‘Safer’ Cleaning Products? Seventh Generation Among Companies Using New EPA Label
The EPA’s “Safer Choice” label, which originated 1990s as “Design for the Environment,” is a voluntary program where companies pay to submit their products to a stringent review. Seventh Generation is among a growing number of businesses participating. Credit: Kathleen Masterson, VPR
When you shop for cleaning supplies, brightly colored bottles advertise stain-removing powers or “whiter whites.” But it’s hard to get clear information about what the chemical ingredients could do to your health or the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency is hoping to change that.
The EPA has revamped its environmental safety label, rebranding it as “Safer Choice.” And the Burlington-based Seventh Generation is among the growing number of companies investing in the new logo.
In theory, the EPA already regulates all chemicals; so no products on the market today should be harmful. But historically, the Toxic Substance Control Act has limited what regulations the EPA could actually create and enforce.
Consider the recent findings of unsafe levels of PFOA in drinking water in Vermont, New York and New Hampshire. Or the EPA’s attempt to ban a known carcinogen, asbestos, that was shot down by the courts in 1991.