Here are links to 13 of the best eco labels in the market. What makes them so good? They’ve been defined by independent institutions or nonprofit organizations that have set meaningful criteria that companies must prove they’ve met in order to use the ecolabel in question. When you shop, look for these “third party” certifications to back up the claims a company makes regarding the environmental and human health benefits of their products.

NOTE: These ecolabels are among the best you’ll see when you shop. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect. They sometimes allow “wiggle room” for manufacturers, and they don’t take every possible impact into consideration. But don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good! The labels listed below are making things better, and driving manufacturers to reduce pollution, limit or eliminate use of toxic chemicals, and save energy. When we use them, we put the power of our purse to work to create support for strengthening the labels while helping to protect ourselves and our families.

Best Eco Labels

Organic – The U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborated with scientists, consumer groups, environmentalists and the agriculture industry to set standards for the meaning of the word “organic.” Products labeled “100 percent organic” must contain only organically produced ingredients. Products labeled “organic” must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients. Products meeting either set of requirements may display the USDA Organic seal on their packaging. Processed products that contain at least 70% organic ingredients may use the phrase “made with organic ingredients,” but may not use the organic seal. Processed products that contain less than 70% organic ingredients may not use the term “organic” other than to identify the specific ingredients that are organically produced in the ingredients statement. Overall, when it comes to food, the organic label, while not perfect, is the best indicator that no or minimal toxic pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics were used for growing and processing.

Green Seal – For more than 25 years, this non-profit, science-based organization has developed certification standards to minimize the environmental and health impacts related to cleaning products, coffee, paint, windows, even sticky notes. To earn the Green Seal, a product must meet rigorous evaluation and testing objectives, as must the facility where it is manufactured.

LEED – The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) label represents a green building rating system for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. A program of the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Forest Stewardship Council – FSC sets standards to ensure that forests are being managed in an environmentally responsible way, and that products like timber, paper and furniture are made sustainably. Look for it when you buy writing and copy paper, stationery, couches, chairs, dining room sets, flooring, framing timber, packaging and packing materials.

ENERGY STAR – This label, overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indicates homes and buildings, plus appliances, computers lightbulbs, copiers, printers, furnaces and many other products that meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines that help save energy and money and protect the environment.

Veriflora – This label is awarded to flower growers who do not use “extremely hazardous” or “highly hazardous” agrochemicals. The VeriFlora label also indicates that growers are converting to organic and sustainable crop production practices. The standard contains extensive water and ecosystem protection measures to ensure that farmers are not damaging surrounding wildlife or habitats. In addition, it requires growers to provide a fair, equitable, and safe workplace for their farmers.

Fair Trade Certified – This label (either version) demonstrates that the farmers and workers behind Fair Trade goods were paid fair wages and have opportunities for better health care, housing and education. The Fair Trade label is attached to coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, fruit, rice, sugar, spices and a variety of clothing and crafts produced in developing countries.

Certified Humane Raised & Handled – This label provides independent verification that the care and handling of livestock and poultry on farms enrolled in the program meet high-quality, humane animal care standards. These include access to clean and sufficient food and water; sufficient protection from inclement weather; and enough space to move about naturally.

Leaping Bunny is the certification program of the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics. The mark certifies that companies have not tested their products on animals during any stage of development. The company’s ingredient suppliers make the same pledge. Look for the Leaping Bunny label on cosmetics and personal care, household, and cleaning products.

Marine Stewardship Council – The Council’s eco-label indicates seafood that comes from fisheries that are striving to manage sustainably. Look for it on fish and shellfish, including fresh seafood sold at the counter, packaged and frozen seafood, and products like canned tuna, salmon, anchovies, sardines, and crab.

Demeter – This label represents the Demeter Farm Standard, which   indicates that a farm is organically farmed, GMO-free and also operated to promote soil fertility, animal welfare, conserve water, protect biodiversity, and managed to follow the cycles of nature. Look for it on wine, tea, juice, pasta, sauces, and many other foods.

