Green Seal is a non-profit, third-party certifier and standards development body in the United States. Since 1989 it has provided independent, objective, science-based guidance to the marketplace and to consumers. Green Seal is the largest US-based ecolabeling organization and meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

's Criteria for Third Party Certifiers, the requirements of ISO 14020 and 14024, and the standards of the Global Ecolabelling Network

Global Ecolabelling Network

The Global Ecolabelling Network is a non-profit interest group composed of 25 ecolabel organisations throughout the world.It was established in 1994 and its precursor, the German Blue Angel was established in 1978...

. Green Seal is the U.S. member of GEN which consists of 26 of the world's leading ecolabeling programs, including Germany's Blue Angel (certification)

Blue Angel (certification)

The Blue Angel is a German certification for products and services that have environmentally friendly aspects.It has been awarded since 1978 by the Jury Umweltzeichen, a group of 13 persons from environment and consumer protection groups, industry, unions, trade, media and churches.Blue Angel is...

 and the Nordic swan

Nordic swan

The Nordic Ecolabel or Nordic swan is the official sustainability ecolabel for the Nordic countries, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. This is done by a voluntary license system where the applicant agrees to follow a certain criteria set outlined by the Nordic Ecolabelling in...

.

Certification requirements

A Green Seal Certification Mark on a product means that it has gone through a stringent process to show that it has less impact on the environment and human health. Green Seal takes a life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment

A life-cycle assessment is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from-cradle-to-grave A life-cycle assessment (LCA, also known as life-cycle analysis, ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave analysis) is a technique to assess environmental impacts...

 approach, evaluating a product from the raw materials through the manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

 process and ending with recycling or disposal. Products only become certified after rigorous science-based evaluation, including on-site plant visits. The Green Seal means that the product has passed the tests; that it works as well as or better than others in its class, and that it has been evaluated without bias or conflict of interest.

See also

• Environment of the United States
  Environment of the United States
  The environment of the United States comprises diverse biotas, climates, and geologies. Environmental regulations and the environmental movement have emerged to respond to the various threats to the environment.-Animals:...
  
  
• Global Ecolabelling Network
  Global Ecolabelling Network
  The Global Ecolabelling Network is a non-profit interest group composed of 25 ecolabel organisations throughout the world.It was established in 1994 and its precursor, the German Blue Angel was established in 1978...
  
  
• ISO 14000
  ISO 14000
  The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the...
  
  
• Life cycle assessment
  Life cycle assessment
  A life-cycle assessment is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from-cradle-to-grave A life-cycle assessment (LCA, also known as life-cycle analysis, ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave analysis) is a technique to assess environmental impacts...