Looking for Safer Cleaning Chemicals? – Consider EPA DfE

What Is It?


The Design for the Environment (DfE) is the US EPA's label for safer chemical-based products. The DfE Safer Product Labeling Program advances EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment.  The program uses EPA's chemical expertise and resources to carefully evaluate products and to label only those that have met the program's highly protective Standard for Safer Cleaning Products and stringent safer ingredient criteria. 

How Does It Work?


By allowing use of the logo on products, EPA empowers consumers and commercial purchasers to select safer chemical products that do not sacrifice quality or performance and that are safer for people and the planet.  DfE labels a wide variety of chemical-based products, like all-purpose and specialty cleaners, laundry detergents, and carpet and floor care products.  In addition, DfE has teamed with the GreenBlue Institute to develop a CleanGredients database, which uses the DfE methodology and “green screen” to identify safer chemicals for cleaning products (you can see more at www.cleangredients.org).

What Does It Mean?

EPA allows safer products to carry the Design for the Environment (DfE) label.  This mark enables consumers to quickly identify and choose products that can help protect the environment and are safer for families.  When you see the DfE logo on a product it means that the DfE scientific review team has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that—based on currently available information, EPA predictive models, and expert judgment—the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.  Product manufacturers who become DfE partners, and earn the right to display the DfE logo on recognized products, have invested heavily in research, development and reformulation to ensure that their ingredients and finished product line up on the green end of the health and environmental spectrum while maintaining or improving product performance.

Look for the Design for the Environment logo when you shop or procure products and join a national campaign to protect human and environmental health.

For more information about the EPA DfE Safer Product Labeling Program, visit www.epa.gov/dfe.
Download a copy of EPA’s DfE Standard for Safer Cleaning Products (SSCP) here.

WAXIE has a several cleaning chemicals that are formulated in partnership with the EPA DfE Program and that have earned the DfE label.