NON-GMO Project Verified – This label indicates that products bearing it have been produced according to the best available practices for avoiding genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). It does not promise that a product is “GMO free” because there is always some risk that seeds, crops, ingredients and products have been exposed to GMOs somewhere along their growing or production cycle. It does, however, create a powerful incentive to seed breeders, farmers, processors and manufacturers to adopt practices that reduce use of GMOs while giving consumers a way to limit their exposure.

WaterSense – WaterSense is a label and program created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It’s designed to help consumers easily identify water-efficient products in the marketplace while ensuring product performance and encouraging manufacturers to create more products that help use water wisely. Look for it on indoor plumbing fixtures like faucets, toilets and shower heads, as well as outdoors in rain sensors, soil moisture sensors, and sprinkler systems.

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I sure do – unless, of course, they “clean” it using products laden with nasty chemicals that leave my rooms smelling like antiseptic and that leave me with a big headache. I’ve tried a lot of so-called green cleaning services over the years, but generally have found that, unless I provide my own healthy, non-toxic cleansers, most housekeepers use conventional stuff that’s full of phthalates, pesticides, formaldehyde and other toxins – not exactly what I would call green cleaning.

That’s why I was intrigued when Maid Brigade, a self-proclaimed green cleaning company, approached me with an offer to clean my house top to bottom in exchange for a no-holds-barred review of their service. In other words, they would do the dirty work; I would tell you how they measured up.

WHAT IS A GREEN CLEANING SERVICE?

Before agreeing to an appointment, I spent a long time reading through the Maid Brigade website.  On the home page, the company clarifies what it believes makes a “green” cleaning service. They said they took their commitment to “health, safety and effectiveness” seriously and vowed that their cleaning staff would:

1. Use solutions that are certified by Green Seal (or another recognized organization) to be free from carcinogens, reproductive toxins, neurotoxins, fragrances and other ingredients which can cause health problems

2. Use “greener” equipment such as vacuums that are recognized by the American Lung Association to improve indoor air quality

3. Use color-coded microfiber cloths to reduce the need for cleaning solutions, minimize landfill waste and prevent cross contamination from room to room within the home

4. Have a means to ensure that each member of the green cleaning service’s staff is following the prescribed cleaning protocol in every home and on every visit

5. Stay abreast of the latest science and technology so that the service can always offer the safest and most effective cleaning protocols available

 Having recently joined the Green Seal Advisory Council, I was particularly interested in a company that used many Green Seal-certified products. (Green Seal is an independent third party that has been setting  scientifically-based standards for the environmental health and safety of consumer and industrial cleaning products for over 25 years.)  I decided to make an appointment.

I spent a good 15 minutes on the phone with a manager for the local Maid Brigade franchise, answering questions about my house. Here’s what they wanted to know: How big is it? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? Did the sheets need changing? The fridge or oven need cleaning? Did I have pets? Are there smokers in the house? Maid Brigade took detailed notes, then estimated how much time it would take to clean my abode. (For the record, my house is about 2,000 sq ft; three floors; three bedrooms; 2 full baths; 2 half baths; kitchen; breakfast room; dining room; great room; office; family room; three pets that shed; no smokers).

A couple of days before Maid Brigade showed up, I stopped doing the normal surface cleaning I do during the week. On the weekends, I drag out the vacuum cleaner and my usual cleansers – baking soda, a little plant-based and fragrance-free liquid detergent, some Bon Ami for a particularly stubborn bath tub ring or the toilet bowl. During the week, I sweep, dust lightly, or shake out a few rugs; I wipe down my kitchen counters every day. This time, I cut back to the bare minimum to let Maid Brigade show their stuff.

