Greenguard Children & Schools helps raise awareness
I thought this was a totally cool and worthy program that needed posting. I received this email from a PR woman I work with - rather than summarizing it myself, here's a few paragraphs about this organization straight from their release:
Children spend about 85 percent of their time indoors, where the air is two to five times more polluted than the outdoor air. As a result, they face long-term health risks due to indoor air pollution. The source for these pollutants come from a variety of products in our homes and schools such as furnishings, flooring, electronics, window treatments, mattresses, cleaners and paints.
With increasing concern over pollutants and their impact on children’s health, the GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certification ProgramSM offers a solution to parents concerned about the indoor air quality of their homes and in their children’s schools. The GREENGUARD Children & Schools standard is overseen by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), an industry independent, non-profit organization. The Institute’s mission is to improve human health and quality of life through programs that improve indoor air, tests and certifies indoor products based on strict chemical emissions criteria.
The GREENGUARD Children & Schools certification mark can be found on more than 110,000 products produced by over 100 manufacturers.
Here's what I personally loved on this website - they have a complete product guide - their Certification Program - where you can search based on product (be it "bedding" or "cleaning products"), and the products listed have been shown to be some of the safest products on the market.