Invitation to Comment

Proposing a New Leadership Standard for Trash Bags & Can Liners

Posted on Nov 29, 2022Jan 30, 2023 by Brittany Maule

Update: The public comment period closed on January 29, 2023. Green Seal is now reviewing stakeholder input.

Green Seal is proposing a certification standard for trash bags and can liners to recognize products that use less virgin plastic while maintaining top performance.

This standard introduces the new concept of plastic efficiency, which prioritizes the result – curbing virgin plastic use – over the method used to achieve it. While traditionally trash bags are deemed environmentally preferable for incorporating post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, this new model opens a second pathway to recognize products that use innovative technology to produce thinner liners that maintain tear and puncture resistance.

See the Standard

A High-Impact Single-Use Product

As single-use plastic products, trash bags and can liners have significant environmental impacts. American households consume more than a billion trash bags each year, sending them on to landfills where they turn into microplastics that further pollute the environment. An estimated 79% of all plastic products eventually reach the ocean, harming marine life and emitting the potent greenhouse gas methane when they degrade

Trash bags and can liners have significant carbon pollution impacts on the front end too – they generally are made of virgin plastics that are produced using considerable amounts of energy and associated carbon emissions. In fact, over 95% of the carbon footprint of plastics comes from its production.

Extracting and manufacturing resources for plastic production can also produce harmful chemicals that have human health impacts, particularly on industry workers and neighboring communities. These chemicals have been associated with a variety of negative health outcomes, including impacts on development, reproduction, and the nervous system.

Reducing Impacts by Using Less Virgin Plastic

Currently, there are no alternatives that perform as well as plastic trash bags and can liners for strength, odor control, and sanitation. While non-conventional plastics such as bio-based, biodegradable, or compostable plastics are marketed as sustainable alternatives, they currently are not effective solutions due to a lack of recycling and composting infrastructure, improper consumer use and, in the case of bio-based plastics, land use and emissions concerns associated with growing crops to produce the materials.

However, there is a more sustainable solution: plastic trash bags can be made with less virgin plastic without sacrificing performance.

Incorporating post-consumer recycled (PCR) content into a trash bag reduces plastic pollution by giving a second life to used plastic films that would otherwise end up in landfills or the ocean. It also reduces the carbon impact of trash bags by eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions associated with extracting and manufacturing new virgin material and avoids emissions from incinerating plastic waste.

Several state and federal purchasing policies require trash bags to contain 10% PCR content, and demand for PCR content in plastic products and in packaging is growing among states, industry, and advocacy organizations.

However, PCR content alone may not be an effective way to identify products that reduce virgin plastic use. A Green Seal analysis of products in the marketplace found that bags that feature PCR content sometimes still incorporate the same amount of virgin plastic as their PCR-free competitors. Additionally, challenges with recycling plastic films can make sourcing high-quality PCR content difficult for manufacturers: plastic films are not typically collected in curbside collection programs and can damage recycling equipment at traditional recycling facilities. Some can liner types, such as those made from HDPE resins below 0.4 mil, also struggle to incorporate any PCR content without compromising performance.

Another way for manufacturers to reduce the amount of virgin plastic in trash bags is through using technological advancements to produce liners that are thinner but maintain uncompromising performance. In a Green Seal analysis, thin liners produced fewer greenhouse gas emissions than thicker liners, even in some cases where thicker liners incorporated PCR content. Manufacturers can also take advantage of mineral additives to reduce their use of virgin plastic and provide more strength to the bag.

Plastic Efficiency: A New Approach to Environmental Leadership

Through an extensive market analysis, Green Seal has developed a program to recognize environmental leadership in trash bags and can liners based on plastic efficiency: reducing virgin plastic use to the minimum amount required to maintain top performance for the product’s gallon size.

This approach opens a pathway to recognize products that use leadership levels of recycled content, but also those that use innovative technologies to produce thinner liners that still maintain a trash bag’s important functional attributes of tear and puncture resistance. The result is a clear designation for buyers that a bag is in the top 30% in its size category for the lowest amount of virgin plastic in the liner, and thus the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions and plastic waste.

