Increasingly, government purchasers are using environmental criteria when choosing cleaning products. The level of stringency varies widely, however. Standards for federal purchasers developed jointly by the U.S. General Services Administration and major cleaning products manufacturers, for instance, are very weak. Others set the bar quite high. Santa Monica, California, requires products to meet strict standards on such items as aquatic toxicity and VOC content.
Consumers can obtain a list of selected products from the city.
Unfortunately, the companies producing cleaners for retail and those making products for institutional use are not always the same. A Graduated Eco-labeling Scheme Consumers often seek safe cleaning products, but these substances, by their very nature and purpose, are aggressive agents. Vinegar, for instance, makes a great glass cleaner and is an environmentally sound choice when used sparingly, but a large quantity discharged into an ecosystem or ingested can have deadly results. Cleaners therefore cannot be classified as either safe or not safe. Instead, they are more or less environmentally preferable.