About the Industrial & Institutional Laundry Project

Industrial & Institutional Laundry Home | About This Project | Findings & Accomplishments | Publications | Partners

The DfE Program offers formulator companies the opportunity to partner with DfE to design or reformulate products with a more positive environmental and human health profile. DfE also recognizes formulators and products with improved environmental and health characteristics.

Steps to Partnership

The DfE Program has prepared this guide for formulators who are building a DfE partnership, thinking about building one, or just curious about the process. DfE wants to make the partnering process as simple and easy as possible and looks forward to working with you to formulate products that are good for your business and for the environment!

A partnership with DfE has three basic elements:

1. Teamwork. Working together to improve the environmental and human health character of your product.
2. Trust. Sharing with DfE, in confidence, information on all product ingredients.
3. Innovation. Being willing to make formulation changes now and to consider improvements over time.

A typical path to DfE partnership follows these steps . . .

STEP 1. Become Familiar with the Project. Read over the Considerations for Partnership paper and Technical Fact Sheet on Detergent Ingredients to get a sense of the project goals and framework, and what we mean by ingredients with a "more positive environmental profile."

STEP 2. Think About Partnership/Fill Out the Formulator Worksheet. If partnership sounds right for your company and you would like to work with DfE to improve your products, then select a formulation (or two) and complete the Ingredient Work Sheet. If you haven't spoken to a DfE representative yet, this is the time to call: David Di Fiore, 202-564-8796, or Mary Cushmac, 202-564-8803.

STEP 3. EPA Reviews the Worksheet and Begins Profiling. Once we receive the completed worksheet, DfE will begin characterizing your chemical ingredients. During this process, DfE might contact you with questions. To help you understand the character of your product, the final chemical profiles will include information on: physical-chemical properties, aquatic/human toxicity, environmental transport, and other general environmental considerations.

STEP 4. EPA Assesses Your Ingredients/Identifies Alternatives. Based on its profiling, DfE will assess the potential health and environmental effects of each ingredient in your formulation and might identify areas for improvement, safer alternatives, or additional information needs.

STEP 5. EPA Discusses its Assessment with You. Once complete, the DfE team will review with you its assessment, recommendations, and the elements of a partnership agreement. You may choose to meet with us in-person or by phone.

STEP 6. Entering into Partnership—the MOU. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) documents changes you make in your formulation and plans for future improvement. Sample industrial MOU and institutional MOU appear on the DfE Web site (section 8 covers EPA recognition and support). MOUs should be tailored to your company and product. DfE will work with you to complete the MOU.

STEP 7. Partnership Begins. DfE and your company decide how to announce the partnership and plan near-term activities. DfE welcomes additional products for review and your ideas on how to improve and strengthen the partnership program.

back to top