behind the bottle

how we formulate

safety first

Method employs a formulation approach that is fundamentally different than the usual suspects. Instead of looking for specialty chemicals to perform certain functions, method's green chefs start with a toolkit of innovative, effective, green materials that have all passed a comprehensive health and environmental screening process. The chefs then design formulations from this positive list of materials that are the greenest, most effective formulas possible. By starting with only safe ingredients, we can be certain that the resulting formulations will be completely safe as well.
 

Specifically, the fundamental differences in method's approach are as follows:

1. The Precautionary Principle - if there's a chance an ingredient isn't safe, we don't use it
2. The Dirty Ingredient List - ingredients that many others use,  but we don't
3. The Highest Standard - creating cradle to cradle products
4. Comprehensive, 3rd Party Assessment - ingredient reviews are completed by Independent researchers using scientifically peer-reviewed materials
5. Validation - co-development with the US EPA & EPEA/MBDC.

While many companies routinely use hazardous materials at low levels, method rejects this approach. Instead, we focus on eliminating hazardous materials, and choose ingredients with little to no hazard. From the fundamental toxicology tenet that Risk = Hazard x Exposure, with zero hazard, there is no risk to a user's safety. This is called the Precautionary Principle, and is a central basis of Green Chemistry. Any ingredient that doesn't meet our hazard screen is placed on the Dirty Ingredient List. This is a list of ingredients that quite simply are too toxic, irritating, etc., for us to use. Others use them, and claim they are totally safe “if used as directed,” but they fall below our minimum bar.

Cradle to Cradle is the central vision to our design approach on each and every product. We believe in reincarnation - we want every product to have a past, a present and a future. That means we want ingredients to be sourced from nature (in the past it was a coconut, for example), be non-toxic when you use it, and then be able to safely return to nature (biodegrade into the soil) so it can help re-grow more stuff in the future.

To know we are using the right ingredients, we assess every material (link) we use across a comprehensive set of criteria. This assessment process is overseen by the notable environmental chemist, Cradle to Cradle co-author Dr. Michael Braungart. Every product we make must be approved by Dr. Braungart before we can launch it. Lastly, we work with the US EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) program in the development process. DfE validates that the ingredients we choose are safe for people and safe for the environment, and any method product bearing the DfE logo has had its formulation ingredients rigorously assessed by the EPA's scientific review team.