2025 Impact Report
Welcome
Since spearheading the transition to environmentally preferable purchasing nearly 25 years ago, green cleaning in commercial and institutional buildings has become as ubiquitous as it is synonymous with Green Seal. The household products market faces the same urgent need for clarity today that we addressed decades ago in the away-from-home market. We’re meeting the moment with bold actions to unite the consumer-packaged goods and retail communities around a trusted designation for safer and more sustainable products.
In today’s household marketplace, a plethora of claims make it increasingly difficult for consumers to identify products that truly align with their values. Research shows this is a key reason for the “say-do” gap, where almost half of consumers say they want to be seen as choosing more sustainable products, but fewer than 10% actually do.
This year, we unveiled a new brand identity based on two years of intensive research with consumers, brands, and retailers into helping consumers cut through the chaos in the shopping aisle.
Our new brand is an outward reflection of our deep
commitment to providing clarity, transparency, and a meaningful designation for consumers seeking safer and more sustainable products, much like we have for the away-from-home market over the last two-plus decades.
We know a certification mark alone won’t solve the challenges in the marketplace. That’s why we make sure our criteria help brands target actions that matter across the four core elements of a green product: safer chemicals, responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging, and low-impact manufacturing. The result is massive savings in carbon, water, plastic, and harmful chemicals. We’re also raising the bar for product sustainability with initiatives to eliminate PFAS from the supply chain; accelerate the transition to sustainable packaging; and align the consumer-packaged goods and retail communities on the definition of safer and more sustainable products.
Ultimately, our goal is to simplify sustainable shopping for the everyday consumer the way we have in the commercial and institutional arena, so all buyers find it easier to put their wallets where their values are. This report offers insight into how, together with our stakeholders, we envision turning this ambitious goal into reality.
Actions That Matter
Our standards ensure products meet truly comprehensive health and sustainability requirements — from beginning to end. Here’s how Green Seal-certified products achieved impacts that matter in 2024.
Safer Chemicals
9.8 million
students and teachers protected from toxic chemicals/asthma triggers through their schools’ use of Green Seal-certified cleaning products.
292 million
grams of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) avoided by Green Seal-certified paint and coatings, the equivalent of protecting indoor air quality in 136 million square feet of building space.
Responsible Sourcing
8.5 million
metric tons of CO2 emissions saved by Green Seal-certified sanitary paper – the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road.
Low-Impact Manufacturing
22 billion
gallons of water saved by Green Seal-certified sanitary paper products due to 100% recycled content.
Sustainable Packaging
213 million
pounds of plastic saved by Green Seal-certified cleaning products each year.*
* Based on 2023 and 2024 data
Your Impacts
Laundry Care
960 kilowatt hours
Amount of electricity your household saves each year from choosing Green Seal-certified laundry detergent designed for cold-water use – enough to charge 82,758 smartphones.
Sanitary Products
230 pounds
Amount of CO2 emissions you save each year by choosing Green Seal-certified 100% recycled toilet paper, reducing your carbon footprint by 70% compared to virgin paper.
Paint
757 grams
Amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) you avoid with each gallon of Green Seal-certified paint you choose, protecting the air in your home from harmful chemicals.
Raising the Bar
We are committed to continuously learning, improving, and innovating to address the most intractable health and environmental challenges of our time. Here are initiatives we fostered in 2024 to help brands stay ahead of the curve on product sustainability.
Core Elements
With research showing consumer confusion about sustainability claims is holding back the marketplace, we launched a collaborative initiative with retailers, brands, and policy advocates to develop a market-led health and environmental product rating based on the core elements of a green product.
PFAS
With growing evidence that thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances pose a significant threat to human health and the environment, we further strengthened our leadership to address these hazardous “forever chemicals” by prohibiting all PFAS in Green Seal-certified paints and coatings, floor care products, adhesives, and degreasers.
Sanitary Paper
To prevent significant deforestation and climate change impacts from towel and tissue production, we collaborated with leading brands, retailers, and purchasers to create a modern leadership standard for tree-free and recycled content sanitary paper products that never use virgin tree fiber.
Sustainable Packaging Program
With packaging waste an urgent and growing concern, we worked with leading producers, brands, and stakeholders to develop a program to accelerate a global transition to sustainable packaging.
Simplifying Sustainable Shopping
With a standard trusted worldwide, our certification mark helps you cut through the chaos to make safer product choices at home, away from home – and for our collective home planet.
30,064
certified products
(by SKU)
100+
federal, state, and local
purchasing policies
specify Green Seal
Our Partnerships
Countries with Green Seal-Certified Products
Celebrating Leadership
Only products that meet a high standard for protecting people and the planet can achieve our seal. We review every aspect of a product, from safer chemicals to responsible sourcing to manufacturing and packaging sustainability. Here’s how brands are making an impact with Green Seal.
Customer Spotlights
Be.blum on Making Everyday Cleaning Safer, Smarter, and More Sustainable
Force of Nature on Changing the Consumer Cleaning Product Market
PortionPac on Why Less is More
Cascades on Delivering Products with High Performance and Lower Environmental Impacts
Newly Certified
We welcomed the following brands to the Green Seal community.
Newly Participating
The following brands and organizations have begun the process to certify their first product or service with Green Seal, demonstrating their commitment to meeting a high standard for protecting people and planet.
Thanks
- Thank you to the members of our Working Groups for Sanitary Paper Products, Sustainable Packaging, and PFAS.
- Thank you to Green Seal’s Board of Directors for their support, guidance, and expertise. Learn about the members of our Board of Directors here.