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"  If environmental claims on the labels of &amp;quot;green&amp;quot; household cleaning products are enough to make your head spin, one place you can head to for some help is your local Whole Foods Market. Starting next month, the cleaners sold at Whole Foods must now comply with its newly created Quality Standards Eco-Scale System for Household Cleaning Products. The color-coded system differentiates between products based on the safety of the ingredients to you and the environment, and the disclosure of the ingredients on the label.  When you get to the household cleaners aisle, colored banners next to the products will indicate into which Eco-Scale category they fall. The most environmentally responsible products are, you guessed it, &amp;quot;green.&amp;quot; They&amp;#039;re made with 100% natural ingredients and 100% natural fragrances, but without any petroleum-derived ingredients, phosphates, chlorine, synthetic colors, or any ingredients that present even moderate environmental or safety concerns. In addition, they have not been tested on animals and there&amp;#039;s full disclosure of their ingredients on the packaging. The second, or &amp;quot;yellow,&amp;quot; category products may contain some petroleum-derived or synthetic ingredients, but are made with 100% natural fragrances and meet the same basic requirements of the green level-products. Cleaners in the third or &amp;quot;orange&amp;quot; category may contain synthetic ingredients and fragrances and ingredients with moderate, but not significant, environmental or safety concerns, and meet the same basic requirements of both the green- and yellow-level products. Finally, household products that fall into the &amp;quot;red&amp;quot; or lowest category must be reformulated or they will not be carried at Whole Foods Markets. The program is being rolled out over the next year to give manufacturers an opportunity to complete the required independent third-party testing. By April (Earth Day) 2012, all products must undergo independent testing and meet the baseline &amp;quot;orange&amp;quot; standard to be sold in the stores. According to Whole Foods, its own private-label cleaners currently fall into the yellow and orange categories. We applaud Whole Foods for this proactive approach and its efforts to help consumers sort through the confusion of environmental claims and learn more about the ingredients these products contain. While you are shopping, don&amp;#039;t forget to look for products carrying our Green Good Housekeeping Seal. You can be certain they have met both our strict performance and environmental requirements and are backed by our two-year limited warranty. And it&amp;#039;s always important to follow proper safety precautions when using any cleaning products, even green ones. Read more online tips about how to keep your children safe around household cleaners. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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