GS-48 Laundry Care Products for Household Use  

Edition 1.7

GS-48 specifies performance requirements and environmental and health requirements for household laundry care products, such as concentration, reduced toxicity, biodegradability, and reduced and recyclable packaging. Companies can use GS-48 to guide their product development, and are invited to apply for Green Seal certification.

The standard covers the following products labeled for household use:

• laundry detergent products
• stain and spot removers
• bleaches and fabric softeners
• anti-static and anti-wrinkle products
• fabric refreshers and prewash products
• laundry starch/sizing/fabric finish
• combination products that may serve several of these functions

A subset of these product categories includes bio based products, and those containing enzymes and microorganisms. A comprehensive list of the product categories included in or excluded from GS-48 can be found in Appendix 1 of the standard.