MADE SAFE
CHEMICALS
CONFIDENCE MEDIUM · ANALYSIS ONLY, NOT AN AUDIT OR CERTIFICATION
Our read
MADE SAFE is the deepest chemical screen in the consumer-products set and one of the narrowest. It is hazard-based rather than risk-based, meaning a substance is excluded on its intrinsic properties rather than permitted below an exposure threshold, and it requires companies to disclose every added substance rather than only what appears on the ingredient list. The MADE Banned List runs to over 15,000 substances across 24 hazard categories, and the screen extends to ecosystem endpoints including soil, sediment, water and aquatic and terrestrial life. Within that domain the bar is high. Outside it there is nothing: no carbon, no labour, no sourcing, no packaging, no performance. Two structural points a reader should weigh. Nontoxic Certified writes the standard, performs the screening and issues the seal, with no site audit and no accreditation body above it, so this is expert desk review rather than independent audit. And it is a small programme, with roughly 550 certified product listings in its public catalogue, which means absence of the seal on a product carries very little information.
What it covers
- Screening of every added substance in a formulation against the MADE Banned List of over 15,000 substances
- Twenty-four hazard categories including carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, phthalates, parabens, bisphenols, PFAS, flame retardants and UV filters
- Hazard-based rather than risk-based assessment, so a substance must be shown not to be of concern rather than shown to be below a use threshold
- Ecosystem screening across soil, sediment, air, water, and aquatic and terrestrial life, including persistence and bioaccumulation
- Disclosure requirement extending beyond the printed ingredient list to all known added substances in the formulation
- Product categories spanning personal care, cosmetics, household, baby, bedding, apparel and pet products
- Standard reviewed and updated annually against current science and regulation
- Published decertification and seal-withdrawal terms with a 60-day removal deadline and fines for continued use
What it leaves out
Not a criticism of the scheme. A standard is a scope, and this is where this one ends.
- No greenhouse gas, energy or Scope 1/2/3 emissions requirement
- No labour, human rights or worker welfare criteria
- No raw material sourcing, deforestation, land-use or agricultural practice criteria
- No packaging recyclability or recycled content criteria
- No product performance or efficacy requirement
- No manufacturing facility site audit; assessment is a review of company-submitted formulation data
- No independent accreditation body above the programme; Nontoxic Certified writes the standard and performs the screening
- The full Certification Standard document is not published openly, so third parties cannot audit the methodology
- No published register of decertified products despite a documented decertification process
The scheme
| Issued by | Nontoxic Certified (US nonprofit; MADE SAFE is its certification programme, delivered through MADEWORKS) |
|---|---|
| Where it applies | Global, United States based |
| Audit and renewal | Annual licensing and participation, priced per certified product; the Certification Standard is reviewed and updated annually. Whether products are fully re-screened at each renewal could not be confirmed. |
| Cost | Published, USD. MADE SAFE Certified: $1,000 per product screening (capped at 35 ingredients), plus a per-product annual licensing fee tiered by portfolio size from $5,500 (1-3 certified products) down to $1,000 (75+ products). The lighter MADE WISE tier screens at $350 per product (capped at 50 ingredients), with $650 more to escalate to MADE SAFE review. |
What we read
MADE SAFE programme documentation as published July 2026 (Certification Standards, The MADE Banned List, Ecosystem Approach, Certification Process pages) plus Program Withdrawal Terms. The full Certification Standard document itself is not published openly.
- banned list size and screening requirement — All products certified MADE WISE and/or MADE SAFE must be screened against the MADE Banned List, which contains over 15,000 of the most toxic and harmful substances.
- disclosure beyond the ingredient list — Companies must disclose all known added substances in a formulation for MADE SAFE to review, going far beyond basic ingredient list reporting.
- ecosystem hazard endpoints — not found to be potentially harmful to humans, soil, sediment, air, water, aquatic or terrestrial life
- annual standard review — MADE SAFE reviews and updates its Certification Standard annually to ensure continued alignment with the latest scientific research, regulatory developments, and industry practices.
- cost_range — $1000 per product ... annual licensing fees ranging from $5,500 (1-3 certified products) to $1,000 (75+)
- decertification process — MADE SAFE may discontinue use of the seal for a product or with a Company that has out-of-compliance products... Continued use of the seal and references to MADE SAFE will be subject to fines.
- programme scale — public product sitemap enumerates approximately 550 certified product URLs
What we could not establish
The full MADE SAFE Certification Standard is not published as a retrievable document, so the screening methodology, hazard thresholds and any tiering could not be read directly; the rigor score of 4 rests on the programme's published description of a hazard-based screen against a 15,000+ substance list with full formulation disclosure, not on a read of the standard itself. Could not confirm whether certified products are re-screened at each annual renewal or only when the formulation changes. Could not confirm whether any product testing is performed, or whether any site visit ever occurs. The ~550 figure is a count of product URLs in the public sitemap and may include variants; it is offered as an order-of-magnitude indicator of programme scale, not an audited count. No published register of decertifications was located, though a decertification process with fines exists.
If you hold this certification, it is already on your record. What a buyer cannot see there yet is the evidence behind the parts this standard does not reach.