--- title: Make the switch to healthier, more environmentally friendly maintenance and cleaning products description: Discover how to enhance indoor health and sustainability by switching to safer, eco-friendly cleaning products with the USEPA Safer Choice program. image: https://blog.irem.org/hubfs/sustainability-4.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2019/04/make-the-switch-to-healthier-more-environmentally-friendly-maintenance-and-cleaning-products#main-content) ![IREM logo](https://blog.irem.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Primary%20IREM%20Logo.png?width=2251&height=676&name=Primary%20IREM%20Logo.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [irem.org](http://www.irem.org) [irem.org](http://www.irem.org) [All posts](https://blog.irem.org/all) April 19, 2019 # Make the switch to healthier, more environmentally friendly maintenance and cleaning products By  [Todd Feist](https://blog.irem.org/author/todd-feist)  ·  3 minute read Share [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2019/04/make-the-switch-to-healthier-more-environmentally-friendly-maintenance-and-cleaning-products) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2019/04/make-the-switch-to-healthier-more-environmentally-friendly-maintenance-and-cleaning-products) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2019/04/make-the-switch-to-healthier-more-environmentally-friendly-maintenance-and-cleaning-products) Real estate owners and occupants are paying more attention than ever to the impacts of indoor environments on human health and wellness. Research by Harvard University and other organizations points to the positive effects of healthy, sustainable interiors on human cognition, productivity and sleep, among other functions. Real estate owners and occupants are paying more attention than ever to the impacts of indoor environments on human health and wellness. Research by Harvard University and other organizations points to the positive effects of healthy, sustainable interiors on human cognition, productivity and sleep, among other functions. At the same time, many of the products used in property operations, such as cleaners, detergents and finishes, emit chemicals that may be harmful to human health. Safer, more environmentally friendly products are available—but how do you identify them? How do you make the switch to less harmful products?  ### U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Safer Choice Program With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Safer Choice program, the first question is easily answered with a simple check for a label on a product’s packaging. Every ingredient in a Safer Choice-certified product has been rigorously reviewed using the Safer Choice program’s stringent criteria. You can be confident that the formula is safer for human health and the environment based on the best available science and protective standards. Additionally, the Safer Choice program requires verification that a product performs. The label ensures that the products Americans are using in their homes, office spaces and schools are as safe as possible and that they work. About 2,000 products qualify to carry the Safer Choice label, which includes a wide range of products, including all-purpose cleaners, laundry products, bathroom cleaners, floor cleaners and hand soaps. Safer Choice-certified products are available for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional applications. A complete list of products and product categories is on the [USEPA's website.](https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/products) The Safer Choice program is among several certification programs for green cleaning and maintenance products (others include Green Seal and EcoLogo). Certified green products can be incorporated into your property’s sustainability goals through the implementation and practice of sustainable procurement. Sustainable procurement is a strategy used to ensure products and services used at your property have minimal impacts on the occupants and the surrounding environment. They are designed to preserve human health and environmental quality while maintaining performance. Applying sustainability practices and adopting products made with safer chemicals that earn the Safer Choice label not only meet customers’ demands, but also enhance the bottom line and improve health and the environment. ### Safer Choice and the IREM Certified Sustainable Property (CSP) Program IREM recognizes the importance of certified products and materials through the IREM Certified Sustainable Property (CSP) program. Under the program, you can use products with the Safer Choice label at the property to qualify for points toward certification in the Health and Purchasing categories. Incorporating these healthier, more environmentally friendly products into your sustainability program will help to achieve property goals and earn certification. ### Making the Switch You can begin to integrate sustainable procurement into a property’s or portfolio’s sustainability program by considering the following steps: 1. Evaluate current baseline products and identify where changes can be made. 2. Evaluate capacity to change. 3. Develop a sustainability procurement statement. 4. Track success and make adjustments. 5. Market sustainability successes! About the Author Todd Feist is sustainability program manager at IREM Headquarters in Chicago. ### Leave a comment ## Related posts [![](https://blog.irem.org/hubfs/active-shooter.png)](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2022/06/details-of-management-facing-the-threat-of-active-shooters) [Commercial](https://blog.irem.org/tag/commercial) ### [Details of management: Facing the threat of active shooters](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2022/06/details-of-management-facing-the-threat-of-active-shooters) [![](https://blog.irem.org/hubfs/natural-disaster-blog.png)](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2021/12/managing-a-natural-disaster-or-emergency) [Risk management](https://blog.irem.org/tag/risk-management) ### [Managing a natural disaster or emergency](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2021/12/managing-a-natural-disaster-or-emergency) [![](https://blog.irem.org/hubfs/property-managers-blog.png)](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2020/05/property-managers-are-needed-now-more-than-ever) [Risk management](https://blog.irem.org/tag/risk-management) ### [Property managers are needed now more than ever](https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2020/05/property-managers-are-needed-now-more-than-ever) [![Primary IREM Logo r](https://blog.irem.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Primary%20IREM%20Logo%20r.png?width=2213&height=665&name=Primary%20IREM%20Logo%20r.png "Primary IREM Logo r")](http://www.irem.org) IREM® Headquarters 430 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 750 Chicago, IL 60611 US [facebook-f icon](https://www.facebook.com/InstituteofRealEstateManagement) [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-of-real-estate-management/) [instagram icon](https://www.instagram.com/ireminfo/) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.youtube.com/@IREM_info)   © Institute of Real Estate Management 430 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 700, Chicago, IL 60611 [IREM Harassment Policy](https://www.irem.org/File%20Library/Footer%20Nav/IREM-Harassment-Policy---October-2023.pdf) [Privacy Policy](https://www.irem.org/privacy-policy) [Digital Millennium Copyright Act](https://www.irem.org/digital-millennium-copyright-act) Copyright © 2026, IREM ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=1013802&fmt=gif) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Todd Feist", "url" : "https://blog.irem.org/author/todd-feist" }, "dateModified" : "2026-04-09T17:02:07.734Z", "datePublished" : "2019-04-19T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Make the switch to healthier, more environmentally friendly maintenance and cleaning products", "image" : [ "https://blog.irem.org/hubfs/sustainability-4.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2019/04/make-the-switch-to-healthier-more-environmentally-friendly-maintenance-and-cleaning-products", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.irem.org/hubfs/Primary%20IREM%20Logo.png" }, "name" : "IREM" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : [ "Todd Feist" ], "url" : "https://blog.irem.org/author/todd-feist" }, "datePublished" : "2019-04-19T05:00:00+0000", "description" : "Discover how to enhance indoor health and sustainability by switching to safer, eco-friendly cleaning products with the USEPA Safer Choice program.", "headline" : "Make the switch to healthier, more environmentally friendly maintenance and cleaning products", "image" : "https://22645210.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/22645210/sustainability-4.png", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://22645210.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/22645210/Primary%20IREM%20Logo.png" }, "name" : "IREM" }, "url" : "https://blog.irem.org/learning/publications-news/blog/irem-blogs/2019/04/make-the-switch-to-healthier-more-environmentally-friendly-maintenance-and-cleaning-products" } ```