential yards, campuses and corporate parks from the hazardous and corrosive effects of rock salt and other chloride-based deicing products. By breaking down the hydrogen bonds that form when water freezes, Entry removes thin layers of ice and snow and prevents new ones from accumulating up to a freezing point of minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, colder than any other product on the market.

WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

I knew we were entering a figurative lion’s den. The unregulated North American ice melt market is awash in inflated environmental claims and blatant greenwashing. Even if research and development panned out as hoped, our as-yet-unknown de-icer might not endure among louder, win-at-all-costs products and brands.

We can point to Entry’s Green Seal certification, and what it stands for, instead of engaging in evidence-free debates about a product’s environmental and performance claims.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE GREEN SEAL?

Green Seal’s criteria, designed to protect our planet and health, emphasize performance. It’s widely said – and I agree – that a product shouldn’t qualify as “green” if it doesn’t work as well as, or better than, other commercially available alternatives. After all, if a product’s better for the environment but doesn’t perform, have we really made progress or solved anything? And because Green Seal uses verifiable research and sound practices their benchmark becomes the market’s standard. 

HOW DOES BEING GREEN SEAL-CERTIFIED HELP DIFFERENTIATE ENTRY? 

If another product wants to make environmental or performance-related claims, we encourage them to pursue a similar certification. If they don’t, we can point to Entry’s Green Seal certification, and what it stands for, instead of engaging in evidence-free debates about a product’s environmental and performance claims.

HOW IS THE ENTRY DE-ICER BETTER FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT? 

Entry was designed from the molecular level to the final product packaging to reduce adverse environmental impacts, making it safer for families, pets, waterways, and floors. When rock salt and other calcium, sodium and magnesium granular chloride products seep into groundwater supplies or wash into lakes or streams, they reduce the available oxygen levels and threaten aquatic wildlife. Salt-based ice melters also can erode soil, kill plants, burn grasses, and burn the skin and eyes of people and pets.

HOW DOES THE GREEN SEAL STANDARD SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION?

The prospect of investing in a worthy product, only to have it get lost in a whirlwind of dishonesty, almost kept us from moving forward. The unchecked marketing claims in the ice melt market are particularly troublesome given the number of ice melts that claim to be high performance, pet safe, and/or environmentally sound without any independent verification. Consumers depend on these assurances. Much is at stake and much can be lost when they don’t deliver. People understandably have differing opinions about government regulation, but as a well-intentioned brand in an unregulated market, I crave the accountability that regulation provides.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

Green Seal verification of both environmental integrity and efficacy let Entry not only enter the market with a reputable ally behind it, but also let us introduce structure and accountability to the larger ice melt scene. Even with a Green Seal certification, Entry® chloride-free ice melt will face challenges. But carrying a highly regarded certification in a space that’s never had any standardization is, I think, a major step in the right direction – for our product and for us all.