HOW CLEAN WAS MY HOUSE? THE SNIFF TEST

Promptly at 8 a.m., two women dressed in Maid Brigade uniforms arrived at my home, carrying a vacuum cleaner, mop, and a couple of buckets filled with their cleaning products, reusable cloth rags and micro-fiber dusting cloths. They were friendly, cheerful, and very professional. (They were also “legal” immigrants who receive benefits from the company in addition to a paycheck.) They actually brought with them a “to do” list based on the conversation I’d had when I booked the appointment. I showed them around the house, and they got busy.

For the next three hours, the duo worked industriously, generally pausing only to ask me a question. They dusted dressers, tables and blinds, scoured the bathrooms, vacuumed the living room furniture and dining room chairs plus the wall-to-wall carpets upstairs and the area rugs downstairs. They also wiped down window sills and baseboards, washed the indoor windows and French doors on the first floor, and spiffed up the kitchen sink, counter and appliances (stove, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, toaster).  Finally, they mopped the wood floors. Maid Brigade is a franchise company, which means that it has local
franchisees that actually deliver the work. In order to be a Maid
Brigade service, the franchisees need to be certified in the company’s green cleaning system. I liked the idea that the company had established a strong protocol to ensure that all its employees delivered quality service.

While the house cleaners were doing their thing, I was doing mine: reading the ingredients list on the bottles of floor polish, window sprays, and counter cleansers they were using. What I saw gave me pause. I was expecting to see Green Seal-certified products; instead, the ingredients list included questionnable chemicals from Betco, a company I didn’t recognize at all. I asked the cleaners to explain the discrepancy, but they really didn’t know.

My house sparkled. The windows shone. And when I gave it the “sniff” test, I didn’t detect a single whiff of anything that might make me feel ill. Plus, because they had used cleaning cloths rather than paper towels, there was no trash to throw away. On the surface, Maid Brigade had done a tremendous job. But was it “green”?

GREEN – OR GREENWASHING?

After the women left, I contacted Maid Brigade to find out what was really in their products. Cloud Q. Conrad, Vice President of Brand Strategies for Maid Brigade, Inc, said that the company uses mostly Green Seal-certified products, including the floor cleaner, glass cleaner, and peroxide cleaner, which they mix up from concentrates and use in the recycled Betco bottles to reduce waste. They also use a degreaser from Betco that is not Green Seal-certified, and their actual cleaning service is “Green Clean” certified, not Green SEAL certified.

Using recycled bottles to mix up cleaning products is something I do myself at home; it makes sense to me both as a cost-savings measure and as a way to cut down on trash. But what about the company’s “Green Clean” certification? With so many manufacturers claiming that their products are safe and environmentally friendly even when they’re not, I am generally dubious of claims companies make about their own products. That’s why I usually favor companies whose claims are verified by an independent third party.

When I asked Maid Brigade’s Conrad about this, she noted that the company established its Green Clean Certified standard when they converted to green cleaning in 2007. “We created it because we felt it was critical that we implement a standard and require all of our franchisees and all of their cleaning crew members to uphold it – to avoid any possibility of greenwashing.”

“We patterned our certification program after Green Seal’s GS-42 standard,” she said, and sent me documentation from Quest, an independent lab, showing that “Maid Brigade’s practices and standard operating procedures have the demonstrated ability to minimize chemical and particulate emissions associated with cleaning practices,” particularly compared to other (unnamed) commercial cleaning companies. While that doesn’t mean they meet Green Seal’s criteria exactly, it’s pretty close.

For good measure, I viewed a video Maid Brigade has produced that features Annie Bond, a long-time and highly respected advocate of non-toxic cleaning products, offering consumers tips on how to eliminate dangerous cleaning products in their homes. The video includes links to Green Seal, the Safe Cosmetics Data Base, and other organizations I respect as sources of reliable information on chemicals that consumers should avoid. Finally, I was impressed by the company’s Green Cleaning Guide, which is something I could have written myself.

