Certification Criteria
A high-level view of how we interpret microplastic risk.
Certification Criteria Snapshot
This page summarizes key elements of our standard. Category-specific thresholds are shared with applicants during the review process.
What “Certified Microplastic-Free” means
- Consumer-facing contact surfaces avoid conventional fossil-derived plastics that are known to shed microplastics under normal use.
- Materials in contact with ingestible, inhalable, or mucosal pathways are restricted to pre-approved, low-shedding material categories.
- Direct-contact packaging for these products must meet the same criteria as primary contact surfaces.
Automatic disqualifiers
- Known shedding microplastic contact surfaces in normal use.
- Undisclosed adhesive or coating layers on fluid or food-contact surfaces.
- Material claims that conflict with manufacturer safety data sheets or public regulatory findings.
Borderline and “low-microplastic” cases
Some products may not qualify as fully microplastic-free but may be candidates for a separate, future “low-microplastic” assessment where:
- Plastic components are physically isolated from the primary contact pathway in a controlled and well-documented way, or
- Substitutions are in progress and measurable improvements have already been implemented.
We document the basis for each decision and share a summary with the applicant.