National Park scientists are being pulled from their research duties to clean hundreds of campground restrooms after the firing of roughly 1,000 newly hired National Park Service (NPS) employees and about 3,400 U.S. Forest Service workers by the Trump administration in February.  

For example, Yosemite National Park in California is preparing for its busiest season of the year amid a custodial staff shortage caused by the Trump administration’s delay in hiring seasonal workers across the National Parks. With limited staff, restroom cleaning duties have been delegated to the park’s scientists, rangers, IT workers, and leadership teams in addition to their normal duties.  

Tackling custodial duties is not unheard of by NPS staff as at least once a season scientists are asked to pick up a cleaning shift. This year, due to further staffing constraints, scientists were asked to take up janitorial duties for at least three weeks if not more.  

NPS regularly hires about 8,000 seasonal employees, and these roles are exempt from Trump’s federal hiring freeze, which he enacted on the first day of his second term. 

National Park advocates have cautioned that the job cuts paired with the hiring freeze could lead to trash piling up and facilities falling into disrepair.

Green Seal released its 2025 Impact Report, highlighting the progress the global nonprofit and the brands that partner with it achieved during the past year. 

The report showcases the commercial and institutional cleaning industry’s commitment to delivering safer and more sustainable products. It also previews how the nonprofit plans to expand its initiatives to the household products market. 

Green Seal-certified products meet comprehensive health and sustainability requirements, and achieved impacts in 2024 including: 

• Safer Chemicals: Green Seal-certified cleaning products protected 9.8 million students and teachers from toxic chemicals. 

• Responsible Sourcing: Green Seal-certified sanitary paper saved 8.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions due to recycled-fiber sourcing—the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road. 

• Low-Impact Manufacturing: Green Seal-certified sanitary paper reduced manufacturing water use by 22 billion gallons due to use of recycled fiber. 

• Sustainable Packaging: Green Seal-certified cleaning products saved 213 million pounds of plastic through packaging optimization. 

The release of the Impact Report follows the ecolabel’s launch of a new brand identity and certification mark to help household consumers cut through greenwashing and identify products that are safer for people and the planet. The new identity is the first step in Green Seal’s commitment to align the consumer-packaged goods and retail communities on the definition of safer and more sustainable products—a key step to reduce consumer confusion in the marketplace. 

“Green Seal is committed to providing clarity, transparency, and a meaningful designation for consumers seeking safer and more sustainable products, much like we have for the away-from-home market over the last two-plus decades,” said Doug Gatlin, Green Seal CEO. “Our goal is to simplify sustainable shopping, so consumers find it easier to put their wallets where their values are. This Impact Report offers insight into how, together with our stakeholders, we envision turning this ambitious goal into reality.” 

The 2025 Impact Report also highlights green initiatives to eliminate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the supply chain; accelerate the transition to sustainable packaging; and align the consumer-packaged goods and retail communities on the definition of safer and more sustainable products. 

The report also features case studies of companies that demonstrate leadership in their industries with products that meet Green Seal’s comprehensive health and sustainability standards. 

“Green Seal is a third-party, independent organization paving the way for new, safer technologies,” said Caryn Gilliam, PortionPac Chemical Corp. chief strategy officer. “That is the bar we strive to meet, and even exceed, with everything we do. Through the Green Seal process, we have been able to develop state-of-the-art cleaners with incredible cleaning power and safer ingredients.” 

Find Green Seal’s 2025 Impact Report here.