Category: Green Seal Notice

Our New Standard is Defining Sustainability for Paints and Coatings

Posted on by Green Seal

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.

Working with Paint Industry Leaders

The North American paints and coatings industry has made major strides in green chemistry innovation in tandem with growing market demand for healthier, greener products. Leading manufacturers have achieved significant reductions in VOC content and hazardous chemical ingredients while maintaining the performance consumers expect.

Green Seal’s original leadership standard for paints and coatings, published in 1993, was the first to set limits on VOCs. Today, Green Seal’s is still the only standard in this product category to restrict carcinogens, reproductive toxins, hazardous air pollutants, alkylphenol ethoxylates, and a host of other chemicals, ensuring certified products are safer for building occupants while providing uncompromising functional performance.

Manufacturer investments and innovations have led to safer supply chains and improved air quality around the world. Case in point: In 2020, paints and coatings meeting Green Seal’s leadership standard prevented more than half a million pounds of VOC pollution across 120 million square feet of LEED-certified building space alone.

Aligning with LEED to Provide Buyers a Simple Choice

Green Seal regularly evaluates our standards for accuracy and relevance to ensure they correctly define sustainability leadership in an evolving marketplace. The updated standard protects indoor air quality; ensures certified products are safer for people and the planet; and aligns with the most recent version of the LEED green building standard (LEED v4.1), a key market driver.

The standard’s three key updates are:

  • Strengthening VOC Content Limits. All products must comply with the VOC limits defined by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB VOC limits reduce the potential for the formation of photochemical ozone and smog, which can cause serious respiratory issues.
  • Requiring VOC emissions testing. Products must undergo VOC emissions testing conducted in an environmental chamber according to the State of California’s Department of Public Health Standard Method (CDPH). This test allows Green Seal to confirm low levels of off-gassing after paints are applied, increasing health protections for building occupants and promoting overall healthier indoor environments.
  • Aligning two chemical restrictions with LEED language. A clarification that perchloroethylene and methylene chloride — which Green Seal prohibited in certified products decades ahead of government regulation — are not allowed to be intentionally added to product formulas at any level.

Products certified to Green Seal’s revised standard meet both the chemical content and VOC emissions testing requirements of LEED v4.1, making it easy for green building project managers to identify products that check all the boxes.

A Healthy Indoor Air Standard for Schools

Posted on by Sara Porter

Update: The third public comment period for the Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Standard has ended. Green Seal accepted public comments between August 15, 2022 and August 30, 2022.

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

Green Seal is proposing several important improvements to our standard criteria for Healthy Green Schools & Colleges. These updates will align Green Seal’s standard with other industry leaders’ guidelines; set additional and more substantial monitoring requirements; establish the point system that will be used as the basis for certification; and provide more opportunities for schools to make healthier, safer choices.

The pandemic has made creating healthy school environments an urgent national priority and brought to light the serious under-investment in school facilities nationwide.

But the fact is, even before the pandemic, nearly half of U.S. schools reported indoor air quality problems that put the health of students and staff at risk.

Unhealthy indoor air, inadequate ventilation, and chemical exposure from cleaning and maintenance routines continue to present systemic challenges in school districts. On top of health concerns, these issues are linked to poor concentration and test performance in students, adding preventable barriers to achievement.

A Standard by and for School Facility Professionals

School facility management professionals are vital stewards of school environments, making daily decisions that affect health, safety and sustainability.  While they are experts at doing a lot with a little, budget realities mean they often lack proper funding and resources for the essential work they do caring for students and staff.

That is why Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) and Green Seal are creating the first national standard for healthy and sustainable school facilities – with a focus on measures that can make a big difference without major capital investments.

This draft Healthy Green Schools & Colleges standard was designed in partnership with the award-winning school facility directors on our Steering Committee, who know firsthand what facility professionals need on the ground.

The science-based standard is geared toward K-12 school districts and higher education institutions and designed to be accessible for schools across the spectrum, whether they are just getting started exploring environmental health and sustainability improvements or are already a leader.

Building a Network of Peers

The Healthy Green Schools & Colleges standard will be the centerpiece of a comprehensive program designed to support school facility management professionals.

A self-assessment tool will allow schools to objectively measure their current indoor environmental health and sustainability performance, while guidebooks, trainings and other tools will help them determine and take their next steps. Then, a points-based scoring system will encourage schools to keep improving at their own pace, with support from a network of facility management peers across the country who are on a similar journey.

Schools that reach the top level of achievement will be able to apply for third-party certification, earning public recognition for their verified expertise in providing healthy school environments.

Schools have a rare opportunity right now to focus on their facilities. The American Rescue Plan and 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act provided tens of billions for American schools, including funds that can be used for health- and sustainability focused facility upgrades.

The way that schools manage their facilities speaks to how they value their students, staff, and surrounding communities. Healthy Green Schools & Colleges is committed to providing schools with the resources and network to ensure a quality of school facility that every student in America deserves.

Seeking Feedback

We develop standards through an open and transparent process that includes extensive stakeholder outreach and opportunities for public input. We publish all formally submitted comments, as well as a response to each substantive issue identified by commenters.

3M Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets – Innovation Criteria

Posted on by Anne Hancock

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 innovation claims are summarized below, and the full proposed criteria for this product can be reviewed on Green Seal’s website. Green Seal welcomes comments on the proposed criteria until June 18, 2021.  

Innovation Claims: An Environmentally Preferable Single-Use Dust Sheet 

According to 3M, this product differs from others on the market by incorporating at least 90% post-consumer recycled content polyethylene terephthalate (PET), while also achieving reductions in manufacturing water and energy use, air emissions, and waste. Manufacturing a single-use product with 90% post-consumer recycled content PET is estimated to deliver a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with the resource extraction, resin production, and manufacturing lifecycle phases.

Download Proposed Criteria

Call for Comments 

Green Seal is seeking input on 3M’s Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets proposed revised criteria for Environmental Innovation certification from all stakeholders and the public. This public comment period will close on June 18, 2021 at 11:59PM ET. 

Next Steps in the Environmental Innovation Process

Green Seal will review comments and address any substantive suggestions or objections to the proposed criteria before finalizing them. 3M will submit documented proof of compliance with these criteria for Green Seal’s third-party review of these claims. 3M’s Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheet will achieve Green Seal Certification for Environmental Innovation if all criteria are met. 

About 3M’s Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets 

When used as intended, the 3M Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets provide commercial surface clearing to remove dust, dirt, and debris from floors and surfaces (e.g., out-of-reach surfaces such as fans, wall corners, and light fixtures) in order to prepare surfaces for disinfection and cleaning in commercial spaces. 

About Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard

Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Program is designed for manufacturers striving to advance product innovation for environmental good. The program allows manufacturers pioneering the integration of leading-edge design and performance aspects into their products to earn recognition for their innovations through a rigorous 3rd party certification. Find Innovation Certified products and learn more about the Environmental Innovation Program here.    

Green Seal’s Innovation Program Process: Validation of the Innovation Claim 

Green Seal has not yet validated this innovation claim. Once Green Seal finalizes the proposed criteria after this public comment period, 3M will submit documented proof of compliance with the criteria for Green Seal’s third-party review of these claims. 

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 to products of the same functional class. 

View Innovation Registry

Expanding the Impact of our Environmental Innovation Program

Posted on by Anne Hancock

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 to earn recognition for their innovations through a rigorous third-party certification.

Earning certification under this standard demonstrates that a product’s innovation significantly reduces health or environmental impacts compared to products of the same functional class.  

Recognizing Innovators

The updated Environmental Innovation Standard expands certification eligibility to products that have not yet earned certification under an applicable Green Seal product category standard – provided the product innovation reduces impacts above the applicable standard and is the first innovation of its kind in the North American market. This approach is designed to encourage advances in industry research that could inform revisions to our product category standards.

The Environmental Innovation Standard updates also expand opportunities for earning certification to products that employ innovations that were new to the market at product launch, even if others later also employed the same innovation. This eliminates the requirement that a product is the only one in the market with the innovation at the time of certification, and rewards producers who are the first to raise the bar for environmental innovation in their product categories, even if others followed. This also provides greater value to existing participants by opening the door to longer certification terms. 

Quantifying Impacts

Green Seal now requires all applicants to quantify the health and/or environmental impact reductions of their product innovations, including those that achieve impact reductions through improved functional performance.

Previously, product innovations that achieved impact reductions through improved functional performance demonstrated this through a quantification of the performance improvement, not the health and/or environmental impact reduction.

Requiring that applicants quantify the environmental and human health impact reductions associated with improved functional performance ensures manufacturers will identify the meaningful health and environmental improvements achieved by the innovation in order to earn market recognition for them. 

Thermal Intelligence’s BASECAMP – Innovation Criteria

Posted on by Anne Hancock

Update: The public comment period for Thermal Intelligence has ended. Green Seal accepted public comments between April 23, 2021 and May 24, 2021. Learn more about Thermal Intelligence and its product certification status on Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Registry page.


Thermal Intelligence has applied for Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation certification for BASECAMP, their line of industrial temporary heating, power generation, and lighting products. The company’s proposed innovation claims are summarized below, and the full proposed criteria for this product can be reviewed on Green Seal’s website. Green Seal welcomes comments on the proposed criteria until May 24, 2021.  

