Selling cleaning products online: hazard labels, disinfectant claims and 'non-toxic'

A cleaning spray can be sold with almost any scent, colour or bottle. What it cannot do is claim to kill germs without EPA registration. A claim to kill germs, bacteria or viruses turns a cleaner into a pesticide under US law, with registration behind it. The second trap is green words: "non-toxic", "eco-friendly" and "biodegradable" all need evidence and must not mislead.

This page covers hazard labels, germ claims, green claims, and what Walmart, eBay, Amazon, Canada and the EU ask.

What this page covers: household cleaners, detergents, disinfectants and sanitisers, polishes, descalers, solvents and adhesives.

The short version

• Hazardous household products need signal words and cautionary labelling.
• A claim to kill germs, bacteria or viruses makes a cleaner a pesticide that needs EPA registration.
• "Non-toxic", "eco-friendly" and "biodegradable" need evidence.
• Walmart restricts biodegradable and compostable claims and bars professional-only chemicals.
• Household cleaners can be dangerous goods on Amazon.

What hazard labels do cleaning products need?

Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, hazardous household products need signal words, such as "Caution", "Warning" or "Danger", and cautionary labelling. Your listing images should show that panel as printed.

Can a cleaning product claim to kill germs?

Only with EPA registration. A claim to kill germs, bacteria or viruses makes a cleaner a pesticide, and a pesticide needs EPA registration or a valid exemption. That includes "antibacterial", "disinfects", "sanitises" and "kills germs" on the label or in the listing.

• Walmart prohibits products with false or public health claims.
• eBay does not allow cleaning products that claim to disinfect or sanitise both skin and surfaces, or water, or air.

If your product is registered, show the EPA registration number in the label photo. Our page on pest control rules covers the registration rules in full.

Can a cleaning product be called non-toxic or eco-friendly?

Only with evidence. The FTC's Green Guides apply to environmental claims. "Non-toxic", "eco-friendly", "biodegradable" and similar words need evidence behind them and must not mislead. Walmart restricts biodegradable and compostable claims.

A broad word like "eco-friendly" is hard to prove. A specific one, such as a recyclable bottle with the recycling code shown, is easier to stand behind.

Which cleaning products does Walmart bar?

Walmart prohibits professional-only chemicals and products with banned substances, naming methylene chloride and carbon tetrachloride.

Are cleaning products dangerous goods on Amazon?

They can be. Household cleaners can be dangerous goods on Amazon and go through its hazmat review with a safety data sheet. See our page on aerosol and flammable product rules.

What do Walmart, eBay and Amazon add for cleaning products?

Walmart, eBay and Amazon each add rules for cleaning products:

What labels do cleaning products need in Canada?

Consumer chemicals sold in Canada carry hazard symbols and warnings in English and French.

When do EU online listings need chemical hazard information?

From 1 January 2028. The revised EU chemical labelling rules (CLP) will make hazard information mandatory in online offers of chemical mixtures, and the start has moved to that date.

How Commicorn helps

• Keywords checked against the bans. The keyword step keeps out a keyword a marketplace bans and marks a green claim with what the marketplace asks for.
• Your label, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the signal word, hazard panel and any registration number stay exactly as printed.

Questions sellers ask

Does an antibacterial cleaner need EPA registration?

Yes. "Antibacterial", "disinfects", "sanitises" and "kills germs" make a cleaner a pesticide, which needs EPA registration or a valid exemption.

Can I call my cleaning product non-toxic?

Only with evidence, used in a way that does not mislead, under the FTC's Green Guides.

What signal words do household cleaners need?

"Caution", "Warning" or "Danger", with cautionary labelling, under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Can I sell a hand and surface sanitiser on eBay?

No. eBay does not allow cleaning products that claim to disinfect or sanitise both skin and surfaces.

Does Walmart allow products with methylene chloride?

No. Walmart prohibits products with banned substances, naming methylene chloride and carbon tetrachloride, and professional-only chemicals.

Before you list

Have the hazard panel with its signal word photographed as printed, the EPA registration number in the label photo of any product that claims to kill germs, evidence behind every green word, and a safety data sheet for Amazon's hazmat review. On an edge case, the claim decides it: a germ claim brings in EPA registration, a green word brings in the FTC's Green Guides, and outside the US, Canada's Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations and the EU's CLP rules apply, all cited above.