EPA Unveils New Safer Choice Label for Sustainable Outdoor Cleaning and Proposes Updates to Help Buyers Find Eco-Friendly Products.

Safer Choice Program

The Safer Choice Program promotes the use of chemicals that meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) strict standards for health and environmental safety, offering companies a way to stand out with the Safer Choice label. With thousands of certified products, this label helps consumers easily identify safer products without compromising on performance.

Updates on the Program

On September 18, EPA introduced a new Outdoor Use Safer Choice label, expanding its existing Safer Choice program. The label identifies products such as pet care items, fire defense products, and cleaners for cars, boats, and grills that meet EPA's stricter environmental criteria. EPA scientists assess every ingredient irrespective of its concentration to ensure that products are safe for public health and the environment.

The Safer Choice program mandates that products typically used outdoors must contain ingredients that break down quickly and have low aquatic toxicity. Even indoor-use products, such as all-purpose cleaners, can meet these stricter environmental standards if they comply with the additional criteria.

More than 50 products have already met the new outdoor-use standards, with more expected to carry the label by next year. Consumers can find Safer Choice-certified products for outdoor use on the Safer Choice search page by selecting the “Products with outdoor uses” box.

Ecolabels and Sustainable Products

On September 10, EPA proposed an update to its Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing. This guidance helps federal buyers choose sustainable, climate-friendly products with safer chemical ingredients.

Proposed Rule

The update proposes adding 14 standards and ecolabels in three new categories -healthcare, laboratories, and clothing - as well as expanding the food service ware category. The Recommendations aim to promote energy and water conservation, increase recycled content, and reduce the use of PFAS and single-use plastics.

If approved, the proposed updates to EPA's Recommendations would offer new guidance to federal purchasers and buyers on the procurement of sustainable products and service in four categories, divided into nine sub-categories. The changes would expand the current food service ware sub-category, which now includes only one recommended ecolabel for compostable products. The updated recommendations would add three additional standards and ecolabels for reusable, certified compostable, and certified recyclable food service ware.

In April 2022, EPA introduced stricter criteria for including standards and ecolabels in its Recommendations, requiring third-party verification and an updated directory of qualifying products. The Agency now plans to remove seven standards or ecolabels that fail to meet these requirements, are discontinued, or are no longer needed.

The public can comment on these proposed changes within 30 days of publication via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2022-0835 at Regulations.gov.