Fragrances are everywhere these days, and cleaning products are no exception.

Are they healthy? Likely not.

Should you implement a fragrance-free policy?

Dr. Anne Steinemann said in the July 2019 issue of Building and Environment:

“What is the need for fragrance-free policies? Given the ubiquity of fragrance in society, it is useful to ask … Is there a ‘fragrance problem’?”

Dr. Steinemann says there is:

“Fragranced products have been associated with a range of adverse human health and societal effects among the general population, and especially among vulnerable sub-populations such as asthmatics. Fragrance sensitivity can also be considered a disabling health condition that is covered under legislation in certain countries.”

“The prevalence of fragrance sensitivity has been recently assessed. Nationally representative population studies in four countries—the United States (US), Australia (AU), the United Kingdom (UK), and Sweden (SE)—found that, on average, 32.2% of the general population report adverse health effects when exposed to fragranced products.”

The US EPA provides its fragrance-free criteria within Safer Choice.