Every Green Llama ingredient page plays by the same rules. We explain them here once, so each ingredient page can spend its words on what makes that ingredient interesting. Fair warning: we think this stuff is genuinely fun.
Every ingredient, by name
We list every ingredient in our products by name. No "fragrance" catchall, the one word that lets a label skip the details. If it's in the formula, it's on the list, and it gets explained.
How we check EPA Safer Choice
For each ingredient, we look up its CAS number (the unique ID chemists give a substance) on the EPA Safer Choice Safer Chemical Ingredients List. We match by CAS number, not by name, because one chemical can go by several names, and similar names can belong to different chemicals. EPA marks each listed chemical with one of three icons:
- Green circle: EPA has verified the chemical is of low concern, based on experimental and modeled data.
- Green half circle: EPA expects the chemical to be of low concern, based on experimental and modeled data. More data would strengthen that rating.
- Yellow triangle: the chemical meets Safer Choice criteria for its job, but it is not low concern on every human health and environmental measure. EPA treats it as best in class for that job and calls the job itself an area for safer chemistry innovation.
If an ingredient isn't on the list, its page says so. And a listing describes the ingredient, not our finished product.
How to read EWG grades
EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning grades ingredients from A (lowest concern) to F (highest concern). Those grades are for the raw ingredient, not for our finished product. We show the grade on every page anyway, including the low ones, and explain what pulls it down. Hiding a D wouldn't make it go away.
The sources we cite
We start with regulators: the EPA, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and FDA regulations. Next come formal assessments, like HERA (a European risk assessment program for household cleaning ingredients) and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review. Then peer-reviewed studies. Every page ends with a source list so you can check our work.
What we don't rely on: supplier marketing, uncited blog posts, social media or "everyone knows" chemistry. If we can't find a solid source for a claim, we leave it out or tell you the evidence is thin.
What we won't claim
We don't claim our cleaners kill germs, and our ingredient pages don't make medical claims. Where a page touches on health, like allergies, it's general information, not medical advice.
Essential oils, one by one
Our scents come from essential oils, and we list each oil by name instead of folding them into "fragrance." Essential oils naturally contain fragrance allergens, such as limonene and linalool, so each oil's page notes the ones it carries. If scents bother you, look for our fragrance-free options.
Keeping pages current
We review an ingredient page whenever a formula changes or a source we cite changes. Every page shows a last-reviewed date, so you can see how fresh it is. Pages are written and maintained by the Green Llama team.
Spotted a mistake?
Tell us. Email help@greenllamaclean.com with the page and what looks wrong. We'll check it against the sources and fix the page if we got it wrong. Progress over perfection, ours included.
Sources
- Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). About EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning. https://www.ewg.org/cleaners/content/methodology
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Safer Chemical Ingredients List. Safer Choice. https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients
