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News Releases from Headquarters

EPA Marks Year of Safer Choice Milestones

Administrator Gina McCarthy will keynote this week’s Safer Choice Summit

11/14/2016
Contact Information: 
Christie St. Clair (stclair.christie@epa.gov)
(202) 564-2880

WASHINGTON - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy will keynote the Safer Choice Label Summit, which runs Nov. 15 and 16, 2016 in Washington, DC. The Administrator will speak at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15.

The Safer Choice Summit brings together senior executives of product and chemical manufacturers, distributors and retailers as well as nonprofit leaders who are committed to building the Safer Choice program. Safer Choice is EPA’s label for safer cleaning and other products. Manufacturers who make products that carry the label have met the Agency’s stringent standards for human health and environmental safety. Consumers can now quickly identify products that are safer for their families, communities and the environment. 

“The Safer Choice name says it all,” said Administrator McCarthy. “Safer Choice products are safer for you, your kids, your pets and the environment. 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.”

During the Summit, stakeholders will work with agency staff to plan for the future, share best practices, and discuss accomplishments reached over the past year.

These milestones include: 

  • A new consumer survey, commissioned by EPA, in which one-third of respondents said they had noticed the Safer Choice label on store shelves. And 76 percent of respondents said they would use the Safer Choice label to inform their purchasing decisions; that support is particularly strong among parents (83%) and millennials (86%).
  • Applications for certification have increased 30 percent this year. 
  • The program has evaluated and added 100 safer chemical ingredients this year to the agency’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List, bringing the full number to 820 chemicals that can be used to develop safer products.
  • The Safer Choice program just approved a line of pet shampoos to carry the label. These products are expected to hit store shelves early next year.

The Summit is open to the press. Credentialed members of the media should RSVP to stclair.christie@epa.gov. Location: Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001.

For additional information on the 2nd Annual Safer Choice Summit: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-choice-partner-and-stakeholder-summit-2016

Learn more about Safer Choice: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice