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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:

Safer Choice

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:

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:

Safer Choice

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.

A NOTE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH CLAIMS

Marketers Should Avoid Making Potentially Deceptive or Misleading Green Claims

It should be noted that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued important guidance on the use of environmental marketing claims in order to prevent deception and misrepresentation in the marketplace. Since there is a fine line between a legitimate claim and one that is considered deceptive or misleading, the FTC's “Green Guides” should be consulted before making any green claims about your products. In a nutshell, marketers should:

  • Avoid making general or sweeping environmental claims;
  • Carefully qualify their claims, including through disclosure of important facts; and
  • Ensure that their claims are based on competent and reliable scientific data