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With the growing interest in Green cleaning products flooding the jan/san market, skepticism of products that are labeled with certain environmental terms has risen to the forefront. After all, who makes the decision to coin a product "eco-friendly" and what does the term refer to? Does the packaging or certain ingredients used in the products weigh in when a manufacturer labels their cleaning products Green? This can be confusing to distributors when deciding upon a product that is environmentally preferable.
Luckily, programs such as Green Seal, EcoLogo, and GREENGUARD have helped steer consumers through the murky waters of eco-friendly products. These third-party, non-profit organizations have helped build trust with distributors by clarifying what Green really means, and ensuring that their seal of approval is safe, sustainable, and has very little, if any, impact on the environment.
If a manufacturer chooses to undergo the certification process from one of these organizations, they are then able to display a label on their product that provides validation that the product is indeed environmentally preferable. This in turn helps the manufacturer sell their product to a market that is increasingly demanding Green cleaning products; however, with the rise in organizations popping up, which label should one turn to?
An EcoMarkets 2007 Summary Report conducted by TerraChoice, one of North America's top environmental marketing agencies, show that both Canada and the United States are experiencing rapid growth in Green purchasing policies. Almost 80 percent of the hundreds of procurement professionals surveyed expect their organizations to be doing more green purchasing in two years than they are today. Now more than ever it's important to sort out the good from the bad and the ugly.
A life cycle approach with Green Seal
One of the most widely recognized certification programs in the United States is Green Seal. Involved with manufacturers, purchasing groups, industry sectors, and all tiers of government, Green Seal employs a life cycle approach when certifying products and is the only U.S. organization that offers this "cradle to the grave" method. This process requires that the evaluation starts at the beginning of material extraction, proceeding with manufacturing and use, and finishing up with recycling and disposal.
"Green Seal has also noticed the expanding list of groups claiming to "certify" environmentally preferable products, and some of them are definitely more valid than others. To that end, we continue to work to educate both purchasers and manufacturers to look at the organizations behind these seals and logos to discern if they are, in fact, a legitimate, credible third-party certification organization," said Mark Petruzzi, vice president of certification, Green Seal.
Although any company can apply an "earth-friendly" logo if they feel that it's "Green", there are guidelines set up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that sets standards for third-party certifiers of environmentally preferable products. Green Seal has teamed up with the EPA to set up a process that establishes the legitimacy of these third-party organizations and is also the only U.S. member of the Global Ecolabeling Network — an international program that currently has 26 ecolabeling organizations that belong to it.
"Some of the standards that Green Seal adheres to is voluntary participation, run by an organization without conflicts of interest, standards process that involves stakeholders and the public, criteria based on life cycle, authority to inspect manufacturing facility, and criteria, assumptions, methods and data used to evaluate products that are open and transparent," said Petruzzi.
GREENGUARD examines effects of chemical emissions
While it's significant to look at the chemical content of a product, it's also important to examine the effects of chemical emissions that are released during use. This is where the GREENGUARD seal comes into play. Developed by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, GREENGUARD is the only independent certification program that is present in the industry. Recent medical data that has been compiled has shown that cleaning products can contribute to indoor air pollution, which can lead to asthma, allergies, and other general illnesses.
"Indoor air quality affects the health and financial aspect of a building — employees get sick, then they can't work. Proper ventilation and air exchange rates can help, but we believe if you target the source of pollutants you're correcting air pollution to begin with," said Laura Spriggs, Communications Manager, GREENGUARD.
To address the effects of cleaning products on indoor air, The GREENGUARD Certification Program has developed a cleaning standard that measures the "off-gassing" of products during application and use. Rigorous testing reviews the chemical emissions across a wide scope of exposure levels and integrates them into a single standard.
"Also, GREENGUARD and Green Seal have an agreement to contribute to each other's standards and programs to help expand the market for sustainable products," adds Spriggs.
Canada's EcoLogo launches U.S. campaign
Joining the ranks with these reputable third-party organizations is EcoLogo — Environment Canada's ecolabeling program. According to the EPA, the program certifies several categories of cleaning and janitorial products. Within the past year, EcoLogo has launched a USA campaign to help U.S. consumers better understand the importance of using environmentally preferable products and to endorse the companies that generate them.
"While EcoLogo was originally launched by Environment Canada, EcoLogo has quietly become North America's premiere environmental standard and certification program," explained Scot Case, vice president for U.S. Operations. "In fact, EcoLogo is the only North American standard certified by the Global Ecolabeling Network as meeting the strict ISO requirements for third-party environmental standards."
With the influx of purchasers migrating to green products, it's of value to understand the difference in each certification organization. Until the United States establishes a single, eco-label, staying up-to-date with the available labels will make it easier on deciding upon the most credible green product at hand. It's important to remember that not all labels are one in the same, for many of them have different focus areas. While certification programs such as Green Seal, GREENGUARD, and EcoLogo offer proven techniques for recognizing the environmental impact of products, each one specializes in different issues, such as chemical content, emissions, and the recyclable aspect of a product.
author: BY KARI EMBREE