The issue of hand sanitation has been all over the news lately and is not only important to practice in hospitals and restaurants, but in schools, office buildings and public places. As news of the H1N1 Flu pandemic spreads, so does the important message about keeping hands clean.

At this time, the EcoLogo Program is initiating the development of a new environmental standard for hand sanitizers, which will allow purchasers to select hand sanitizing products with reduced environmental and health impacts.

Hand sanitizers is a new product category for EcoLogo. As the second step in the standards development process, the EcoLogo Program is currently calling for stakeholder comment on the initial document to ensure fair, transparent and broad participation. Among other important impacts, the current EcoLogo hand sanitizer category is considering biodegradability, bio-based content, packaging requirements, and environmental health issues.

This stakeholder consultation period for hand sanitizers will be open for 30 days beginning May 20, 2009. Comments must be received by Thursday, June 18, 2009.

To participate in the development of this standard, the EcoLogo team is asking those interested to send an email to Robin Duchesneau at: rduchesneau@terrachoice.com, or call: (613) 247-1900 ext. 239 for more information.

For more information about the H1N1 Flu, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: www. cdc.gov/h1n1flu/.

Posted by KateRusnak in Environmental standards, Green cleaning, Green products