Green Seal, EcoLogo Introduce New Laundry Standards

The same year that the USGBC launched LEED v4, Green Seal introduced a new standard for laundry care products. GS-51 Laundry Care Products for Industrial and Institutional Use targets the environmental impacts of laundry care products used in on-site laundry operations. This program specifies performance and health requirements for commercial laundry care products that companies can use to guide product development and obtain third-party certification.

Green Seal’s certification comes on the heels of EcoLogo’s recent standard for bleach and its earlier standard for detergents and softeners. In addition, the EPA’s Design for the Environment standard for laundry has existed since 1999.

“We tried to tie the standard into the natural evolution with green cleaners,” says Mark Petruzzi, senior vice president of outreach and strategic relations, Green Seal, Washington D.C. “The laundry care industry was focusing on conserving energy and water, optimizing their loads, maintaining their equipment and reducing dry time. All of which makes good business sense, because when it comes to energy and water, the costs kind of hit you right in the face. But it’s also important to look at the chemistry of the products being used.”

When it comes to laundry care products, the landscape has changed and the savvy distributor is ready to offer its clients products and education designed to improve the sustainability of the laundry care operations.

“Distributors should be prepared to put a strategy together for their customers,” Ashkin says. “They should work with their manufacturers to put together a smart plan that helps their customers reduce energy and water consumption, as well as reduce toxicity in their laundering operations.”