GreenLab Information & Education
Learn and prepare your products for the future
California's Proposition 65
Proposition 65 requires the State of California to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. This list, which was first published in 1987, must be updated annually and now includes over 900 chemicals and counting.
Proposition 65 also requires businesses to provide product warnings to Californians when the product contains listed chemicals so that consumers can make informed decisions about exposure.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safer Choice Program
The U.S. EPA's Safer Choice program helps consumers, businesses, and purchasers easily identify cleaning products that perform effectively and that contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. Check out this brief video about what Safer Choice is all about:
Products that meet Safer Choice criteria will showcase the Safer Choice label shown above.
Helpful Safer Choice Links
If you are seeking to develop or reformulate products that will meet the Safer Choice criteria and earn the corresponding label, our team can help guide you. Here are some helpful links to browse for the time being:
Safer Choice Official Page
https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice
Safer Choice Products
https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/products
Safer Chemical Ingredient List
https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients
Resources for Product Manufacturers
https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/resources-safer-choice-product-manufacturers
U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) BioPreferred Program
The USDA's BioPreferred program was established in 2002 to promote the purchasing and use of biobased products throughout the United States. The expansion of biobased products reduces our nation's reliance on petroleum and other fossil fuels, increases the use of agricultural resources that are endlessly renewable, and helps to reduce environmental and health harms, including climate change.
The BioPreferred program features a voluntary labeling initiative for biobased products, as well as mandatory purchasing requirements for biobased products by federal agencies and their contractors.
Products that meet the standards of the BioPreferred program will earn the USDA's Biobased Product Label, an example of which is featured here:
Note that the label specifies the exact percentage of biobased material in a product and/or its packaging materials, which is verified by an independent lab. As such, the label provides consumers and buyers with peace of mind that the products they are buying are in fact biobased.
If you are seeking to substantiate the renewable content in your product or package, and earn the USDA's Certified Biobased Product label, our team can provide you with the guidance, ingredients and packaging materials to achieve this goal.
BioPreferred Program Official Page
https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/
About the Biobased Product Label
https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/Welcome.xhtml
About Mandatory Federal Purchasing
https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/Welcome.xhtml
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Green Guides
The FTC's Green Guides are designed to help product marketers avoid making environmental claims that mislead consumers, an unsavory practice known as “greenwashing.” Environmental claims must therefore be true and substantiated based on the FTC's guidelines.