Innovation Claims: 

Thermal Intelligence’s innovation claims are the following: This product has been designed to be more energy efficient compared to other portable medium powered generators or generator-heater combinations fueled by diesel gasoline. The product claims to achieve a 50-66 percent reduction in operating fuel use, which saves an estimated 209 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, calculated when used at full capacity for 180 days of use.   

Specifically, BASECAMP and BASECAMP XL’s patent-pending system design produces the same energy output using 57 gallons of diesel fuel for which a comparable generator and heater combination would require 171 gallons of diesel fuel.   

Download Proposed Criteria

Next Steps in the Environmental Innovation Process 

Green Seal will review comments and address any substantive suggestions or objections to the proposed criteria before finalizing them. Thermal Intelligence will submit documented proof of compliance with these criteria for Green Seal’s third-party review of these claims. Thermal Intelligence’s BASECAMP and BASECAMP XL will achieve Green Seal Certification for Environmental Innovation if all criteria are met. 

About the BASECAMP Smart 3-in-1 Heater, Light Tower, and Generator 

BASECAMP is designed to provide up to three functions simultaneously: 1) electric power generation, 2) temporary heating, and 3) lighting. The product is typically used in construction, restoration/remediation, and equipment pre-heating/thawing. The efficiencies of BASECAMP are achieved by capturing waste from one process and repurposing it into a simultaneous deliverable, eliminating waste. 

BASECAMP is designed on a diesel platform as that is frequently the sole fuel source available in temporary heat/power/lighting applications. Solar-powered generators do exist on the market, however, those products operate at significantly lower kW capacity than BASECAMP and BASECAMP XL and are not yet able to provide the power needed for all three applications.

Download Proposed Criteria

About Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard

Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Program is designed for manufacturers striving to advance product innovation for environmental good. The program allows manufacturers pioneering the integration of leading-edge design and performance aspects into their products to earn recognition for their innovations through a rigorous 3rd party certification. Find Innovation Certified products and learn more about the Environmental Innovation Program here.   

Green Seal’s Innovation Program Process: Validation of the Innovation Claim 

Green Seal has not yet validated this innovation claim. Once Green Seal finalizes the proposed criteria after this public comment period, Thermal Intelligence will submit documented proof of compliance with the criteria for Green Seal’s third-party review of these claims. 

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 or environmental impacts compared to products of the same functional class. 

View Innovation Registry

Nyco Products’ Bug Eliminator – Innovation Criteria

Posted on by Anne Hancock

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 Environmental Innovation certification for their minimum-risk bug eliminator. Nyco’s proposed innovation claims are summarized below, and the full proposed criteria for this product can be reviewed on Green Seal’s website. Green Seal welcomes comments on the proposed criteria until December 23, 2020. 

Innovation Claims: A Healthier Bug Eliminator for Soft-Bodied Insects

Nyco’s innovation claims are the following: This product has been designed to be less hazardous compared to other commercially available bug eliminators sold on the North American market. According to Nyco, this product is not formulated with hazardous ingredients common to this product category. The product ingredients are not classified as reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, neuro and systemic toxicants, aspiration toxicants, respiratory sensitizers, skin sensitizers, or fragrance allergens. The product ingredients do not cause skin corrosion, do not bioaccumulate, and the product itself is non-toxic to humans. Other commercially available contact-kill insecticides may pose significant risks to human health during the manufacturing and use life cycle phases. 

Next Steps in the Environmental Innovation Process 

Green Seal will review input received all stakeholders and the public during the public comment period and address any substantive suggestions or objections to the proposed criteria before finalizing them. Nyco will submit documented proof of compliance with these criteria for Green Seal’s third-party review of these claims. Nyco’s Bug Eliminator will achieve Green Seal Certification for Environmental Innovation if all criteria are met.

About Nyco’s Bug Eliminator

The Nyco bug eliminator is formulated to kill soft-bodied insects that can pose sanitation problems in food-handling settings including restaurants, food-service facilities, food-processing plants, the hospitality industry, warehouses, and manufacturing and industrial facilities. Targeted pests include Argentine ants, German cockroaches, bed bugs, red fruit flies, house flies, house spiders, moth flies, and two-spotted spider mites. This product is classified as a Minimum Risk Pesticide (EPA). 


About Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard

Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Program challenges product manufacturers to explore health and environmental impacts , engage in transformative product innovation, and achieve global recognition to the newest sustainability standard. 

Green Seal’s Innovation Program Process: Validation of the Innovation Claim 

Green Seal has not yet validated this innovation claim. Once Green Seal finalizes the proposed criteria after this public comment period, Nyco will submit documented proof of compliance with the criteria for Green Seal’s third-party review of these claims.

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 to products of the same functional class.

Why We’re Certifying Safer Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers

Posted on by Taryn Tuss

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.  Meanwhile, even when properly formulated, hand sanitizers can include hazardous ingredients linked to cancer, allergies, and skin and eye irritation – even if they have an ecolabel.  

