Some would argue that anything purchased from a market that touts sustainable and natural products should all be safe. Yet, those who want their time and money to be spent on the safest and least harmful ingredients will be able to make more informed choices once this program is released in April 2012. The Eco-Scale is a response to the fact that federal regulations still do not require manufacturers to give full-disclosure of the ingredients contained in a product. The scale will also break down those ingredients in an easy and quick assessment of the product. Simply put, cleaners will receive a color-coded rating and third-party verification regarding the safety and environmental impact of the product. The tiered ranking system rates products as red (the worst), orange, yellow or green (the best).

Any product that receives a red rating must be reformulated or will be discontinued by the company. This will not only make manufacturers more accountable, but will also put the squeeze on greenwashing that has become popular as of late.

For some, just buying a green cleaning product from Whole Foods is good enough. For others who want to get the biggest bang for their buck, they now have one store that they can shop at that takes the away the guesswork and the time to research how to make sense out of confusing ingredient labels. After all, not all eco-friendly products are created equal. If only we could get other retailers to instill similar rating systems. Think about the pressure that would be placed on red product manufacturers.