What do you mean by “no chemical nasties?”Updated 5 days ago

The phrase "no chemical nasties" printed on Koh packaging refers to specific ingredient exclusions and to the published certification standards each Koh product is assessed against. Koh cleaning formulas leave out chlorine bleach, phosphates, optical brighteners and added fragrance. Formulas are also assessed for biodegradability and aquatic toxicity under the GECA Cleaning Products Standard, which restricts substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction and sets volatile organic compound limits. Each product page on koh.com lists the certifications that product holds and its full ingredient list.

The phrase is printed on Koh packaging, and it points at things you can check. Koh cleaning formulas leave out chlorine bleach, phosphates, optical brighteners and added fragrance. The formulas are then assessed against published third-party standards, and the certifications a given product holds are listed on its product page alongside the full ingredient list.

Three independent certification programs cover the Koh range. Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) is Australia's only multi-sector ecolabel, recognised by the Global Ecolabelling Network. Sensitive Choice is run by the National Asthma Council Australia (NACA) and screens products for ingredients that may aggravate asthma symptoms. Dermatest is an independent dermatological testing institute that assesses products for skin tolerance under defined testing protocols. Each product is assessed against the programs relevant to its category, and the current certifications for any product are listed on its koh.com product page.

Three independent programs cover the Koh range. Each product is assessed against the programs relevant to its category.

The GECA Cleaning Products Standard sets ingredient and operational criteria covering substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMR), volatile organic compound (VOC) limits, biodegradability and aquatic toxicity thresholds, packaging recyclability, and manufacturing and labour standards. Products are reviewed against the standard before certification is granted, and certification has a defined term and renewal process. Sensitive Choice screens products against the National Asthma Council Australia criteria for ingredients that can aggravate asthma symptoms. Dermatest applies a dermatological tolerance test under its published methodology and issues a certificate for products that pass. Each program publishes its criteria and renews certification periodically.

Each program has its own published criteria. Here's the broad picture.

Each program publishes its full criteria on its own website, and the requirements differ, so each product is assessed against the programs relevant to its category.

Every Koh product page on koh.com lists the certifications that product currently holds, along with its full ingredient list. Certification badges appear near the product specifications, the ingredients section, or in the product description. If you have a question about a specific ingredient or certification, contact the Koh team and they will look it up for you.