Learn About Design for the Environment (DfE) Certification
EPA's DfE logo helps consumers and commercial buyers identify antimicrobial products that meet the health and safety standards of the pesticide registration process required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as well as other rigorous criteria required by the agency.
When a consumer or purchaser sees EPA’s DfE logo on a product, they can feel confident that the product meets stringent EPA criteria for efficacy and effects on human health and the environment.
Human Health
DfE-certified products must meet a number of requirements related to human health. For example, to minimize the risk that products will irritate users’ skin or eyes, products must be within a certain pH range. DfE-certified products exclude ingredients that might pose long-term health risks, such as potential to cause cancer or negatively impact young children, among many others.
The Environment
EPA’s DfE criteria include considerations that reduce the environmental impact of products. These include how quickly chemicals break down, and how they affect fish and other aquatic life.
Ingredients
Before a product can carry the DfE logo, EPA reviews every chemical ingredient, even if it is not added on purpose (e.g., an impurity) or is present in low amounts.
Product performance
Like all antimicrobial products, DfE-certified sanitizers and disinfectants can only claim to kill viruses and bacteria that cause human illness if they demonstrate their products’ efficacy through laboratory testing data submitted to and approved by EPA.
Packaging
Manufacturers are required to improve the environmental impact of their packaging where possible.
How can I find products that qualify for the Design for the Environment certification?
EPA maintains a list of products that are qualified to display the DfE logo on the product label. Inclusion on this list does not constitute an endorsement by EPA, but rather indicates that EPA has reviewed the product to ensure it meets EPA’s criteria.