Degree of Green®

1. Review the program criteria: Visit degreeofgreen.com to understand the rating scale (1–4), evaluation criteria, and what product categories are eligible for rating.\n2. Gather product data: Compile detailed information about your product's composition (ingredients/materials), raw materials sourcing, manufacturing processes, and any relevant environmental or health certifications already held.\n3. Complete the submission: Submit your product data to Degree of Green, LLC using their standardized submission process. This includes filling out product composition and sustainability characteristic documentation.\n4. Second-party review: Degree of Green staff evaluate your submission against the program's standardized criteria, assessing environmental and health attributes across the rating framework.\n5. Receive your rating and data sheet: Upon completion of the review, your product is assigned a Degree of Green® rating (up to 4) and a standardized data sheet is produced summarizing the findings.\n6. Publish and market your rating: Use the Degree of Green® seal, data sheet, and online registry listing to communicate your product's sustainability profile to retailers, specifiers, and consumers.\n7. Monitor for product changes: If your product formulation or materials sourcing changes, resubmit for re-evaluation to ensure your rating remains accurate and current.

Degree of Green® evaluates products across several key sustainability and health dimensions, producing a composite rating on a scale up to 4. The higher the rating, the stronger the product's overall environmental and health performance.

Product Composition: The program examines what a product is made of, including the identity and concentration of ingredients or materials. This includes screening for substances of concern, hazardous chemicals, and restricted materials under recognized frameworks.

Raw Materials Sourcing: Evaluators assess where and how raw materials are extracted or produced, considering factors such as responsible sourcing, recycled content, renewable materials, and supply chain transparency.

Sustainability Characteristics: This covers broader environmental performance attributes such as energy efficiency in manufacturing, water use, waste generation, recyclability or end-of-life considerations, and any relevant third-party certifications the product already holds.

Health Attributes: The program considers potential impacts on indoor air quality and occupant health, including VOC emissions, off-gassing, and the presence of materials linked to adverse health outcomes.

Each rated product receives a standardized data sheet that presents these findings in a consumer-accessible format, along with comparative context to help retailers and buyers interpret the results relative to similar products in the market.

Degree of Green® occupies a niche position in the crowded building and consumer product sustainability labeling market. It was designed specifically to bridge the gap between technical environmental data and everyday consumer understanding — a space where programs like Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs) have struggled to gain mainstream retail traction due to their complexity. By producing plain-language data sheets and a simple numerical rating, Degree of Green® targets the retail channel more directly than most competing programs.

However, the program's second-party verification model (where Degree of Green, LLC itself conducts the review rather than an independent third party) limits its credibility in high-stakes procurement contexts such as LEED project specifications, government purchasing, or institutional green building programs. Programs like GREENGUARD Gold, Cradle to Cradle Certified, and the Declare Label — all of which involve independent third-party verification — tend to be preferred by architects, specifiers, and sustainability professionals working on certified green building projects.

The program appears to have a relatively modest footprint compared to major competitors, with limited public data on the number of rated products or participating manufacturers. Its geographic focus on the US and Canada is appropriate for the North American retail market but limits its relevance for manufacturers seeking international recognition. Demand for transparent product sustainability information continues to grow, driven by retailer sustainability commitments and consumer awareness, which creates a favorable tailwind — but Degree of Green® faces stiff competition from better-resourced and more widely recognized programs in this space.

Degree of Green® was established in 2008 by Degree of Green, LLC, founded with the goal of making product sustainability information more accessible and actionable for everyday consumers and retail buyers. At the time, the green building and sustainable products market was growing rapidly, but most available tools — such as technical environmental product declarations or complex lifecycle assessments — were designed for engineers and sustainability professionals rather than retail environments. Degree of Green® was conceived as a practical bridge between rigorous product data and consumer-facing communication.

The program developed a standardized rating scale and data sheet format to allow consistent comparison across product categories, serving both manufacturers seeking market differentiation and retailers seeking a reliable framework for sustainability claims at the point of sale. Operating primarily in the United States and Canada, the program has remained a relatively specialized offering within the broader ecolabeling landscape, maintaining its focus on transparency and accessibility rather than expanding into third-party accreditation or international markets.