The draft standard includes:

Verifying product functional performance through tests for puncture and tear resistance
Requiring a minimum amount of 10% verified post-consumer recycled content for bags above 0.7 mil in thickness
Prohibiting the addition of hazardous ingredients such as carcinogens, heavy metals, phthalates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and fragrances that can further pollute the recycled plastic supply chain or pose harm to users
Requiring source reduced, recyclable, or post-consumer content in packaging materials

The draft standard and a supplemental background report are available here.

A Collaborative Approach to Standard Development

Green Seal’s standard development process includes input from a Working Group made up of leading companies, nonprofit organizations, and independent subject matter experts. Working Group members provide technical and market feedback throughout the standard development process, program implementation, and evolution to ensure the standard is a meaningful tool for manufacturers and consumers.

Seeking Feedback

Green Seal welcomes public input on the draft standard. The public comment period is open until January 29, 2023. Review the draft standard or submit comments here.

Comment

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 standard development and major standard revisions include extensive stakeholder outreach and opportunities for public input. Green Seal will publish all formally submitted comments, as well as a response to each substantive issue identified by commenters.

The Healthy Green Schools & Colleges™ Standard

Posted on Aug 16, 2022Dec 20, 2022 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 and Healthy Schools Campaign are proposing several improvements to our Healthy Green Schools & Colleges™ standard criteria. These updates are intended to clarify and consolidate standard criteria; better address differences between K-12 school districts and higher education institutions, and provide more flexibility for schools to implement measures that foster healthy indoor environments for students and staff. The proposed updates are available for public comment through August 30^th, 2022.

SEE THE UPDATES

The pilot Healthy Green Schools & Colleges standard has been publicly available since March to any school district or university to use to improve indoor air quality in their facilities. Since then, the 9 school districts and 10 colleges and universities that signed on as Early Adopters during the development of the pilot standard have been formally implementing it to provide feedback on its usability, market relevance and any unnecessary barriers to certification.

The Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Program

The standard is the centerpiece of a comprehensive program launching in September to support school facility management professionals in transforming the health and sustainability of school campuses.

First, a self-assessment tool will allow schools to objectively measure their current indoor environmental health and sustainability performance., while guidebooks, trainings, and tools will help facility professionals determine and take the next steps. Then, the standard’s points-based scoring system encourages 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 can apply for third-party certification, earning public recognition for their verified expertise in providing healthy school environments.

Seeking Feedback

Green Seal welcomes public input on the following proposed updates to the standard:

1.2 Determine a Representative Sample
1.3 Plan Development
3.2.1.2 ATP Monitoring
3.2.2.1 Supply Labeling and Cleaning Procedures
3.2.2.3 Daily Logging
3.2.3.2 Detergent Dispensing
3.2.6 Outdoor Surfaces
3.3.2 Periodic or Restorative Maintenance
3.6.1 Proper Material Handling and Storage Practices
3.6.3 Spill Kits
3.7.1.1 General Powered Equipment Standard Operating Procedures
3.8 Integrated Pest Management
4.1.1 HVAC System Maintenance
4.1.2 Systems Able to Meet Outdoor Air Inflow Rates
4.2.2 Potable Water Testing
4.2.5 Dormant Buildings
Section 5 Monitoring and Evaluation
5.1 IAQ Monitoring
5.1.2.1 CO2 Monitoring
5.2.2.3 Building Occupant Engagement
5.1.3 Reporting on IAQ Issues

We develop standards through an open and transparent process that includes extensive stakeholder outreach and opportunities for public input.

The public comment period is open until August 30, 2022. We publish all formally submitted comments, as well as a response to each substantive issue identified by commenters.

Prohibiting PFAS Chemicals

Posted on Dec 8, 2021Apr 25, 2023 by Brittany Maule

Update: On June 23, 2022, Green Seal issued nine standards with updated criteria to prohibit per-and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). All documents on this criteria revision can be found in the PFAS Prohibition section of Green Seal’s Library of Standards Documents.

Green Seal is proposing a new prohibition on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a large class of chemicals that are commonly used in consumer products and associated with a number of adverse health and environmental effects.

