The Living Product Challenge asks manufacturers and consumers alike to think beyond the paradigm of less bad and instead imagine what the world would look like if every product you bought made the world a better place. The program provides manufacturers a platform for receiving credit for the good work they’re already doing, and pushes them to go further to create Net Positive products. It is the only certification in the market to incorporate both life cycle assessment and material health assessment using a transparent framework, to spark dialogue, collaboration and the transformation of products and companies.
A major goal of the Living Product Challenge is to leverage the work companies are already doing and embrace existing, effective approaches to determining material health, not recreate them. Therefore the program accepts other industry-accepted rigorous evaluations of material health and offers multiple pathways to achievement of the Transparent Material Health Imperative that allow manufacturers to demonstrate the same level of health and rigor, but at lower costs.
At the same time, Living Product Challenge program achievements are aligned with multiple green building certifications, including the Living Building Challenge, the WELL Building Standard, and LEED, as well as responsible purchasing programs such as the US EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guideline Program. This harmonized approach allows a manufacturer’s efforts to be recognized within as many platforms as possible.
Part of what allows the Living Product Challenge to achieve this harmonization is transparency of the standard and public disclosure of ingredients and life cycle information, as these pieces can then be evaluated and transferred appropriately between programs. Transparency is a fundamental component of all of ILFI’s programs, and ILFI holds itself to these same values. Therefore, our standards are publicly accessible, and this guide lays out the rationale for our approach and the specific process for evaluating material health in the Living Product Challenge.