As I sat in my nice, clean house, I realized that using a house cleaning company that sets high environmental, health and safety standards is very important to me. I think it’s important to millions of other consumers, too. The more we learn about toxic chemicals, the safer we all want to be. For lots of us, that starts in our own homes. Whether I clean my house myself, or I hire someone to do it for me, I want the products used to leave no trace behind – not on a surface, not in the air.

Second, using certified products and services is an important way to discourage greenwashing. I’ve personally seen so many phony claims from co-called green companies that, whenever possible, I buy  cleansers that are certified by an independent scientific body, not by the manufacturer. I’m delighted that Maid Brigade uses mostly Green Seal-certified
cleansers and follows a stringent process to train their staff in green cleaning practices.

I hope other cleaning companies will pay attention – and follow suit.

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How can the world’s two consumer “superpowers”- the U.S. and China – work together to reduce the impact that consumption has on us and our world?

That was the topic a capacity crowd addressed on March 22 at the U.S. – China Greener Consumption Forum. The event, held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and co-sponsored by Big Green Purse and the International Fund for China’s Environment, pulled together scientists, consumer advocates, public policy advocates, and green entrepreneurs to share ideas about strategies to inspire manufacturers to create greener goods — and get consumers to buy them.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The Forum focused primarily on women because women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the  marketplace – and we’re not just buying cheese doodles and diapers. As I say here on CCTV, the national television network of China, we buy more clothes. More food.  More cosmetics and personal care products than men. We also buy more electronics, more home furnishings, almost as many tools, just as many cars. Women are spending billions of dollars, day in and day out, year in and year out.

But even with all that clout, we won’t be able to use this power of the purse effectively until we achieve true gender equity
worldwide, points that both Ban Li, Deputy Counsel of the Shaanxi Women’s Federation, and Liane Shalatek, Associate Director of the Heinrich Boll Foundation North America, made very powerfully.

 Christine Robertson of Earth Day Network facilitated a provocative panel on the impacts consumption has on our health and the health of the planet. Sarah Vogel of Environmental Defense Fund was peppered with questions after her presentation on the way the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) affects the reproductive systems of men and women alike.

Ping He of the International Fund for China’s Environment, the co-sponsor with Big Green Purse of the Forum, moderated the session on barriers to sustainable consumption and solutions that help surmount them. Meaningful eco-labels and standards can make a big difference, pointed out Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Green Seal, especially when those standards are set by an indendent third party (like Green Seal is) whose primary interest is not in selling products, but in helping manufacturers become more sustainable over time.

LISA JACKSON, Former EPA Administrator

 Lisa Jackson’s luncheon keynote address was the highlight of the day for many people. As a mom, scientist, and long-time public servant, Lisa has a unique appreciation for the impact consumption has on us as individuals and on society as a whole. She spoke movingly about being the first African-American to serve as head of the EPA and how important it is to bring women as well as people of color and low-income populations into the conversations we’re having about pollution and climate change.

Lisa noted that her favorite law is the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act because it empowers people to protect themselves wherever they live. She is also proud of technology EPA has shared with the city of Shanghai to help monitor air pollution there.

Lisa agreed that the way we use both the purse and the pocketbook can inspire manufacturers to reduce pollution and energy consumption.

AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

In the afternoon, one set of workshops focused on specific campaigns that have been particularly succeessful in reducing consumption. Peggy Neu explained the extraordinary success Meatless Monday has had in inspiring consumers to cut back the amount of meat they eat at least one day every week. Mary Murphy of the Center for a New American Dream explained her work to promote a sharing economy. “The biggest obstacle to sharing is trust,” she said. The more we can build communities of trust, the more sharing will occur.

Meanwhile, Julia Cohen of the Plastic Pollution Coalition moderated a provocative session on how to reduce plastic and re-utilize waste. Stephanie Tobor of Green Apple Supply described her work providing plastic-free alternatives to municipalities and businesses, and Kate Judson of the Washington DC Department of the Environment explained how the region’s plastic bag fee of five cents per bag has helped reduce the use of plastic bags by over 60%. Youlin Zhou of the Heilongjian Province Center for Agricultural Science and Technology describe her work to convert corn waste into animal feed.

