EPA Names Safer Choice Partners Of The Year Winners

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 33 Safer Choice Partner of the Year winners across 17 states and the District of Columbia for outstanding achievement in the design, manufacture, promotion, and use of Safer Choice-labeled products over the past year. Many of the winners were manufacturers, associations, consultants and distributors for the jan/san industry.

In the Formulators-Product Manufacturers category, EPA recognized:

• Amway Corporation, Ada, Michigan;
• Anderson Chemical Company, Litchfield, Minnesota;
• Berkley Green, Uniontown, Pennsylvania;
• Boulder Clean, Boulder, Colorado;
• Case Medical, Inc., South Hackensack, New Jersey;
• Clean Control Corporation, Warner Robins, Georgia;
• Cot'n Wash, Inc. DBA dropps.com, Philadelphia;
• Earth Friendly Products, Garden Grove, California;
• GOJO Industries, Inc., Akron, Ohio;
• Jelmar, LLC, Skokie, Illinois;
• Krud Kutter Inc. A Rust-Oleum Co., Cumming, Georgia;
• Osprey Biotechnics, Inc., Sarasota, Florida;
• PRIDE Industries, Roseville, California;
• Reckitt Benckiser, LLC (RB), Parsippany, New Jersey;
• Seventh Generation, Burlington, Vermont;
• State Industrial Products, Mayfield Heights, Ohio;
• The Clorox Company, Oakland, California

In the Innovators category, EPA honored:

• AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry, Chicago;
• BASF Corporation, Florham Park, New Jersey;
• JOSELI LLC, Reno, Nevada;
• Rivertop Renewables, Missoula, Montana;
• Stepan Company, Northfield, Illinios;
• The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan

In the Purchasers and Distributors category, EPA awarded:

• Solutex, Inc., Sterling, Virginia

In the Retailers category, EPA recognized:

• Albertsons Companies, Boise, Idaho;
• Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., Rochester, New York

And in the Supporters category, EPA honored:

• American Cleaning Institute, Washington, DC;
• American Sustainable Business Council, Washington, DC;
• Consumer Specialty Products Association, Washington, DC;
• ISSA, The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, Northbrook, Illinois;
• Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington;
• McFadden and Associates, LLC, Canby, Oregon;
• The Ashkin Group, Los Angeles

For the 2017 awards, EPA recognized program participants who demonstrated leadership in furthering safer chemistry and products. Program participants that submitted complete applications were evaluated against the following five criteria:

• Participation in the Safer Choice Program
• Use of the Safer Choice label
• Promotion and use of products using the Safer Choice label
• Outreach and education on the Safer Choice Program to consumers and end-users
• Innovations in safer chemistry and other efforts to advance the Safer Choice Program

Responses were weighted and points assigned based on the applicant/award category.