Green Product Certification "Truth In Labeling" Standard

The Green Clean Institute has been reviewing and certifying Green Cleaning products based on an innovative standard.  The Green Clean Institute anticipates that much of the testing, ingredient review, and safety standard were done prior to submission of a quality product for Green product review and certification.  The $400 submission fee is refunded if the product does not pass certification review.  The price of $1500 per distinct product submitted is far less than the fees and delys that are required by LEED, DfL, or similar programs.  We feel that there is no reason to charge extreme price, duplicate tests already done, or create excessive paperwork logjams.

GCI Green Product review takes the "Customer/Consumer View" of a product that is advertised or on the shelf.  Consumers do not make choices based on the complex processes and impressive logos on the package.  Customers want to know:

• Does it work as well or better than the regular products they already use?
• Are the advertised claims in line with the best standards of a third-party review?
• Is the price competitive for similar product or that is does a better job for the price?
• Does it contain toxic or harmful ingredients?

The GCI "Truth in Labeling" takes on the chore of a more critical and profession review of all the above, but adds another criteria.  With all the hype and Greenwashing games, we want to know that the advertising and label fairly represent a truly Green product.  This is because many words like, "Organic", Environmental, Natural, or Green-Friendly" have no official meaning.  They can be used to hide the true Green and environmental value of the product.  

We see a simple example in the claims of an RTU cleaning product and a concentrated Green product.  Both may do the same job and contain mostly the same ingredients.  But in the final analysis, the concentrated product is far better for numerous reasons.  Yes, concentrates usually cost less per gallon than RTU products, byt they require less plastic to manufacture, concentrate products are less costly to ship, reduce the carbon footprint, and results in far less plastic headed for the landfills.  These are the kind of claims that buyers should respect and choose.

GCI Green Product Certification Link