Emphasis on Life Cycle Issues Feature in New Global GreenTag Personal Products Standard v1.1

Global GreenTag International sets new certification benchmarks - and challenges - for manufacturers of products for the personal care market.

Global GreenTag today releases Version 1.1 of the Global GreenTag International Personal Products Certification Standard, incorporating additional changes to encourage higher benchmarks for personal care products.

Personal care product manufacturers are increasingly under scrutiny as consumers become more aware of the negative environmental impacts of certain ingredients, such as palm oil, which, when irresponsibly sourced, can cause deforestation, loss of wildlife habitat, and biodiversity decline.

Dr. Nana Bortsie-Aryee, Program Director of Global GreenTagCert™, stated: “Version 1.1 of the Global GreenTag International Personal Products Standard has been expanded to address life cycle issues and increase requirements for material quality. The assessment process now includes alerts on the use of microplastics, GMO products, and compounds that may pose risks to human health, such as endocrine disruptors.”

The Standard emphasizes Life Cycle Analysis and environmental protection, with a strong focus on the biodegradability of personal care product packaging and how manufacturers manage this aspect.

In a global market estimated at USD 557.24 billion in 2023 and expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% from 2024 to 2030, Dr. Bortsie-Aryee added:

“It is imperative that our Standard provides rigorous, high-quality independent assessments for personal care product manufacturers who wish to stand out from the usual products. Many products claim to be 'safe' and 'environmentally sensitive,' yet lack scientific evidence to support these claims. Manufacturers who submit products for assessment under the GreenTag Standard are committed to becoming more ethical and responsible. We hope that regulatory bodies cracking down on companies engaged in greenwashing will lead to more conscious manufacturers in the personal care product sector.”

Dr. Bortsie-Aryee also mentioned that the GreenTag certification team has spent considerable time developing this latest version of the Personal Care Products Standard. They engaged in a public stakeholder consultation period to provide a Standard as rigorous as their assessments for the building and infrastructure sectors.

“We continuously strive to enhance all our Standards. Over the past two years, while developing the NaturePositive+ Standard, we have challenged manufacturers to design products that contribute to nature repair.”

THE LIST OF CHANGES v.1.1

Updates to the Global GreenTag International v1.1 Personal Products Standard, include editorial changes, updated sections and new links. The sections affected by the updates are:

- Life cycle issues requirements as per the assessment process.

- Material quality requirements to meet standards.

- Updates to GreenTag sustainability criteria scoring and weighting.

- Award of the LCARate levels.

- Requirements for assessment of corporate social responsibility.

THE TRANSITION PHASES – v1.0 to v1.1

• Existing clients with products currently certified and in a certification cycle under v1.0 of the Standard will be allowed to run the course until the cycle ends.
• Ongoing assessments under Standard v1.0 will also be completed under the v1.0.
• New clients submitting their products for assessments from June 18th will be assessed against Standard v1.1
• All new recertifications from June 18th will be conducted under Standard v1.1

For any questions about v1.1 of the Standard, please address to:
Dr Nana Bortsie-Aryee, Program Director – Global GreenTag International

To request a copy of v1.1 of the Standard, please address them to Systems Director Tanya Lynch: