EPA’s Design for the Environment Program Highlighted in Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly Program
WASHINGTON – The Climate Pledge Friendly program on Amazon now includes antimicrobial products like disinfectants and sanitizers certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) program. DfE joins EPA’s Safer Choice and 46 other sustainability certifications in Climate Pledge Friendly, which helps customers shop for over 300,000 more sustainable products in the company’s online store.
“We’re thrilled that Amazon is making it easier to identify antimicrobials that meet our program’s stringent criteria for people and the planet in this initiative,” said EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention Jennie Romer. “Increasing awareness of EPA’s Design for the Environment program through Climate Pledge Friendly will help consumers make environmentally and health-conscious buying decisions. This also encourages companies to seek Design for the Environment certification for their products, reducing pollution at its source and benefiting workers, families and the environment.”
DfE products meet criteria that evaluate human health and environmental effects, product performance, packaging and ingredients. The requirements are intended to:
- Minimize possible risks to human health by excluding ingredients that might have the potential to negatively impact young children, cause cancer, or have other negative effects;
- Further protect fish and other aquatic life;
- Minimize pollution of air or waterways and prevent harmful chemicals from being added to the land; and
- Ensure products have no unresolved compliance, enforcement or efficacy issues.
The addition of DfE to the Climate Pledge Friendly program on Amazon follows EPA's recent modernization of the DfE logo. Products with the new label are expected to be available late next year. EPA redesigned the logo to make it more appealing and recognizable to retailers, consumers and purchasers following a request from a coalition that included the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Clorox Company, the Procter and Gamble Company, and Reckitt. This coalition’s efforts were recognized in early November with a 2022 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award.
Products identified as Climate Pledge Friendly are distinguished on Amazon’s shopping results and featured in a dedicated section of Amazon’s online store. Amazon also provides its customers with detailed web pages that include information on how and why products are certified as sustainable.
Learn more about EPA’s DfE program.