Making the Safer Choice Just Got a Whole Lot Easier

Now it will be simpler than ever to choose safe cleaning products for your home or business. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a new Safer Choice label that will make it clear to consumers which products are environmentally safe.

“When it comes to sustainability, every little bit counts,” said Renae Hesselink, Nichols’ VP of Sustainability. “Arming consumers with the knowledge to make environmentally responsible choices will potentially have an enormous impact.”

For the last 15 years, the EPA has used a designation for environmentally safe products called Design for the Environment (DfE). To build on the DfE’s success, the EPA conducted research for over a year, collecting ideas from manufacturers, health experts, and environmental advocates. They then presented their best ideas to consumers and asked what worked for them. The result: the Safer Choice label.

Consumers aren’t trying to hurt the environment by buying certain products. They just don’t know, and they shouldn’t be expected to. You wouldn’t ask a lawyer to perform open-heart surgery, would you?

The major concern for consumers is that environmentally safe products are generally believed to be inferior to their counterparts. This is no longer true; in fact, products that will be receiving  the new Safer Choice seal also need to pass performance standards, ensuring people are purchasing quality supplies.

In addition to the standard Safer Choice label, the EPA will also offer different label designations to better describe the product and its ideal uses. For example, cleaners used in larger facilities might read: “Safer Choice label for business or industrial/institutional products.” These simple sentences below the labels further assist shoppers in their quest for safe cleaning products.

The Safer Choice initiative is making it easy for consumers to choose great cleaning products that are environmentally responsible. It’s small changes like these that lead to big results in the effort to keep the earth clean.