Although only seven PFAS are formally classified as hazardous, a growing body of evidence indicates that all PFAS are likely to have harmful health and environmental effects. While Green Seal has long prohibited those seven PFAS, as part of Green Seal’s precautionary approach, we are now proposing to prohibit all chemicals in this class (approximately 12,000 PFAS) in certified products.

It can be challenging for consumers and even manufacturers to be sure that products do not use PFAS. For example, PFAS are often used in raw materials – and those proprietary formulas are often not fully disclosed to the final manufacturer. A prohibition on PFAS would allow Green Seal to verify that these chemicals are eliminated from these product supply chains and provide assurance to both manufacturers and buyers that their Green Seal certified cleaning and personal care products are PFAS-free.

Green Seal is taking a multi-year phased approach to this initiative, with the end goal of ensuring all certified product formulas and product packaging are PFAS-free across product categories. In this initial phase, our focus is on eliminating PFAS in formulas for certified cleaning and personal care products.

Learn More

What are PFAS?

PFAS are a large group of synthetically produced chemicals that have a history of use dating back to the 1940s. PFAS have carbon-fluorine bonds that make them very stable and effective at repelling oil, water and heat. Today they are found in food packaging, coatings, paints, textiles, cookware, and even some cleaning products.

Unfortunately, the same unique chemical structure that makes PFAS so effective is also what gives them the moniker “forever chemicals.” PFAS are persistent in the environment, with evidence that some chemicals are so resistant to degradation that they could persist for hundreds of years. They also bioaccumulate in soil, drinking water and in humans, with some chemicals taking more than eight years to reach their half-life — or reduce their concentration by 50 percent in the human body.

PFAS are associated with numerous adverse health effects, including impacts on the endocrine and reproductive systems; increased risks of certain cancers such as prostate, testicular, and kidney; and decreased immune responses — including our body’s ability to develop beneficial antibodies in response to vaccines.

Eliminating PFAS

While two of the approximately 12,000 PFAS have been phased out of use in the U.S., evidence shows that the “safer substitutes” (other PFAS) also cause harmful health effects. Therefore, Green Seal is proposing to prohibit all chemicals classified as PFAS by the US EPA’s comprehensive CompTox PFAS Master List database — an evolving list that aggregates PFAS based on environmental occurrence, manufacturing process data, and testing programs from agencies across the globe.

Eliminating all PFAS from the supply chain for consumer and professional care products is a critical step in protecting human health and ending the environmental contamination caused by releases of these chemicals.

Proposed Changes

Recognizing an opportunity to increase supply chain transparency and encourage the use of safer alternatives, Green Seal is proposing to add criteria prohibiting PFAS to our standards for cleaning products and personal care products. These proposed updates include:

Prohibiting any intentionally added PFAS
Restricting any PFAS to 100ppm when present as a contaminant

The PFAS criteria will be added to the product health and environmental requirements section 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)
Personal Care Products (GS-44, GS-50)

Seeking Feedback

The public comment period is now open until January 22, 2022. To submit comments or schedule a conference call, contact us by email here.

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.

Our New Standard is Defining Sustainability for Paints and Coatings

Posted on Sep 21, 2021Feb 8, 2023 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.

3M Easy Trap Sweep and Dust Sheets – Innovation Criteria

Posted on May 17, 2021Apr 4, 2022 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

Thermal Intelligence’s BASECAMP – Innovation Criteria

Posted on Apr 23, 2021Apr 4, 2022 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 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 Nov 18, 2020Apr 4, 2022 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.

Safer, Healthier Hand Sanitizers

Posted on Jul 30, 2020Aug 10, 2022 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 Jul 6, 2020Apr 4, 2022 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: Univac^TM and AutoVac^TM Stretch^TM 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:

By reducing the typical water use rate by at least 66%
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:

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,
The use of filters for debris and contaminants via a fine mesh filter bag and sedimentation trough, and
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:

ABCO Natura Yarn Mop Heads – Innovation Criteria

Posted on Apr 6, 2020Aug 9, 2022 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.

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