News Releases from Region 03

EPAs Safer Choice program encourages better decisions when choosing spring cleaning products

PHILADELPHIA (March 24, 2015) - The snow is gone and temperatures are rising. That means it is time for spring cleaning, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its Safer Choice program this spring is encouraging consumers to look for cleaning products that will protect public health and the environment.

"EPA's Safer Choice program helps consumers find products that are productive and contain ingredients that are safer," said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. "Products that carry the Safer Choice label have been carefully evaluated by EPA scientists to ensure they contain ingredients that are safer for both humans and environmental health."

EPA developed Safer Choice labels so it would be easy for consumers and businesses to choose products that meet EPA's safer product standards. Although the Safer Choice label applies to products that are used year round, EPA is making a special emphasis just in time for spring cleaning.

More than 2,000 products currently qualify to carry the Safer Choice label. Safer Choice products are available for your home at retail stores and for use in businesses like schools, hotels, offices, and sports venues.

Along with protecting human health, Safer Choice-labeled products are less toxic to fish and other aquatic life and they break down more quickly through natural processes, so they are less likely to become part of the food chain or damage the ecosystem.

For more information Safer Choice, visit: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice .