ATLANTA -The E.P.A. (EPA) is announcing that Chemlink Labs in Kennesaw, Ga. is among 21 Safer Choice Partner of the Year winners across 15 states. The awards are for outstanding achievement in the design, manufacture, promotion, and use of Safer Choice products for the nation.
"These winners demonstrate that Safer Choice-labeled products, which are safer for homes, schools, and workplaces and perform well, can also be good for business," said E.P.A. Administrator Gina McCarthy. "The name says it all: Safer Choice products are safer for you, your kids, pets, co-workers, communities and the environment. Our scientists employ a stringent set of human health and environmental safety requirements when reviewing products for the Safer Choice program, so a product with the label is backed by E.P.A. science."
To qualify for the Safer Choice (formerly "Design for the Environment") label, a product must meet EPA's Safer Choice Standard, a stringent human and environmental health criteria. Currently, the Safer Choice Plan has nearly 500 formulator-manufacturer partners who make in excess of 2,000 products for retail and institutional customers.
Partner of the Year award winners represent a wide variety of leadership organizations. Participants include Fortune 500 companies, small- and medium-sized businesses, state governments, and non-governmental organizations. The 2015 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards will be presented at 2:00 p.m. on June 22, 2015, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.
Safer Formulator-Manufacturer: Case Medical, Incorporated (South Hackensack, N.J.); Earth Friendly Products (Garden Grove, Calif.); Jelmar, LLC (Skokie, Ill.); Osprey Biotechnics, Incorporated (Sarasota, Fla.); The Sun Products Corporation (Wilton, CT); and Wexford Labs, Incorporated (Kirkwood, Mo.)
Safer Chemical Innovator: AkzoNobel (Chicago); Chemlink Labs (Kennesaw, Ga.); and Stepan Company (Northfield, Ill.)
Purchaser/Distributor: District of Columbia Office of Contracting and Procurement (Washington); GreenStar Hub (Forest Hills, N.Y.); PRIDE Industries (Roseville, Calif.); and Solutex, Incorporated (Sterling, Va.)
Retailer: Staples, Incorporated (Framingham, Mass.); and Wegmans Food Markets (Rochester, N.Y.)
Plan Supporter: The Ashkin Group (Los Angeles); Consumer Specialty Products Association (Washington, D.C.); GreenBlue (Charlottesville, Va.); ISSA, the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association (Northbrook, Ill.); Loyola University Chicago, Institute of Environmental Sustainability (Chicago); and Washington State Department of Ecology/Northwest Green Chemistry (Olympia, Wash.)
More on the 2015 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners, and registration for the Awards Ceremony, can be found at
http://www2.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-choice-partner-year-awards.
Remember to look for the Safer Choice label, appearing on products and store shelves nationwide starting this summer and fall.
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