With our new certification program, Green Seal is providing consumers, purchasers and facility managers a simple way to identify hand sanitizers that meet the highest standard for health, safety and performance.  

The Highest Standard of Clean

Formulating with healthier ingredients is vital for a product that people apply to their skin dozens of times a day. Our new certification standard, created with input from public health and industry experts, screens 100% of alcohol-based hand sanitizer product formulas for:

  • carcinogens
  • reproductive toxins
  • skin irritants
  • phthalates
  • parabens, and
  • contaminants

And as always, consumers can be confident that Green Seal-certified products meet uncompromising performance standards, do not pollute waterways, and use environmentally preferable packaging materials.

Verification By a Trusted Authority 

Our new hand sanitizer certification program is part of our commitment to leverage our expertise in healthy and sustainable cleaning and facility care to help protect people from both COVID-19 and negative health impacts from toxic chemicals. 

  • Green Seal’s Guidelines for Safer Cleaning and Disinfection for schools and workplaces have been adopted by commercial cleaning companies servicing more than 1 billion square feet of space.
  • We’ve partnered with SEIU 32BJ, the largest union of property service workers in the U.S., on COVID-19 training for its members.
  • More than 30,000 Green Seal certified products are used in offices, schools and homes each day, including cleaning products and hand soaps critical to de-contaminating buildings and protecting people.

Learn more about Green Seal certification for hand sanitizers here. 

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.

Kaivac Univac and AutoVac Stretch – Innovation Criteria

Posted on by Anne Hancock

The public comment period for Kaivac has ended. Please see the final issued criteria here. 

Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Program allows product manufacturers to explore environmental and health impacts, engage in transformative product innovation, and achieve global recognition to the newest sustainability standard. 

Kaivac, Inc 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).  They submitted two products for the GS-20 Review: UnivacTM and AutoVacTM StretchTM with the same primary innovation claim: A significant reduction in the use of both  water and cleaning solutions  due to a high-flow fluid extraction method, debris filters, and the reuse of grey (recycled) water based cleaning solutions. 

According to Kaivac, these products are able to reduce the use-phase impacts of powered floor maintenance equipment by 66% for water and 70% for cleaning solutions compared to other powered floor cleaning equipment in the North American market. 

UnivacTM and AutoVacTM StretchTM
Standard: GS-20 Environmental Innovation
Start: 7/6/20
Stop: 8/6/20 11:59PM
Published: Yes   Kaivac’s Univac and AutoVac Stretch are used to clean hard surface commercial flooring. UniVac is designed to be used on hard-to-clean, heavily soiled grouted or obstructed floors, such as those found in commercial kitchens and restrooms. AutoVac Stretch is equipped with a trolley bucket and wide-area trailing squeegee to enable cleaning larger open hard-surface flooring (e.g., hallways, lobbies, gym floors, warehouse floors, etc.)   Innovation Claim Details   Kaivac claims that these products differ from other powered floor maintenance equipment on the market in two primary ways:  

  1. By reducing the typical water use rate by at least 66%
  2. By reducing the typical cleaning solution use rate by at least 70% while maintaining equivalent product performance to comparable alternatives.

The environmental innovation is achieved through the following design elements:

  1. The use of a high-flow fluid extraction method that removes soil and cleaning solution via a dual-blade squeegee head powered by a wet vacuum motor,
  2. The use of filters for debris and contaminants via a fine mesh filter bag and sedimentation trough, and
  3. The reuse of grey water based cleaning solution at least three times and up to seven times.

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

Environmental and Human Health Impacts

Over the lifecycle of powered floor maintenance equipment, the use phase has the most significant environmental and human health impacts through water use and cleaning solution use from normal operation.

Water Use Rate

According to the ISSA 612 Cleaning Times & Tasks book, comparable products such as floor scrubbers and autoscrubbers can clean 500 square feet per gallon of water on average depending on soil conditions. The applicant product is reported to clean 1500 to 3500 square feet per gallon of water depending on soil conditions.

Chemical Solution Use Rate

According to the ISSA 612 Cleaning Times & Tasks book, comparable products such as floor scrubbers and autoscrubbers typically use cleaning solution at a rate of 50 oz per 25,000 ft2. The applicant product is shown to have a cleaning solution use rate of 16 oz per 25,000 ft2. Cleaning solution metering is accomplished by using packets of pre-measured cleaning solution.

Chemical Hazards

Since the claims made in this certification relate to the efficiency of the product with regard to water use and cleaning solution use, the cleaning solution formulation was not reviewed for human and environmental hazards as part of the product innovation. Therefore, no claims shall be made in association with this certification as to the “safety” or “environmental preferability” of the parts or the cleaning solution formulation.

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: 

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. 

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.