What Is EPA Safer Choice? The Label Explained

What is EPA Safer Choice?

Safer Choice is an EPA program that helps consumers, businesses and purchasers find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. It is one of EPA's Pollution Prevention programs, which aim to reduce pollution at its source, such as by using safer ingredients.

Safer Choice is run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Participation is voluntary: companies choose to submit their products for review, and EPA says those that earn the label have met the Safer Choice Standard.

EPA's own site says nearly 2,000 products currently qualify to carry the label. They are made for homes and for places like schools, hotels, offices and sports venues. EPA says you will find certified products at most stores that carry cleaning and household supplies. The label tells you about the product in your hand, not about whoever uses it.

For a plain-English look at greener cleaning, see what eco-friendly cleaning means.

What does the Safer Choice label actually mean?

It means EPA scientists reviewed every chemical ingredient in the product, no matter how small its share. Each must meet criteria for human health and the environment, such as cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, aquatic toxicity and persistence. EPA also looks at performance, pH, packaging and VOCs, and audits certified products every year.

According to EPA, the review covers more than the ingredient list. Here is what its label page says is checked:

• Every ingredient: regardless of percentage, against criteria for human health and the environment.
• Performance: products must pass category-specific standards and perform comparably to conventional products.
• pH: labeled products must meet pH standards that minimize the potential for skin and eye irritation or injury.
• VOCs: volatile organic compound content is restricted to minimize indoor air pollution and related respiratory concerns.
• Packaging: reviewed against criteria in the Standard.

Once a product meets the Standard, EPA conducts annual audits. EPA also requires that all ingredients, including fragrances, be disclosed on the product or on an easy-access website. Unlike food, cleaning products are not otherwise required by law to list ingredients, EPA notes.

Which Safer Choice label versions exist?

EPA offers the standard Safer Choice label, an optional version for products designated for businesses, offices, sports venues and schools, a Fragrance-Free version, and a Certified for Outdoor Use version. The fragrance-free and outdoor-use labels are companions to the main label, so a product must first meet the full Standard.

EPA also notes the label sits alongside a related mark for disinfectants, covered next.

What does Safer Choice not cover?

Safer Choice certification applies only to the finished product. It does not cover disinfectants and sanitizers, which carry EPA's separate Design for the Environment (DfE) logo. EPA also cautions shoppers about vague claims such as green, eco safe or natural. Always check for the real mark.

EPA's Standard says certification applies only to the finished product. Three limits are worth knowing:

• Disinfectants and sanitizers: these are EPA-registered antimicrobial pesticides and use the DfE logo. We compare the two in Safer Choice vs DfE.
• Vague claims: EPA warns shoppers to be careful with generic claims such as "environmentally friendly," "eco safe" or "green," sometimes called greenwashing.
• "Natural": EPA says it is impossible to say whether a "natural" product is safer without knowing its ingredients.

EPA also cautions that actual risks from cleaning chemicals at typical exposure levels are often uncertain and probably low in many cases. The label is a tool for reducing intrinsic hazard, not a promise of zero risk.

Is there a Safer Choice program for cleaning companies?

Yes. EPA's Standard includes a Cleaning Service Certification for providers, including residential cleaners, that use Safer Choice-certified products for cleaning and DfE-certified products for disinfecting to the maximum extent practicable. It is separate from the product label, with its own logo, application and annual audit.

The product label and the service certification are different things. The Safer Choice Standard describes a separate certification for cleaning service providers, with its own logo, application and annual audit. A company that uses a certified product is not the same as a certified company. We cover the program in Safer Choice cleaning service certification.

This guide is educational. It explains EPA's label and is not an endorsement of any company.

How can you use Safer Choice when buying products or hiring help?

Look for the actual EPA mark on the package, or search EPA's product list. For help at home, ask a cleaning company what it uses and whether it can share product labels, rather than relying on words like green. Our guide to finding Safer Choice products shows the search steps.

1. Look for the Safer Choice mark itself on the front of the package.
2. Check EPA's product search to confirm. Steps are in how to find Safer Choice products.
3. When you compare cleaning companies, ask what they use and why. Our guide to choosing a cleaning company lists questions to ask.
4. Always follow the label directions on whatever you use.

Want recurring help? Explore our house cleaning service or request a free quote.