Award winners developed safer merchandise, superior environmental justice, and decreased plastic air pollution
SAN FRANCISCO – This week, the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA) introduced 5 Safer Alternative Accomplice of the 12 months award winners from California, recognizing their achievements within the design, manufacture, and the choice and use of cleaners, detergents and different merchandise with safer chemical compounds.
The Safer Alternative program helps customers and services like colleges and workplace buildings discover cleansing and different merchandise containing chemical substances which might be safer options for human well being and the atmosphere. Candidates for this 12 months’s awards have been inspired to indicate how their work promotes environmental justice, bolsters resilience to the impacts of local weather change, leads to cleaner air or water, improves ingesting water high quality, or advances innovation in packaging.
“This week, we acknowledge excellent Safer Alternative companions and stakeholders who’re working to verify individuals have entry to merchandise with safer substances for individuals and the planet,” stated EPA Workplace of Chemical Security and Air pollution Prevention Deputy Assistant Administrator for Air pollution Prevention Jennie Romer. “This 12 months’s Safer Alternative Accomplice of the 12 months awardees have labored to contribute to the Biden-Harris Administration’s objectives of addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), advancing environmental justice, and lowering plastic air pollution.”
The 2023 Safer Alternative Companions of the 12 months in California are:
Apple (Cupertino) – Apple inspired business adoption of safer chemical compounds and used safer chemical compounds in its personal manufacturing processes. In 2022, Apple authorised 58 new cleaners to be used in its provide chain, totaling 133 safer cleaner and degreaser options, and recognized 19,000 distinctive makes use of of course of chemical compounds. By launching ChemWorks and IPC-1402 (a typical for greener cleaners utilized in electronics manufacturing), Apple supported safer chemical compounds throughout the business.
The Clorox Firm (Oakland) – Clorox has been a Safer Alternative associate since 2007. 84% of Clorox packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable, an 8% enhance since 2021. All Clorox Safer Alternative-certified merchandise show the Safer Alternative label on the entrance of the packaging. Clorox promotes transparency and client understanding by the SmartLabel platform and standardized phrases for over 800 substances.
“Creating merchandise which have Safer Alternative or Design for the Atmosphere certifications is a crucial a part of Clorox’s built-in Environmental, Social and Governance objectives that help wholesome lives,” stated Lisa Pankiewicz, Vice President World Stewardship at The Clorox Firm. “Merchandise that comprise these certifications present customers with the belief and confidence to make selections on which merchandise are proper for them and their households.”
ECOS (Cypress) – In 2022, ECOS submitted three new merchandise for Safer Alternative certification, reaching certification for 88% of their product providing and package deal labeling for 98% of their Safer Alternative-certified merchandise. In 2022, ECOS developed new laundry and dish packs, concentrated cleaners and detergent sheets designed to cut back or eradicate plastic packaging and diverted 4,500 tons of trash by waste discount methods, supporting EPA’s objective of addressing local weather change. ECOS makes use of 100% renewable power of their services, which saves greater than 28 million kilos of carbon dioxide emissions yearly.
“ECOS is proud to be named a Safer Alternative Accomplice of the 12 months for the seventh time,” stated Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, president & CEO of ECOS. “For over 55 years, our mission has been to guard the well being and wellness of individuals, pets, and the planet by creating essentially the most genuine, sustainable, and reasonably priced cleansing merchandise for all. Shoppers have a proper to know what’s within the merchandise they convey into their house, and we’re proud to associate with the EPA Safer Alternative program to assist them simply discover safer cleansing merchandise wherever they store.”
Mighty Fireplace Breaker LLC (Rohnert Park) – A hundred percent of the Mighty Fireplace Breaker product line is Safer Alternative-certified, and all merchandise show the Safer Alternative label on the entrance of the package deal. Mighty Fireplace Breaker’s liquid fireplace inhibitor, selling water conservation, is the primary fireplace protection product to earn Safer Alternative certification, creating a brand new product class for this system. In 2022, Mighty Fireplace Breaker created a kids’s e book on local weather change challenges and the significance of studying product labels, in search of the Safer Alternative label and figuring out what’s in merchandise.
Delicate House (Greenbrae) – In 2022, 100% of Delicate House merchandise have been Safer Alternative-certified merchandise, they usually all displayed the Safer Alternative label on the entrance of the package deal. Delicate House consists of the Safer Alternative label and messaging about this system by their on-line retailer, print advertising supplies and media outreach. All substances utilized by Delicate House are listed on EPA’s Safer Chemical Elements checklist and/or on CleanGredients, a database of chemical substances pre-approved to be used in Safer Alternative-certified merchandise.
“We’re very grateful to once more be chosen as certainly one of this 12 months’s EPA Safer Alternative Companions of the 12 months for the third 12 months of our existence,” stated Gregory van Buskirk, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Delicate House. “Our mission has been well-aligned with that of Safer Alternative from the start, and to this present day, each certainly one of our merchandise is licensed by Safer Alternative. Each time we develop a components, our query is kind of truthfully, ‘What would Safer Alternative do?’ As we try to enhance the lives of the delicate neighborhood (and to ‘Heal the World’ as an entire), we’re blessed to have as beneficiant and useful an ally as Safer Alternative.”
Many Safer Alternative companions acknowledged by EPA throughout the nation have proven management and innovation in safer chemistry and sustainable packaging. Different winners are lowering plastic use and water consumption by providing their merchandise as concentrates or tablets. These practices additionally decrease greenhouse gasoline emissions by lowering the quantity of product that have to be transported. Moreover, many awardees labored to advance environmental justice by schooling on merchandise with safer substances in underserved and overburdened communities.
A listing of the 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners and summaries of their accomplishments is obtainable on EPA’s web site.
Discover Safer Choice Products on EPA’s web site.
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