How did MADE SAFE become so dominant in the “eco”
label space? And what does its success mean for companies looking to profit from
consumers’ growing demand for products free from hazardous ingredients and
toxic
chemicals?
MADE SAFE founder Amy Ziff explains in this exclusive interview.
With over 400 eco labels in the market already, what inspired you to create yet another one? What vacuum does the MADE SAFE label fill?
Amy Ziff: I already had a two-year-old when I gave birth to twins. Before
long, they seemed to be allergic to everything! I started looking around for
safe baby
products
for them, but it was almost impossible to figure out what was healthy and what
wasn’t. Plus, I’m the daughter of a cancer survivor. I wanted safer products for
myself but had a hard time finding them. I realized there was a real need to
create a certification program based on health and safety that would take the
guesswork out of choosing for all consumers, but especially for moms.
That said, at Made Safe, we do a lot more than merely certify products. We are
ingredient experts who help brands find and/or develop safe and sustainable
ingredient solutions. The way that a woman giving birth may use a midwife as an
advocate for her birth plan, companies turn to MADE SAFE to help them
reformulate their products and maintain the level of purity they intended at the
outset. It ensures additional control and gives brands someone “in their corner”
to help make sure their ingredients reflect their values.
Also, and this is important: MADE SAFE is not an “eco” label, per se. MADE SAFE
is a health-oriented label first. It’s about integrity of ingredients that won’t
harm human health, the environment, animals, aquatic life or anything we can
predict in the ecosystem.
As for what vacuum we fill, we are aimed, largely, at the “mom market.” Beyond
MADE SAFE, there is no other label focusing on what moms really want to know,
which is: Is this safe for use on my children, with my family, in my home and
in my community?
What qualified you to create an eco label that is so science-based? Are you a scientist yourself?
AZ: Like a lot of moms, I did a lot of research to identify what was safe to
use on my children and in my home because my kids were having allergies to
things I didn’t know you could even be allergic to! But because I’m also a
trained journalist and a successful entrepreneur, as the idea for a MADE SAFE
label started percolating, I knew I’d need a team of experts who could dig
deeper on the evaluations of ingredients and materials. I pulled together a
group of highly qualified scientists who could do the “heavy lifting” to design
the framework for the MADE SAFE Screening Process. Those scientists, and other
experts, continue to help ensure we remain in step with the latest thinking and
research in their respective areas.
What does it take to create a meaningful label? How did you decide what companies to target as prospects for using your label? Once you got the idea, how long did it take to actually launch?
AZ: I worked on the concept for three years before getting serious about
launching MADE SAFE. I was afraid to “quit my day job,” as they say, because it
was such a big idea. But I knew there was an opportunity to establish the
highest bar in the industry for what it means to make a safe and sustainable
product. I wanted to define the term “MADE SAFE” before it could be corrupted
the way “natural,” “eco” and “green” have been because of a lack of defined
terminology.
Image credit: Good Clean Love
Our core team of scientists helped me think through the process and refine how
it would work. They also helped me establish the technical parts of the process
and decide what we needed to include in our evaluations. I asked other
scientists and experts to “kick the tires” until we had a really solid process
to advance. After the screening process was ready, it was time to take our
approach to the lawyers and make sure we were delivering on our premise and
promise. It took about a year from devoting myself fully to the project to
getting our first brands committed to launching in March of 2016, with about two
dozen products from brands like Alaffia, AnnMarie Skincare, Good Clean
Love, Rejuva, Sustain, True Botanicals and Pura Stainless.
Early on, it was clear that manufacturers feel the pain of having an outside
organization saying there are issues with the ingredients they may use. But we
believe that needs to happen even more. Until now, too many companies have been
able to declare what is acceptable in their products without any external
guidance or independent, third-party validation. We think it’s imperative that
there are some guidelines about what is acceptable in “clean” products, which is
part of why we created MADE SAFE.
How many years has the label been available? At this point, how many products are displaying the label, in what major categories?
AZ: At nearly three years since our launch, we are about to announce our
1000th product certified. We certify in several categories, including baby,
beauty, bedding, feminine care and sexual health, cosmetics,
oral care and household.
And brands pay a fee to go through the process of getting certified as MADE SAFE, like other eco labels?
AZ: Yes, and yes. Our certification
process is described briefly on our
website. We sit down with every company we work with to ensure their
certification process is as helpful to them as possible.
Since Sustainable Brands features businesses trying to be more sustainable, what's the business case for brands adopting a label such as MADE SAFE?
AZ: There are so many reasons to adopt sustainability practices for any
business. Here are three. First, it’s the fastest-growing segment of consumer
goods. In fact, I can’t name a brand that doesn’t want to be in the
sustainability space. However, not all of them know how to get there. That’s
where Made Safe comes into play — we help brands make the sustainability
transition by working with them to create a multi-year plan and ingredient
declaration. Second, being seen as sustainable is good for employee retention
and can be a significant tool in providing meaning and purpose for employees.
Third, sustainable business practices are good for the bottom line. No matter
how you measure it, it’s a win/win.
It’s important to note that the work we do with brands exceeds certification. We
often put brands on a plan with an ingredient
declaration
to help them move more deeply into the sustainability arena with their products.
Consumers see the MADE SAFE label; brands experience a formulation revolution
that puts them on a whole new path to profitability and performance.
How have consumers responded to MADE SAFE? Do you see "label fatigue" among shoppers? How do you reach shoppers to encourage them to look for MADE SAFE? Is it a requirement of companies that are awarded the label to help promote it?
AZ: Brands whose products have achieved MADE SAFE certification display the
label as a true badge of pride. It’s a testament to how hard they work to make
clean formulations and to craft products without harmful ingredients for humans,
animals, aquatic life, or anything in the ecosystem. We find that brands want
to promote their certification because it clarifies what they stand for.
Consumers who find us always express enormous gratitude, as well, since it makes
it so much easier to make healthy choices when they shop. So, no label fatigue
here. And as the growth in demand for MADE SAFE certification shows, consumers
want more certified products, not less!
Image credit: Happsy
What are the biggest challenges to maintaining a meaningful label? Do you need to update the criteria frequently? Is marketing a major obstacle? Does competition with all the other labels create a challenge?
AZ: There is always work to do, as science isn’t static. But, we have built
in processes to stay current. That said, we are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and rely
on foundations and donations for funding the advocacy and awareness work we do,
as well as increased consumer outreach.
Also, we’re passionate about working with brands beyond certification, so they
can see where they are in the journey to making better products. We want to see
them big, conventional brands use their R&D budgets to develop green chemistry
solutions with us, and avoid regrettable ingredient substitutions that may help
them cut corners in the short term but also undermine their product’s safety and
longevity in the marketplace.
Where do you see the biggest growth opportunities for the MADE SAFE label? Are there any new brands or product categories on the horizon?
AZ: There is a lot ahead. Some of it I can’t talk about yet … But 2019 will
be a very big year for us. You can expect more growth and expansion with new
brands, products and categories, for sure!
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Diane MacEachern is a founding member of Green Moms Carnival, a blogging network of mostly moms who reach millions of consumers with their green lifestyle tips, product reviews and shopping suggestions; and founder & CEO of Big Green Purse .
Published Feb 10, 2019 7pm EST / 4pm PST / 12am GMT / 1am CET