AUSTIN, Texas — A year after Whole Foods Market launched its Eco-Scale system, which rates products red, orange, yellow or green based on environmental and sourcing standards, more than 90% of the retailer's household cleaning sales pass its green cleaning test.
Whole Foods sells more than 275 Eco-Scale-rated products from liquid laundry detergents and fabric softeners to all-purpose, glass and toilet bowl cleaners. It requires full disclosure of ingredients on all household cleaning product labels.
To make the cut, products must also meet — at minimum — Eco-Scale’s baseline orange standard, which means no intentionally added ingredients with significant environmental or safety concerns like chlorine, phosphates or formaldehyde donors and no synthetic colors or thickeners. Yellow-rated products meet even higher standards, with green-labeled products topping the tier. Red-rated products are not sold at Whole Foods.
“We launched Eco-Scale to help shoppers make smarter, greener choices for their families and the planet and provide a way to know exactly what ingredients are in their household cleaning products,” said Jim Speirs, global vice president of procurement for Whole Foods Market.
