Bipartisan Bill Would Give Safer Choice Program Its First Statutory Authorization
For a voluntary program with roughly 2,000 certified products and unusually broad industry support, Safer Choice has always rested on thin statutory footing. EPA has run it for more than a decade under general Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority, without any statute naming the program or directing the agency to operate it. A bill […]
EPA Updates Safer Choice Program’s Ingredients List
On July 21, 2025, EPA added 18 chemicals to the Safer Chemicals Ingredients List (SCIL). The move may signal that the agency plans to continue the Safer Choice program, despite earlier speculation that the Trump administration might transition it to the private sector. With the update, there are now 983 chemicals on the SCIL. The […]
EPA Updates Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Standard
On August 8, 2024, EPA finalized updates to the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Standard. The revised standard implements sustainable packaging criteria and introduces a Safer Choice Cleaning Service Certification for cleaning service providers. Created in 2009, the Safer Choice program allows products such as cleaners and detergents to carry a special label […]
EPA Updates Safer Chemicals Ingredients List
On September 23, 2023, EPA announced that it is adding 10 chemicals to the Safer Chemicals Ingredients List (SCIL), a list of chemicals which have been reviewed by EPA’s Safer Choice Program and meet its Safer Choice Criteria. The chemicals on the list are considered to be among the safest chemicals for their functional use […]
EPA Seeks Input on Expansion of the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Programs
EPA recently solicited public comment on its proposed expansion of the Agency’s Safer Choice and Design for the Environment programs. The expansion would include certification of additional product categories; the programs are currently limited to cleaners and disinfectants. Participation in the programs by manufacturers is voluntary. The programs help consumers and businesses acquire products that […]
Petition to Remove Polyvinyl from EPA’s Safer Choice and Safer Chemical Ingredients List
On November 15, 2022, BlueLand and Plastic Pollution Coalition filed a petition with EPA on behalf of itself and numerous non-profit organizations fighting plastic pollution and climate change, requesting that EPA require health and environmental testing and regulation of polyvinyl alcohol under TSCA, and that the substance be removed from EPA’s Safer Choice and Safer […]
EPA replaces Design for the Environment with new “Safer Choice” label.
Today, EPA unveiled its new “Safer Choice” label, which replaces the Design for the Environment (DfE) label for cleaning and other chemical products that meet the agency’s standards for safer chemical ingredients. The new label underscores the program’s focus on human health and environmental safety standards with the hope of making it easier for families to […]