User:Juliahla/sandbox

Introduction
DfE works alongside consumers and with many producers to enhance the safety of a wide assortment of products. The program is important because it only labels products as "DfE" when they have met an environmental standard set by the EPA. According to the EPA website currently over 2,700 products carry the DfE label making it easier for consumer to identify products which utilize safer chemicals in products such as household cleaning supplies. Furthermore the DfE program works alongside producers to assist them in finding safer substitutes to current chemicals used, and thus often minimizing the companies environmental impact and human health effects. The process consists of several steps which include selecting materials which will have the lowest environmental and health impacts, reducing the amount of material used, incorporating the "cradle-to-grave" concept of minimizing the impact of production/disposal as well as the impact during use of the product and enhancing the disposal process by using materials which can be recycled, disassembled or that will have a minimum landfill impact.