EPA overhauls household chemical label system

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is overhauling its voluntary labeling system for designating that household cleaners and contain environmentally safe ingredients.

The “Safer Choice” system is the new iteration of its “Design for the Environment” labels, meant to certify products that are safe for the environment, pets, children and adults.

{mosads}EPA head Gina McCarthy unveiled the new label design Wednesday in a video with her dog Emma.

“We all want the cleaning products we use in our homes to be safe for our kids, our pets and the environment,” McCarthy said in the video.

“Starting later this spring and summer, you’ll start to see the Safer Choice label on products like kitchen and bath cleaners, carpet cleaners and laundry detergents and more.”

The EPA undertook an effort to redesign the program last year in as an attempt to make it easier for consumers to identify products that meet the environmental standards for safety.

The agency’s Office of Inspector General also recommended changes, saying in a report last year that the previous logo “does not adequately communicate to the consumer that the product is a safer product.”

In addition to the main “Safer Choice” label, the EPA produced logos for commercial and fragrance-free products under the program.

“The name says it all: Safer Choice products are safer for you, your kids, your pets and the environment,” McCarthy wrote in a blog post.

“Our scientists employ a stringent set of human health and environmental safety standards when reviewing products for the Safer Choice program, so a product with the label is backed by EPA science. Consumers know it’s a credible stamp they can trust.”

The EPA said the Clorox Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,CLR, Earth Friendly Products, Bissell Inc., Wegmans Food Markets Inc. and hundreds of other brands have already agreed to use the new label.