EPA Names Consumer Products Association Award Partner of the Year

June 10, 2015 | By Business Wire News

WASHINGTON

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today named the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) a winner of its 2015 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award.

The Safer Choice Program, formerly known as the Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling Program, is aimed at identifying alternative chemistries and chemicals for use in consumer and institutional products through a labeling initiative. Companies may voluntarily submit detailed information about their product ingredients to the EPA for review and subsequently earn the right to use a “Safer Choice” logo on their products. The Safer Choice Program uses specific criteria to determine if a product may display the logo.

“This program helps increase ingredient communication transparency for users of consumer and institutional products, and it helps companies achieve increased sustainability,” said Chris Cathcart, CSPA President and CEO. “A number of CSPA member companies have been incentivized to innovate to meet the criteria of the EPA Safer Choice program. We congratulate CSPA member companies Stepan and Wexford Labs on also being named 2015 Safer Choice Partners of the Year.”

“CSPA has made a concerted effort to work collaboratively with representatives of federal and state governments, NGOs and industry to advance communication about what is in consumer and Institutional products. We are honored to receive this award, which is a recognition of those efforts,” said Cathcart.

CSPA established its own voluntary consumer product ingredient communications program and worked with U.S. EPA DfE as it developed its ingredient communication requirements in the original Design for the Environment program. Both the EPA DfE and CSPA voluntary ingredient communication programs were also acknowledged by Walmart as the two recommended guides for ingredient disclosure in its 2014 Policy on Sustainable Chemistry in Consumables.

CSPA is one of 21 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners announced by the EPA for this year. Partner of the Year award winners represent a wide variety of leadership organizations, such as Fortune 500 companies, small- and medium-sized businesses, state governments, and non-governmental organizations. The 2015 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards will be presented during a public ceremony on June 22, 2015 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. More on the 2015 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners can be found at http://www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-choice-partner-year-awards

About CSPA The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) is the premier trade association representing the interests of companies that manufacture, formulate, distribute and sell more than $100 billion annually in the U.S. of familiar consumer products that help household and institutional customers create cleaner and healthier environments. CSPA member companies employ hundreds of thousands of people globally. Products CSPA represents include disinfectants that kill germs in homes, hospitals and restaurants; candles, and fragrances and air fresheners that eliminate odors; pest management products for home, garden and pets; cleaning products and polishes for use throughout the home and institutions; products used to protect and improve the performance and appearance of automobiles; aerosol products and a host of other products. Through its product stewardship program, Product Care®, and scientific and business-to-business endeavors, CSPA provides members a platform to effectively address issues regarding the health, safety and sustainability of their products. For more information, please visit www.cspa.org.