There's a new label about town and it's not a name-brand designer—it's the "Safer Choice" label.
This month the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its "Safer Choices in Cleaning Products" campaign, which is part of an ongoing ingredient disclosure initiative that reveals details about the chemicals in consumer products. Part of this campaign includes highlighting the EPA's "Safer Choice" label on cleaning products that informs consumers and commercial buyers about the ingredients it considers to be "safer" based on human health and environmental criteria such as hazard information (view the label here).
"When you see a product with the Safer Choice label, it means that every ingredient in the product has been reviewed by EPA scientists," the EPA said.
There's also a label that indicates a product is fragrance-free to help consumers who prefer products without fragrance.
Do Your Ingredients Meet the EPA's Safer Choice List?
Visitors to the EPA's website can search products that meet the Safer Choice Standard. For instance, certain fragrance ingredients on the list include (read the full list here):
- Jasmal (CAS# 18871-14-2)
- Jasmin pryranol (CAS# 38285-49-3)
- 1-Decanol (CAS# 112-30-1)
-
1-Nonanol (CAS# 143-08-8)
To expand the number of chemicals and functional-use categories on its Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), the EPA is inviting chemical manufacturers to submit their safer chemicals to EPA for review and listing on SCIL.
"Adding chemicals to the SCIL encourages innovation and growth in safer products, increase markets for business, and helps protect people and the environment," the EPA said.
The Hot Topic of Chemical Safety
Chemical safety has been a hot topic among consumers and product manufacturers. For instance, Procter & Gamble recently disclosed a list of more than 140 chemicals not used in any fragrances in its brands, following similar moves from a number of other companies. Also, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) moved into the final phase of its Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative (CPISI), which offers complete safety information for every ingredient used in every formulated consumer cleaning product manufactured by its member companies.
As of this report, Congress has been working to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that governs chemicals in the United States. The TSCA Modernization Act of 2015, H.R.2576, has passed the House and Senate but has yet to be signed into law by the president.