At the same time, a third workshop was focusing on strategies to promote energy efficiency and clean energy. Moderated by Nora Maccoby of IFCE, the panel featured Peter Banwell, Product Marketing Director for ENERGY STAR, Gina Mathias of Eco-Beco, a company that offers energy audits for homes and businesses, and Hua Yan, of the Qinghe Spring Biomass Energy Company.

After a short break, a final set of workshops addressed home renovation, food and drink, and cosmetics and personal care products. While the earlier workshops focused on public education campaigns and behavior change, these workshops gave green entrepreneurs a chance to shine. They included Cheryl Newman, the VP for Honest Tea, describing how her company has gone from a dorm-room idea to a product distributed in over 300,000 outlets in the U.S., to Charis Smith of MOMs Organic Market, which sells only organic produce, and to Paul Ward, whose company Advanced Energy Growing, LLC is teaching hydroponic lettuce growing to both American and Chinese farmers. On the cosmetics front, Ashley Prange of Au Naturale Organic Cosmetics and Sarah Damelio of Skincando Body Products took the audience through the trials and tribulations of getting a new natural product off the ground, while Steve Ma, founder of Live Green, offered his insights on building a green consumer movement in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

WRAP-UP

In the final plenary session of the day, Forum attendees took the microphone to offer their suggestions for possible next steps. Ideas ranged from creating a dialogue on Facebook to promoting more information and expertise exchanges. The focus was not on “if” there would be another Forum, but “when” and where. In the days ahead, we’ll be brainstorming ideas for the next steps we could take to help the U.S. and China go from consumer superpower to sustainability superpower. Have any thoughts? Please let us know.

SEE MORE ON TWITTER

If you want to see more play-by-play reports of the Forum, follow our Twitter stream at #USChinaGreenForum.

GREEN SISTERHOOD NETWORK

The Green Sisterhood Network was the Forum’s outstanding media partner, generating blog posts in the network and covering the Forum live (Anna Hackman, a co-founder with Karen Lee of the Network, is seen here taking notes and Tweeting live at the Forum).

You can read Karen’s recap here and a post on the Green Sisterhood Network here.

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5 Reasons to Care about the US-China Greener Consumption Forum

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Whether for indoors or out, your best bet is to buy low- or no-VOC paint. You’ll find it offered by more than a dozen companies in thousands of colors and in standard eggshell, glossy, and semigloss finishes. You can also select no-VOC water-based stains, finishes, and paint stripper.

For specific recommendations, check out the brands that have been independently certified for health and sustainabilityby Green Seal or EcoLogo.

To get the most out of the paint you use:

Buy only what you need. Measure carefully. It’s better to go back for more than to be stuck with too much leftover paint you can’t use.

Prevent paint from drying out. Cover the paint can with plastic wrap, hammer the lid securely back into place, and store the paint upside down.

Use up stored paint. Apply it for touch-up jobs or smaller projects. Blend similar colors for larger jobs; use as a primer.

Donate leftover paint. Schools, churches, community groups, and kids’ clubs may be looking for a free way to give their buildings a face-lift, and you can take a tax deduction when you make the gift.

Don’t pour paint down the drain. You can rinse latex paint off brushes, but otherwise leave leftover paint you can’t use in open cans in a protected outdoor shed. When the paint air-dries, you can throw it away.

Circulate air. Keep windows open and fans blowing to move air- and paint fumes- out of the house. Avoid as much indoor air pollution as possible.

Lead alert: If your home was painted prior to 1978, the paint probably contains lead. Lead dust is extremely toxic, especially to children and pets. Before you paint, take the precautions recommended on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web page “Lead in Paint, Dust in Soil.” In short, never sand lead paint. Call on a professional certified in lead-paint abatement, whether the paint is indoors or outside where pets and wildlife can be exposed.

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