Standards

Proposing a New Leadership Standard for Trash Bags & Can Liners

Our proposed certification standard for trash bags and can liners recognizes products that use less virgin plastic while maintaining top performance.

Taking a Leadership Position on PFAS in Certified Products

Our newly expanded prohibition on all PFAS in certified cleaning and personal care products promotes safer options for consumers and recognizes industry leaders who are taking important steps to protect human health and reduce environmental pollution.

Announcing a National Pilot Standard for Healthier School Facilities

Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) and Green Seal launched a pilot standard for healthy and sustainable school facilities that focuses on measures that can make a big difference without major capital investments.

The Green Seal Compass: Ensuring Clean Water

Water pollution is a global issue and a continuing challenge in the U.S. The Green Seal mark helps buyers find products that are verified to be safer for aquatic ecosystems and to preserve our water quality.

Prohibiting PFAS Chemicals

We are proposing a new prohibition on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in certified cleaning and personal care products.

Eligible for Certification: Spray-Applied Microbial Cleaners

We made important improvements to our standard criteria for microbial-based cleaning products to better recognize leadership in this product category.  Now, product manufacturers with spray-applied microbial cleaners can demonstrate that their products are formulated to be healthier, safer options for buyers.

The Green Seal Compass: Minimizing Waste

Preventing and minimizing waste is a critical goal for shifting to a low impact economy. With improved product design, less shipping of water, greater use of recovered materials, and well-performing, long-lasting products, we can reduce the waste that is so costly to our society and ecosystems.

The Green Seal Compass: Protecting Human Health

Our standards address the most significant health impacts across the product life cycle for which there are known and feasible safer alternatives.

Expanding the Impact of our Environmental Innovation Program

We 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.

Safer, Healthier Hand Sanitizers

We developed a health-protective framework for alcohol-based hand sanitizer certification to provide purchasers and consumers a simple way choose safer and effective products.

Agile Methods Lead to Better Processes and Better Standards

We’re thrilled to introduce an agile process that will allow us to quickly incorporate non-substantiative changes into our standards: Quarterly Corrections and Clarifications Reports.

ABCO Natura Yarn Mop Heads – Innovation Criteria

ABCO Products applied for our Environmental Innovation certification for their NaturaYarn mop heads.

Our Standard Means Uncompromising Cleaning Performance

We often hear the question: how do I know green cleaning products work as effectively as conventional ones? Here’s a window into our performance requirements.

Titanium Dioxide Whitens in Enzyme-Based Cleaning

We now allow titanium dioxide as an ingredient in enzyme-based cleaning products that meet our standard criteria.

Updated Paper Waste Standards Deliver Big Environmental Wins

America has a paper waste problem. The paper that we recycle shouldn’t be sitting in landfills – but it will continue to pile up unless we choose paper products made from recycled material.