Implementation and Compliance Schedules for EPA's Safer Choice Requirements
Basic Implementation and Compliance Schedules

When issued in final form (following public notice and comment), enhancements
(i.e., new requirements) to the Safer Choice Standard (including changes to the
ingredient criteria) are effective on the issuance date and certain implementation
processes will begin then and others will be phased in over time.

•	New products. As of the enhancement issuance date, candidates for partnership
and current partners adding new products1 to the partnership must comply with
the enhanced Safer Choice Standard.

•	Existing products.

o Within the year following the issuance date, existing partners will receive

notice of the enhancements;
o Within the year following notice, partners must implement the provision for

currently labeled products; and
o Within a month of implementation, partners must send Safer Choice
verification of the change.

Bottom line: Within 13 months of notice of a new requirement under the Standard,

Safer Choice will receive partner verification of compliance.

Audits and Noncompliance. To ensure that partnership products are in compliance
with the Safer Choice Standard, and especially that the ingredients in labeled products
are identical to those disclosed to Safer Choice during partnership development (and
modification, if any), Safer Choice conducts regular partner audits. Following a pre-
partnership paper audit (as per current procedures) and during the three-year
partnership period, Safer Choice will conduct via third-party auditor an on-site audit, a
desk audit, and a renewal audit on or about the anniversary date of the partnership.

The third party auditors will promptly notify Safer Choice of all noncompliance issues,
highlighting any significant noncompliance, and will outline the steps partners need to
take to address these issues (including an expedited review of any previously
undisclosed product ingredients). Safer Choice will monitor for and, when necessary,
manage significant noncompliance issues, such as:

1)	ingredient misuse, e.g., use of a non-reported or non-acceptable ingredient,

2)	label misuse or misrepresentation, and

3)	failure to undergo an audit.

1 Under an existing partnership, a new product is a formulation that is substantially different from any
currently labeled product, with respect to both chemical components and intended use. By this definition,
substituting an ingredient in or giving a new name to an existing product would not render the product
new. Safer Choice would not permit, however, a partner to reformulate a product with an ingredient that
is a known problematic chemical (e.g., a listed CMR or PBT) and in the process of being removed from
all labeled products.

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Remediation Schedule to Address Partnership Noncompliance. Since remedial
steps may take some time to complete, Safer Choice will continue to work with the
partners during this period. Failure to act in good faith, i.e., adhering to the schedule
below, would lead to partnership probation and possible termination. While acting in
good faith, partners will continue to benefit from their partnership status, including
product listing on the Safer Choice website.

•	Partner notification of noncompliance ("N"), within one month of audit or Safer
Choice knowledge of noncompliance (including failure to undergo an annual
audit).

•	Within N+3 months, partner must contact the third party or Safer Choice to
discuss the noncompliance and propose corrective action.

•	Within N+6 months, corrective action must be scheduled.

•	Within N+9 months, correction action must be completed and all collateral issues
resolved by the end of the year ("N"+12 mos.).

For significant unaddressed noncompliance, partners will be placed on
probationary status (via letter indicating immediate mandatory action needed to avoid
partnership revocation) and the company or its noncompliant products will be marked
with a double dagger on the Safer Choice website until the compliance issues are
resolved.

For egregious noncompliance, (e.g., intentional ingredient misuse) partners will be
subject to partnership termination and products removed from the website.

Summary of Partnership Designations

•	Good standing: Partner is in full compliance with the Safer Choice Standard.

•	Remedial status: Partner has significant compliance issues—must follow
remediation schedule.

•	Probationary status: Partner has significant unaddressed compliance
issues— products marked with double dagger on web site; partner faces
partnership sunset.

•	Sunset: Partner (former) is no longer eligible for partnership and use of the
Safer Choice label—products removed from Safer Choice website.

Partnership Sunset. Safer Choice will notify partners by letter of partnership sunset
or loss of partnership for certain labeled products. Upon receipt of this notice, the
company must take immediate steps to discontinue use of the Safer Choice label on
subject products and notify Safer Choice of its plans and timetable for action. Safer
Choice will remove partnership products from the web site, as appropriate. Companies
may continue to sell labeled products that are in the production run and ready for
shipment, but may not schedule new runs that would apply the Safer Choice label. If
under probationary status, a company may resume use of the label once the
noncompliance is remedied and the subject products are relisted on the Safer Choice
website.

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Sales of Existing Safer Choice-labeled Stocks at Partnership Sunset. Safer
Choice will attempt to balance the goals of minimizing the potential to mislead
purchasers with not imposing undue hardship on product manufacturers.

Preventing Misuse of the Safer Choice Label. After a partnership ends, EPA follows
up to ensure that online label use is discontinued. Thirty days after a partnership ends,
EPA makes an initial check of the company web site to ensure that label use has
ceased. If label use has not ended, we follow up with a letter that is delivered by post
and immediately by email. After an additional 15 days, we check the company web site
to ensure the label is not being used. If label use has not ceased, we follow up with a
second letter. Additional measures follow at 15-day intervals. If after 60 days
inappropriate label use has not ended, first, Safer Choice staff, then an EPA attorney,
would contact the company. Continuation of non-compliance would be referred to EPA
enforcement arms.

We encourage partners, stakeholders and the public to inform the program of any
instances of partner or former partner misconduct, including label misuse. Contact us
to report misuse of the label.

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