CCD-103 Personal Care:
Personal care products are used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons, and include fragrances, cosmetics, lotions, and cleaning agents. These products may contain toxic substances, carcinogenic compounds and non-biodegradable materials. These, in turn, may lead to human health impacts, algal blooms, and increased mortality in fish and other aquatic organisms.

The EcoLogo^M Program addresses these challenges by establishing strict limits on toxicity, biodegradability, and packaging. The net environmental benefit will be reduced human health impacts, less eutrophication and toxicity in aquatic media, and decreased generation of wastes.

To be authorized to carry the Ecologo^M, personal care products must:

• Comply with all industry performance standards;
• Not be tested on animals;
• Not be toxic or carcinogenic;
• Not be formulated with:
  • Nitriloacetic acid (NTA) or ethylene diaminetetracetic acid (EDTA),
  • halogenated solvents,
  • alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants (APEOs), and
  • chemicals classified as carcinogenic;
• Be readily biodegradable; and
• Be manufactured with recyclable materials.

For buyers, EcoLogo is a tool to find, understand, and trust genuinely “green” products. For marketers, EcoLogo is a third-party endorsement, a sales tool, and a marketing program. By helping the buyers and sellers of genuinely green products find one another, EcoLogo rewards environmental leaders and helps shift the marketplace toward sustainability.

Launched by the Canadian federal government in 1988, EcoLogo is North America’s oldest environmental standard and certification organization (and the second oldest in the world). It is the only North American standard approved by the Global Ecolabeling Network as meeting the international ISO 14024 standard for Type I (third-party certified, multi-attribute) environmental labels.

The EcoLogo program is managed by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, Inc.

The EcoLogo Program certifies and recognizes products and services that are environmentally preferable. It develops and promotes higher standards of environmental performance against which products and services can be assessed. These higher standards are called “Certification Criteria Documents” (or CCDs) and contain the exact environmental and performance requirements an applicant must meet to become EcoLogo certified.

The development of EcoLogo certification criteria is a multi-step process involving purchasers, environmental groups, industry, consumers and consumer groups, academia, government, and other interested groups. As a “Type I ecolabel” (as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in the standard ISO 14024), criteria are developed using a life-cycle approach, meaning all stages of the process - from raw material extraction through production to the final disposal of the product - are evaluated. EcoLogo is North America’s only ecolabel to successfully be assessed against ISO 4024 by the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), making EcoLogo a valuable, trustworthy and globally recognized multi-attribute label.

The criteria development and review process is scientifically rigorous and robust, and guided by the principles of transparency and openness. The process begins with a critical evaluation of the environmental profile of the product/service type of interest. Stakeholder input during the criteria development process and public consultation on draft criteria constitute a large part of the development process, and are essential to the Program’s success.

All draft and final criteria documents are publicly available. (Click here to see EcoLogo certification criteria)

Key steps in the Criteria Development & Review Process:

Stage 1 – Defining the product / service category and its environmental and market profile

This initial stage in the development/review process helps increase the understanding of environmental and market details related to the product / service category by:

• Distinguishing the various options available in the market, how these products are used, and what their specific functions are;
• Identifying key stakeholders;
• Researching market details; and
• Documenting life-cycle based environmental impacts for the product.

Stage 2 – Proposing Drafts

The research performed in Stage 1 is complied and synthesized into an initial draft criteria document by:

• Proposing criteria in areas that distinguish environmental leadership for the product / service of interest;
• Meeting the EcoLogo principle of identifying better environmental choices – setting criteria levels such that approximately 20% of the products / services within a category can achieve certification;
• Setting quantifiable and verifiable criteria;
• Ensuring definitions and test methods are consistent and in line with international norms; and
• Relying on stakeholder input and expertise.

Stage 3 – Stakeholder consultation

To ensure a balanced review and vetting of all criteria, stakeholders from a wide range of perspectives are selected to actively participate in and contribute to the criteria development process. In particular, participants are sought from environmental groups, purchasers, relevant industry members and associations, consumers and consumer groups, academia, government and regulatory bodies, and other interested or related groups. Through a series of meetings or teleconferences, these stakeholders contribute to this initial draft development and subsequent draft revision stages.

Stage 4 – Iterative Consultation and Draft Revision

To ensure ongoing transparency of the development and consultation process, the resulting consultation draft document is made available to the public and other stakeholders for comment through posting on the EcoLogo website for a four to eight week long review period. (Click here to see draft criteria posted for public comment)

At the end of this period, a commentary report (including responses to all comments) is prepared and made available to all stakeholders and other interested parties. Through an iterative process, the commentary draft is revise and further stakeholder comments are sought until a certification criteria document is finalized.

Stage 5 – Final Criteria Document and Ongoing Maintenance

In addition to facilitating the development of criteria, the team of EcoLogo criteria development professionals ensure the criteria are regularly updated and represent current environmental leadership in an ever changing market. Any EcoLogo criteria document may be reviewed at any time if significant technical or market developments occur that justify a revision. This could include manufacturing, technology, scientific, regulatory and/or market shifts that have occurred since the criteria were originally developed or last revised. Nevertheless, criteria documents are reviewed every three years to ensure their continued relevance and stringency, and may be reconfirmed, revised or revoked. This revision follows the process described above, and includes consultation with licensed companies and the broader range of stakeholder groups and interested parties.

Through continual improvement, EcoLogo helps to guide industry further in the direction of environmental sustainability and provide purchasers with even better environmental choices.