Certification program gives clarity on which products are free from some of the most toxic chemicals like PFAS
WASHINGTON, DC—On Friday, June 28, the U.S. EPA published a summary of the comments it received on a proposal to expand its Safer Choice program, showing majority support for expanding coverage to personal care products.
“About 99% of comments received were in support of expansion of the Safer Choice and/or DfE programs. About 69% of the comments received were in support of expansion of the Safer Choice program into cosmetics,” according to the summary.
Currently, more than 4,400 products are Safer Choice certified. More than 99% of these products are manufactured by 312 U.S.-based companies in 38 states, as analyzed by Toxic-Free Future.
In response to the EPA’s 2023 request for public input on the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment programs’ potential expansion of their certification to new product categories, Toxic-Free Future submitted formal comments and organized a petition of more than 900 supporters to the docket, all supporting expansion to personal care products. Toxic-Free Future also organized a letter to the EPA from 39 businesses, including Sephora, Seventh Generation, and Beautycounter, and NGO partners like the Environmental Working Group and WeACT for Environmental Justice, encouraging the agency to expand Safer Choice to include cosmetics and personal care products.
Safer Choice is a successful EPA program that provides consumers with a certification that products are safer to use because they prohibit the use of the most hazardous chemicals, like PFAS. The program has proven successful in helping purchasers, retailers, product formulators, and ingredient manufacturers move toward safer solutions in a way that federal regulation does not. It is used by states and local governments to make purchasing decisions about cleaning products in particular. Recently, the General Services Administration’s updated Public Building Service specification requires that contractors use cleaners and hand soaps certified to EPA Safer Choice or other third party certifications.
In response to Friday’s news, Toxic-Free Future’s Safer Chemicals Healthy Families federal policy director Liz Hitchcock, stated, “EPA’s comment summary shows that consumers are looking for safer, non-toxic products, and that the overwhelming majority support expanding the successful Safer Choice program to certify the products we use on our families’ bodies. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety of ingredients in beauty and personal care products, and wary of greenwashing. Expanding Safer Choice to other products, especially those with high potential for human exposure, would be a win for public health, consumers, and the business community. EPA should take advantage of this golden opportunity to protect us all from dangerous chemicals.”
TOXIC-FREE FUTURE
Toxic-Free Future is a national leader in environmental health research and advocacy. Through the power of science, education, and activism, Toxic-Free Future drives strong laws and corporate responsibility that protects the health of all people and the planet. toxicfreefuture.org
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