A subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, UL Environment unveiled a new standard, UL 2883, that establishes human health and environmental criteria for the certification of disposable wipers.

These wipers include those designed for a range of household and other applications, but exclude personal care wipers.

UL Environment said, “Ecologo certification to UL 2883 will help end-users and professional purchasers identify sustainable wipers that reduce their impact on the environment and human health.”

“It will also allow manufacturers to differentiate themselves in a marketplace in which certifications are more and more impactful to purchase behavior and brand perception,” it added.

The standard includes all disposable wipers, both woven and non-woven, made from either natural or synthetic materials and fibres, designed and used primarily for cleaning, dusting or sanitizing surfaces or tools.

They could also be for targeted absorbency tasks, including those used for industrial, institutional and health service, food service, household cleansing and technical applications like automotive sector.

On the other hand, the standard excludes; reusable wipers and disposable wipers used for personal or skin care like baby wipes, facial cleansing wipes or wipes designed for personal or health related.

It also excludes wipers designed for use in the care of animals or pets like pet dental wipes and pet eye wipes and wipers made from 100 per cent wood pulp, as these are covered under the UL 175 Sanitary Paper Standard.

“The launch of the first ever UL Standard for disposable wipers enhances our portfolio of standards for the janitorial or sanitation sector and allows us to offer more complete solutions to manufacturers,” said Lisa Meier, vice president at UL Environment.

She added, “This standard includes key criteria relating to environmental leadership in the manufacturing and end of life impacts of disposable wipers, including energy use, water pollution and resource use.” (AR)