Cleaning Product Companies Named 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award Winners

Cleaning companies, retailers and other stakeholders have been named 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award Winners by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
Winners—which included multinationals, smaller brands and start-ups,  were recognized for their achievement last year in the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals, that furthers outstanding or innovative source reduction. In support of the Biden-Harris Administration goals, winners were also recognized for work that promotes environmental justice, bolsters resilience to the impacts of climate change, results in cleaner air or water, or improves drinking water quality.
 
This year’s formulator-product manufacturer winners include:
 
Bona, Englewood, CO.
Since becoming a Safer Choice partner in 2020, Bona has certified 13 products. Bona  has reformulated more than 90 percent of their current cleaner line for Safer Choice certification. To ensure products used in the future will be able to attain Safer Choice certification, Bona  collaborates with and educates suppliers to refine their formulations. Safer Choice commends Bona  for their dedication to formulating and raising awareness of products with chemical ingredients that meet Safer Choice criteria. 
 
Case Medical, Bloomfield, NJ
In 2020, Case Medical broadened the availability of its line of Safer Choice-certified products to additional markets. The company built these formulations with ingredients from the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL) and from CleanGredients, a database of chemical ingredients pre-approved for use in Safer Choice-certified products
 
Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Ewing, NJ
Church & Dwight Co., which was ranked No. 9 in Happi's 2021 Top 50 Report, has been a Safer Choice partner since 2015. In 2020,CHD had a new product certified by Safer Choice. CHD’s advertising of this new Safer Choice-certified product included national television, digital, and print ads and social media, with a potential reach of 169 million.  CHD partnered with Safer Choice to develop and implement an in vitro testing strategy to meet Safer Choice pH criteria for laundry detergents. CHD manufactures the product they added this year using 100% green power, contributing to EPA’s goal of addressing climate change.  Safer Choice applauds CHD’s commitment to formulating products with safer chemical ingredients. 
 
The Clorox Company, Oakland, CA
A Safer Choice partner since 2007, in 2020, Clorox updated 10 formulations and added a new product to its offering of Safer Choice- and DfE-certified products, bringing the total to 37 SKUs spanning 19 retail and 18 industrial and institutional  products. The firm also increased the percentage of Safer Choice-certified products displaying the Safer Choice label prominently on the front product label from 57% of products in 2019 to 70% of products in 2020.  Clorox Company was ranked No. 10 in Happi's 2021 Top 50 Report.
 
Defunkify, Eugene, OR, 
Having become a Safer Choice partner in 2019, Defunkify now has 15 Safer Choice-certified products, a 67% increase over 2019. Defunkify’s communications were seen by more than 12.3 million shoppers in 2020. 
 
Dirty Labs Inc., Portland, OR
A Safer Choice partner since 2020, Drity Lab’s first two commercial products are Safer Choice-certified, and every ingredient in these products is listed on CleanGredients, a database of chemical ingredients pre-approved for use in Safer Choice-certified products. The lifecycles and sources for these ingredients are mapped on Dirty Labs’ website. Dirty Labs’ innovative formulating removed excess water so that its 11x concentrated liquid laundry detergent is more than five times smaller and lighter than many retail laundry detergents. 
 
Ecos, Cypress, CA
A Safer Choice partner since 2008, Ecos added four new products, renewed four products, and updated 11 product formulations in 2020. In total, ECOS offers more than 150 products that are Safer Choice-certified, which represents 79% of all ECOS product offerings. 
 
Grove Collaborative, San Francisco, CA
Over the course of 2020, Grove Collaborative expanded beyond the hand soap category to certify their entire liquid laundry and dishwasher detergent collections. In 2020, Grove Collaborative made it easier for customers to learn about the Safer Choice program and find certified products on its website by creating an EPA Safer Choice Spotlight store. 
 
Jelmar, LLC, Skokie, IL
This woman-and family-owned company, has been a Safer Choice partner since 2005. In 2020, Jelmar added three new products to its Safer Choice partnership. 

 
Lemi Shine, Austin, TX, 
A Safer Choice partner since 2017, Lemi Shine added three products and updated five Safer Choice-certified formulations in 2020. Currently, 18 of its 21 products are Safer Choice-certified and Lemi Shine prioritizes formulating with chemicals from the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL) in over 99% of their materials. Lemi Shine also introduced a wipe disinfectant formulation that is effective against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), which carries the Design for the Environment (DfE) label. 
 
