Annual Science and EWG VERIFIED™ Criteria Review

December 22, 2022

By Samara Geller, Senior Director of Cleaning Science

Our 2022 science update has concluded, and updated criteria and lists of unacceptable and restricted ingredients are available on our EWG VERIFIED™ site for review. Please consult the updated lists and criteria:

All changes will take effect on January 1, 2023. We will notify companies with license renewals throughout the year, if needed. Companies will have eighteen (18) months to make the necessary adjustments to their formulation and packaging.

PLEASE NOTE: Scores in Skin Deep® may not reflect changes immediately.

EWG held a town hall meeting on November 18 to preview our 2022 science update for personal care and cleaning products and answer questions. We announced some key changes and improvements to our criteria documents and our lists of unacceptable and restricted ingredients . Highlights included:

New eligible product categories and forms

  • Recreational sunscreens and baby and kid sunscreens. The sunscreens criteria is published and the call for submissions starts January 1, 2023. Please submit your application by February 28, 2023, to be considered for inclusion in EWG’s 2023 Guide to Sunscreens best lists.
    • Requirements: “Green” in EWG’s Guide to Sunscreens; SPF 15-50; lotion or pump spray form; ISO sun protection tests. 
  • Categories will be added for body and facial cleansing and makeup-removing wipes categories to make it easier to search for them in Skin Deep.
    • Please note we will accept and review information from companies on substrate ingredients for all EWG VERIFIED™ wipes at our discretion.
  • Enzymes in cleaning product spray bottles with foam-only nozzles.
  • Concentrated cleaning product formulations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, while we are developing the criteria. Please submit inquiries for our review.  

Authoritative Lists and core toxicity datasets screened for any new or changed listings for potential updates to our database scoring and lists of unacceptable and restricted ingredients 

  • Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics, or AOEC, Exposure Code List
  • Cosmetic Ingredient Review, or CIR 
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA 
  • European Commission Cosmetic Ingredient Database, or Cosing
  • Health Canada, Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist
  • International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC
  • International Fragrance Association, or IFRA
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS 
  • U.S. National Toxicology Program
  • California Proposition 65
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Safer Choice Ingredient List

Special substance and group reviews

Per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS); halogenated organics; quats/QACs; linear siloxanes; acrylates copolymers; algae-derived ingredients; honey-derived ingredients; sodium carboxymethyl starch; cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine

For questions about our annual science and criteria update, contact [email protected]

Annual Science and EWG VERIFIED™ Criteria Review

September 1, 2020

By Thomas Galligan, Toxicologist

EWG is in the process of conducting its annual science and criteria review for the EWG VERIFIED™ program.

This process involves compiling and updating information from the scientific and authoritative sources outlined in our criteria, including:

  • U.S. National Toxicology Program
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS
  • Health Canada
  • European Commission, Cosmetic Ingredient Database and Endocrine Disruptors Priority List
  • Japan Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare
  • Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Cosmetic Directive
  • World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer
  • California Proposition 65
  • Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
  • Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics, or AOEC, Exposure Code list
  • International Fragrance Association, or IFRA

EWG’s toxicologists also reviewed several common ingredients and contaminants to ensure the science underlying our assessments is the most current information in the scientific literature. Some of these substances include:

  • 1,4-dioxane: Given new technologies to strip this contaminant from products, we are updating our restriction for 1,4-dioxane in personal care products.
  • Sodium borate and boric acid: We reviewed and incorporated new information from the EU’s Risk Assessment Committee and additional data published indicating adverse effects on infant growth and development.
  • Botanical ingredients: We reviewed the most commonly used botanical ingredients to ensure that allergenic components and phototoxicity were appropriately reflected.
  • Dyes and pigments: We conducted a full toxicological review of all colorants subject to FDA batch certification to reflect the latest EU and U.S. restrictions and related contamination concerns.

Notice of Future Update:

Effective 2021, we will be updating our requirements for allergens labeling. Following our science and criteria update next year, we will require companies to include all relevant allergens on product packaging at the time of verification. Companies will no longer have a one-year grace period to meet this requirement.

Once our science and criteria update is complete, EWG will contact all companies whose products are affected by the changes. Companies will be granted eighteen (18) months from the time the changes are publicly announced to make the necessary adjustments to their formulation and packaging.

For questions about our annual science and criteria update, please contact [email protected].