EWG Green Grade: All You Need To Know About The Certification

As products like skincare, shampoos and soaps integrate themselves into our daily routines, we find that we are not always aware or fully understanding of the ingredients that go into these products. Some products on the market are made with chemicals that were introduced a long time ago, which have been found to bear harmful effects in recent studies. Other products may not fully disclose their ingredients, making it difficult to fully know what you’re putting on your skin. With this, we put ourselves at higher risk of potentially causing damage to our sensitive skin.

With these problems, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been working since 1993 to track chemical safety, then developing a set of health standards according to the findings gathered by their research team over the years. The EWG has been following these published health standards to award suitable products the EWG VERIFIED™ mark, which acts as a marker of scientific approval of these products for healthy and safe use. 

What are EWG VERIFIED™ Products? 

If a product is marked as EWG VERIFIED™, this means that it has been tested and certified to be free from any of EWG’s list of ‘Unacceptable’ or ‘Restricted’ ingredients. Ingredients under the former list pose health, ecotoxicity and/or contaminations concerns, while those marked as ‘Restricted’ are ingredients that do not meet the guidelines set by the relevant authorities and industry institutions. 

EWG VERIFIED™ also requires products to be fully transparent with their ingredients list, and follow standard ingredient-naming guidelines to make it easier for consumers to research and understand the components of the products. Additionally, EWG meticulously follows the manufacturing processes behind products to ensure that companies develop and follow good manufacturing practices. 

EWG Green Grade

Products are sometimes labelled as ‘EWG Green Grade certified’, meaning that they are licensed as EWG VERIFIED™. These products have scored within the ‘green’ range (between 1 and 2 out of 10) of EWG’s Skin Deep® database according to the standards set from EWG’s research, with 1 representing the best score and 10 as the worst. 

EWG-Licensed Companies

Companies with products licensed by EWG are also bound to an agreement to submit all reports of product problems or cases of serious adverse reactions to the products. The companies are also required to clearly indicate the expiration date of products, including the safe usage period after opening the products. 

The great thing about EWG VERIFIED™ and EWG Green Grade products is that EWG does random repeated testing on these products to ensure that the quality of these products are consistently up to standard. 

As EWG’s ‘Unacceptable’ and ‘Restricted’ lists are updated once a year, the products are also regularly tested for compliance with their most recent standards. As such, consumers can stay rest assured that the products are up to date with the most recent health standards. 

You can check out the detailed list of EWG non-approved ingredients, along with their concerns, here. 

EWG Green Grade Products on BlueBasket

If you believe in the health standards and beliefs of EWG, here are some great Korean products that follow EWG’s health standards for their ingredients. 

Siwolboreum Hypoallergenic Hand Soap | Dearcus

Containing natural moisturising ingredients and EWG Green Grade components, Dearcus’ Siwolboreum Hypoallergenic Hand Soap is gentle on sensitive skin and does not dry out your hands even with frequent washing. The pretty colour of the soap and minimalist packaging also goes well with any bathroom or kitchen interior!

Pregnancy Body Firming Stretch Mark Mask | XUSURRUS

Made with EWG Green Grade ingredients, XUSURRUS Pregnancy Body Firming Stretch Mark Mask helps with stretch mark prevention and reduction, for both during and after pregnancy. The mask is effective in moisturising dry, itchy skin, and does not leave a stick or greasy residue. It is big enough to cover the belly and waist area, and contains no harmful ingredients, making it perfect for the sensitive skin of pregnant ladies.