LightHouse For The Blind And Visually Impaired, San Francisco, CA, 
This non-profit  has programs to help blind and visually impaired employees get experience in many areas, including chemical manufacturing, chemical blending, and quality assurance and control. LightHouse had record sales for its Safer Choice-certified products in 2020, with all proceeds going directly to the blind and visually impaired community. In 2020, LightHouse was awarded a contract to supply the entire United States Navy Fleet with two of their Safer Choice-certified products. LightHouse also partnered with the National Institute for the Blind to sell its Safer Choice-certified line to federal agencies across the United States. 
 
The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH, 
Industry giant P&G added twelve products to its Safer Choice-certified line and updated two formulations. P&G designed, formulated, and manufactured their first complete Safer Choice-certified brand portfolio that is a collection of fabric and home care products. These products were designed specially to address cleaning issues in the many hard water regions of the United States. 


 
PurposeBuilt Brands, Gurnee, IL
Formerly known as Weiman and been a partner since 2019, PurposeBuilt Brands added 12 products to its line of Safer Choice-certified products in 2020. The company’s outreach with the Safer Choice message about their Safer Choice-certified products had a potential reach of more than 35 million.  PurposeBuilt Brands recenlty filed for an IPO.
 
Rust-Oleum Corporation, Vernon Hills, IL
A partner since 2012,  Rust-Oleum increased its offering sof Safer Choice-certified products by 19% to 16% in 2020 (with 42 SKUs). It also began focusing on using concentrates and refillable bottles to reduce plastic use and emissions, contributing to EPA’s goal of addressing climate change. The three formulas to start this initiative have already been Safer Choice certified. 
 
Sensitive Home, Greenbrae, CA became Safer Choice-certified in 2020. All 14 dish, laundry and surface cleaning products from 14 Sensitive Home designed their products for sensitive people, including those with skin sensitivities, compromised immune systems, and respiratory issues. 
 
Seventh Generation, Burlington, VT
This well-known player in the natural cleaning space added 16 products, bringing its total to 66 Safer Choice-certified products in 2020. Seventh Generation also promoted its Safer Choice-certified products through digital and print marketing materials, including Safer Choice promotions through major eCommerce retail partners. 


 
Wexford Labs, Inc., a Kirkwood, MO
This manufacturer and distributor of environmentally friendly cleaners and disinfectants has three Design for the Environment (DfE)-certified products, after bringing on a new brand of disinfecting wipes in 2020.  The company also assisted its partners in obtaining DfE certifications for seven new private-label products. Many of these products are important in the fight against coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). 

Innovators in The Supply Chain
 
Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award Winners also included BASF Home Care and I&I Cleaning Solutions, Florham Park, NJ, which was named an Innovator.
 
LSI of Morristown, NJ and Novozymes, based in Raleigh, NC were also named Innovators.

Retailers & Partners 

Retailers named to the list this year were The Home Depot, Albertsons and  Wegmans.
 
Partners & Supporters included , Hazardous Waste Management Program, King County, WA, Lake Monroe Sailing Association, Bloomington, IN, University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Continuing Education Programs, Seattle, WA
 
Two associations were also named as outstanding supporters by EPA.
 
In 2020, Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) continued its support of the Safer Choice program by bringing stakeholders together from across HCPA’s membership virtually to strengthen Safer Choice, encourage more HCPA members to get their products certified by Safer Choice, and engage in discussions with Safer Choice staff about improvements to the program. For example, HCPA convened aerosol product manufacturers and suppliers to discuss how aerosol propellant technology fits into the Safer Choice Standard. Safer Choice commends HCPA for its commitment to educating its membership and the public about safer chemical ingredients.
 
American Cleaning Institute (ACI) in 2020 contributed toxicological reviews that resulted in eight chemicals being added to EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL) and was the first non-manufacturer to do so. ACI’s news media coverage featuring the Safer Choice program generated a total potential reach of 11.2 million in 2020 and highlighted that “Adding chemicals to SCIL encourages innovation and growth in safer products, increases markets for manufacturers and helps protect people and the environment.” ACI also partnered with the Good Housekeeping Institute to host their first-ever cleaning Summit, which included a panel on ingredient transparency that discussed how the Safer Choice program helps consumers find products with safer ingredients. Good Housekeeping shared the Summit with its 782,000+ newsletter subscribers. Safer Choice commends ACI for their dedication to supporting the SCIL and the Safer Choice program.
 
Additional supporters were also named. The full list can be found here.