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EPA Updates Safer Chemical Ingredients List
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding 10 chemicals to the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). The SCIL is a living list of chemicals that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria. With this update, there are a total of 1,071 chemicals on the SCIL, which are among the safest for their functional use.
The SCIL provides increased transparency in safer chemistry, helps companies find safer chemical alternatives and increases innovation and growth of safer products. In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals, the addition of chemicals to the SCIL incentivizes further innovation in safer chemistry, which can promote environmental justice, bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change, and improve water quality.
The SCIL is a resource that can help many different stakeholders including:
- Product manufacturers use the SCIL to help them identify safer ingredients to make high-functioning products that contain safer ingredients.
- Chemical manufacturers use the list to promote the safer chemicals they manufacture.
- Retailers use the list to help shape their sustainability programs.
- Environmental and health advocates use the list to support their work with industry to encourage the use of the safest possible chemistry.
EPA’s Safer Choice program certifies products containing ingredients that have met the program’s rigorous human health and environmental safety criteria. The Safer Choice program allows companies to use its label on products that meet the Safer Choice Standard. EPA encourages manufacturers to submit their safer chemicals to EPA for review and listing on the SCIL, which is updated at least once a year to reflect innovations in safer chemistry.
Learn more about EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List.
Learn more about EPA’s Safer Choice program.
Background
Safer Choice incentivizes chemistry that meets EPA’s stringent criteria for human health and the environment and provides opportunities for companies to differentiate their products in the marketplace with the Safer Choice label. With thousands of certified products, the Safer Choice label is a reliable way to find products whose chemical ingredients have met EPA’s criteria for being “safer” without sacrificing performance. Chemicals that meet the Safer Choice Standard are listed on the Safer Chemical Ingredients List.