Reach for Safer Cleaning Alternatives

The American Cleaning Institute estimates that roughly three-quarters of American families participate in some sort of spring cleaning every year, looking to rid their homes of air pollutants such as pollen, mold and harmful chemicals. Were you one of them? And, are you still cleaning up and cleaning out this summer?

Purchasing the right cleaning products is an important part of keeping your home clean and your loved ones healthy. Find the safer choice this spring by looking for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safer Choice label!

Safer Choice is a voluntary EPA program that certifies cleaning and other products made with safer ingredients. This program draws on more than 50 years of EPA expertise to help ensure that certified products are made with ingredients that are safer for you, your family, your pets and the environment without sacrificing quality or performance.

Safer Choice goes beyond making sure products are free from certain chemicals of concern. EPA scientists examine every ingredient, byproduct, residual and biodegradation product — no matter its concentration — to make sure Safer Choice-certified products contain only the safest possible ingredients. EPA scientists confirm the product does not contain chemicals linked to cancer, fertility problems or other human health problems, especially from frequent use. EPA scientists also confirm the ingredients are not harmful to fish or waterways and/or break down quickly and don't accumulate in the environment.

Certified products must also use sustainable packaging free of toxic elements, such as heavy metals. Companies are required to provide performance testing data showing the product works well compared to conventional products.

For formulators searching for safer ingredients, there is also the CleanGredients® online database. This is a database of chemical product ingredients that are used primarily to formulate household, institutional and industrial cleaning products that have been pre-approved to meet the U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice Standard.

Stepan Company has been listing ingredients on the CleanGredients® database since 2006, with currently over 35 surfactants approved for those customers seeking Safer Choice certification. To make navigating these approved surfactants easier and to provide a starting point for formulation development, we created our Navigating Safer Choice brochure.

Look for the Safer Choice label to find products made with safer ingredients. Happy cleaning!