For the last 100 years consumers have trusted the Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval when making purchases and now they’re following consumer demand by introducing a new Green Seal of Approval to help clear up rampant confusion.  GH has partnered with Santa Barbara, California-based consultancy firm Brown & Wilmanns Environmental to develop its green criteria.  “Determining what products get the green thumbs-up will include evaluating its health value and toxicity”, said Michael Brown, of Brown and Wilmanns.

“We want people to be able to see how we arrived at the decisions. Not every green advocate will be happy, but we’ve bent over backward,” Ellis said.  Jordana Gustafson, Editor at SustainLane.com says “no matter the timing, the Good Housekeeping brand name alone will give consumers confidence to trust that what they’re buying is environmentally friendly”. 

Tomorrow when the April issue hits newsstands Editor-In-Chief Rosemary Ellis will announce the additional of their Green Seal to the already trusted standard Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval found on 5000 products to date.  “Marketers were slapping a lot of words on products sometimes legitimately, no doubt, sometimes not so legitimately,” Ellis said, ticking off labels like “natural” and “organic.”  “It just became clear consumers were confused and frustrated,” she said.

“None of them, I would say, has been able to cut a wide swath,” Ellis said. “That’s one reason we think Good Housekeeping is an ideal entity to do this. I think a lot of readers will say, ‘What took you so long?’” ”From a business point of view we have a lot on the line and from a trust point of view we have even more on the line,” Ellis said. “But if something has the Good Housekeeping seal, whether it’s an expensive or inexpensive product, you know you’re getting your money’s worth.”

Products already granted the standard Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval can now ask to be evaluated for the Green Seal.  The green seal has the same sleek look as the original Good Housekeeping Seal, but is a dark green color and has leaves on either side.  Determining what products get the green thumbs-up will include evaluating its health value and toxicity, said Michael Brown, of Brown and Wilmanns.

“It’s a combination of looking at the materials that go into the product, aspects of waste, energy use, water use and certainly the potential health impacts associated with the product,” said Brown, whose firm will train Good Housekeeping researchers to test products against the decided green criteria.

Image credit: www.GoodHousekeeping.com