Whether cleaning is provided by a contract service provider or an in-house team, the goals are the same: protect workers, deliver consistent results, meet performance expectations, stay within budget, and manage risk. Purchasers must choose from among thousands of cleaning products all claiming to be safer or more effective.
Product efficacy assurances from independent, third-party standards and certifications cut through this complexity. This guidance also plays a growing role in sales and customer conversations. Buyers are asking better questions, and certifications provide credible answers.
Most people responsible for buying cleaning products are not chemists or toxicologists. Their expertise is in managing budgets, negotiating pricing, ensuring supply, and purchasing everything from office supplies and paper goods to cleaning chemicals.
Buyers must move quickly, control costs, and ensure products are safe and effective. Third-party certifications provide independent, expert review so purchasers can make informed decisions without technical expertise.
Certified products build confidence
Certifications differ from claims. Manufacturers make marketing claims; certifications are earned through independent review.
When a product is certified, it has been evaluated against a published standard by a third party—not the company selling it. This matters because manufacturers often use terms like “green” or “nontoxic” without clear definitions. Certifications replace opinion with evidence, helping organizations reduce risk, improve consistency, and justify purchasing decisions.
Third-party certifications also help reduce greenwashing, the practice of promoting products as environmentally friendly without credible proof or highlighting one positive feature to distract from other impacts, such as highlighting recycled packaging while ignoring hazardous ingredients or performance limitations.
Not all certifications are equal
Hundreds of manufacturers offer thousands of certified products. Stronger standards, better testing, and competition have driven innovation, resulting in certified products with performance and pricing comparable to conventional options.
Every certification is based on a standard, and not all standards are equal. Some are single-attribute, focusing on one issue, such as recycled content. Others are multi-attribute, addressing ingredients, human health impacts,
environmental effects, and performance. Overall, multi-attribute standards are essential for cleaning products used by front-line workers.
Policies in education, healthcare, government, and corporate facilities often require the use of certified cleaning products. Their use is also required for obtaining facility certifications, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) Green Building/Sustainability certification.
Heed the call to action
Independent, third-party standards and certifications help purchasers choose the best cleaning products for their facilities. Heed this call to action: Understand the standards behind the product certifications, use them intentionally in sales conversations, and treat them as practical tools for managing risk, controlling costs, and delivering consistent cleaning results
