Guide for Acquiring the Safer Choice Certification for Your Product
The Safer Choice Program, an initiative by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is a voluntary partnership that encourages the use of safer chemical-based products. Here's a step-by-step guide on how manufacturers can apply for the Safer Choice label and start a partnership with the program.
- Ingredient Selection: Choose ingredients exclusively from the EPA’s Safer Chemicals Ingredients List (SCIL), which currently includes approximately 983 safer chemicals. This helps ensure compliance with EPA requirements.
- Product Formulation and Safety Assessment: Formulate your product using only approved safer ingredients from the SCIL. EPA scientists evaluate all intentionally added ingredients for safety and environmental friendliness before approving the product for labeling.
- Application Submission: Submit detailed documentation demonstrating that your product meets the Safer Choice Standard. This usually involves information about product ingredients and safety data.
- EPA Review and Approval: The EPA reviews the submission, confirms compliance with program standards, and grants approval for the product to carry the Safer Choice label if all requirements are met.
- Partnership Establishment: Upon approval, the company becomes a partner in the Safer Choice Program, allowing use of the Safer Choice label on product packaging and in marketing materials.
For companies interested in developing a new product sector that Safer Choice has not previously labeled, direct contact with the program is recommended. Applicants for the Safer Choice label must disclose all product ingredients to the EPA and a third-party profiler.
Qualified third-party profilers for Safer Choice include Gradient Corporation, NSF International, and ToxServices, LLC. Contact information for each profiler is provided on their respective websites.
The Safer Choice program has specific standards, criteria for safer chemical ingredients, and product-class criteria. After assessing the ingredients, Safer Choice identifies areas for improvement, safer alternatives, or additional information needs.
After the product assessment, Safer Choice and the third-party profilers communicate the review’s outcome to the applicant. If a product qualifies, Safer Choice reviews and recognizes best-in-class chemical-based formulations and products that meet its stringent criteria.
For pesticide products, the Design for the Environment logo is available on the Office of Pesticide Program's DfE Logo for Pesticide Products webpage or by contacting DfE Support.
The Safer Choice program is valid until 5/31/2022, under OMB Control No. 2070-0178. The program is voluntary and aims to promote transparency, innovation, and safer chemistry, as supported by EPA policy updates through 2025.
For more detailed information, manufacturers are advised to consult the EPA’s Safer Choice website and technical criteria documents for the program.
- To maintain sustainability and health-and-wellness in their product range, manufacturers can seek the assistance of third-party profilers such as Gradient Corporation, NSF International, and ToxServices, LLC, to help them comply with Safer Choice's criteria for safer chemical ingredients, especially when entering new product sectors not previously labeled by the program.
- Incorporating environmental-science principles into their product formulation process, companies can ensure their fitness-and-exercise products are not only safe for human use but also environmentally friendly by choosing ingredients from the EPA’s Safer Chemicals Ingredients List (SCIL) and undergoing rigorous safety assessments by EPA scientists.
- By adhering to the stringent criteria set by the Safer Choice program, manufacturers can not only reduce their use of harmful chemicals in their health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise product lines but also contribute positively to the environment and promote a culture of sustainable science and environmental stewardship.