Following over 18 months of research and development, venerable consumer publication Good Housekeeping revealed the first products to earn the new Green Good Housekeeping Seal (GGHS). The designation, an environmental extension of the brand's well-known primary Seal, aims to set a mainstream standard for consumers interested in adopting a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Under the first categories to be introduced -- beauty and cleaning products -- AVEENO Soothing Bath Treatment, Physicians Formula's Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Tinted Moisturizer, GreenWorks' Natural Bathroom Cleaner, Nature's Source Laundry Stain Remover, Nature's Source Glass & Surface Cleaner, Nature's Source All Purpose Cleaner, and Nature's Source Natural Bathroom Cleaner were chosen as standout products.

To be considered for the GGHS, a product must pass evaluations for the primary Good Housekeeping Seal, which gauges claims and measures efficacy to ensure it performs as promised, and also represents a limited two-year warranty from Good Housekeeping. If the product passes those evaluations, it's then reviewed using more in-depth environmental criteria such as the reduction of water use in manufacturing, energy-efficiency in manufacturing and product use, ingredient and product safety, packaging reduction, and the brand's corporate social responsibility.

"The Good Housekeeping Seal was originally created to protect consumers from potentially dangerous products and false claims," explained Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief of New York-based Good Housekeeping. "Today our readers are interested in making choices that are healthier for their families and for the planet, so we're continuing our legacy of consumer advocacy with the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, offering consumers a guide, backed by scientific research, for products making significant steps toward being environmentally sound."

Since they've also earned the primary Good Housekeeping Seal, items with the Green Good Housekeeping Seal bear a limited warranty: if the product turns out to be defective within two years of purchase, Good Housekeeping will replace the item or refund the consumer.

"There is an overwhelming number of products making green claims in today's market," said Good Housekeeping Research Institute director Miriam Arond. "We are recognizing mainstream products making significant efforts in the right direction, and as advances are constantly being made in sustainability efforts, we will continue to re-evaluate our green criteria on a regular basis."

Forthcoming categories of Green Good Housekeeping Seal will include building products, home appliances, consumer electronics, textiles and children's products.

The scientists and engineers at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute collaborated with Brown & Wilmanns Environmental and other sustainability consultants to establish criteria for the Green Good Housekeeping Seal.

- Nielsen Business Media