When it comes to the self-care products we use every day (like toothpaste), most of us just want to know if they’re truly safe. In a world full of confusing ingredient labels, vague marketing buzzwords, empty promises, and influencer culture, it can be hard to know who and what to trust.
But that’s where the Environmental Working Group (EWG) comes in. For decades, the EWG has been empowering consumers like you to make healthier, more informed choices surrounding the products you put on (and in) your body every day. They created the EWG Verified™ seal as a convenient “north star” to help you cut through the noise....and find trustworthy self-care products backed by science-backed safety standards.
This coveted symbol signals a product that meets the EWG’s strictest standards for safety and transparency, and we’re proud to say our toothpaste lives on the EWG Verified products list.
Read on to learn more about what this mark means, why it matters so much in today’s greenwashed consumer world, and how Davids earned the honor to say we offer EWG Verified® toothpaste.
what is EWG, anyway?
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit organization that’s been at the forefront of consumer health and product safety since 1993. With a mission to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment, EWG has become one of the most trusted resources for evaluating the safety of everyday products…from food and cleaning supplies to skincare and personal care items (again, like toothpaste)!
At its core, you can think of the EWG as your guiding light (backed by science, of course). They research and review thousands of ingredients, assessing their potential risks to human health and the environment. Through its public databases and guides, EWG has helped millions of consumers understand what's really in the products they use and how those ingredients may affect them.
Some of these databases and guides include:
- The EWG Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database
- EWG’s Tap Water Database
- EWG’s Guide to Sunscreens
- The “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” Produce Guides
- EWG’s Guide to Endocrine Disruptors
- And more!
EWG doesn’t just inform, it advocates for consumers like you! They actively push for stronger public health protection, ingredient transparency, and tighter regulations around harmful chemicals in everyday goods. As you can see from the list of guides above, they’ve already made a mark highlighting issues like pesticide use in produce, PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”), and hormone disruptors in personal care products.
When a brand (like Davids!) chooses to align with EWG, it’s not about marketing fluff. It’s about setting and meeting high standards for health and safety. In other words, it’s a gold standard that reflects our ongoing commitment to “do better” for you and our planet. For conscious consumers like you, EWG is a name you can count on for diligent research, transparency, and genuine care for your well-being.
get to know the EWG Verified™ seal
When shopping for products you’re going to use every day, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Buzzwords like “clean” and “non-toxic” float around and generate a lot of confusion, especially because many brands don’t have the proof, transparency, or certification to back up their claims.
That’s where the EWG Verified™ seal comes in. This clear, simple symbol carries a powerful message: this product meets EWG’s strictest standards for health, transparency, and safety.
Unlike vague marketing claims, the EWG Verified® seal is based on detailed scientific criteria. To earn the seal, a product (like our EWG Verified® Davids products) must:
- avoid all ingredients listed on EWG’s “unacceptable” list. This includes substances linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, toxicity, and other health concerns
- disclose all ingredients, including ingredients that are commonly hidden under broad terms like “fragrance”, “parfum”, and “natural flavors”
- follow safe and ethical manufacturing practices and ingredient sourcing transparency. If the verified product undergoes any formula changes, the company must notify EWG to ensure the new formula still meets these strict standards
You can count on the EWG Verified® seal for ease and peace of mind when you’re shopping for personal care products. It takes the guesswork (and tediousness) out of label reading and puts power back into your hands, helping you make healthier choices without all the headaches. When you see the seal on a product like our EWG verified toothpaste, you can trust that every detail, from ingredients to production, has been evaluated with your well-being in mind.
what the EWG verification process actually looks like
It takes more than just a simple form to get the EWG Verified® mark. It’s a thorough, science-backed process that starts with a thorough application process. Brands must:
- review the full criteria, including the EWG’s “unacceptable” and “restricted” lists
- submit the product with necessary documentation, including product labels
- substantiate ingredients by providing documents such as lab test reports, certificates of analysis, conformity certificates, concentration statements, and more
- wait for approval (we’ll cover some of the EWG’s approval process below)
- take training that explains how to use the mark properly and ethically
Now, on the EWG side, the approval process looks something like this.
- ingredient deep dive: every single ingredient must be submitted for review. EWG evaluates the ingredients using a database of scientific literature and safety assessments. If it contains any questionable or “unacceptable” ingredients, the product is automatically rejected.
- transparency assessment: beyond ingredients, EWG examines label transparency. You’ll notice EWG does not verify any products that do not list out every ingredient on the label. This means terms like “fragrance” or “natural flavors” must be listed out completely, even if there are no harmful ingredients, to give consumers complete transparency.
- manufacturing standards: EWG verification doesn’t stop at what’s inside the tube or bottle…they also look into manufacturing practices! They require evidence of good, ethical manufacturing standards, quality control, and supply chain transparency.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the required steps, but it gives you a sneak peek into how difficult (in a good way) it is to become EWG Verified®!
Once a product meets all criteria, it earns the right to display the EWG Verified® mark. But that mark isn’t forever by default. To maintain integrity, the EWG re-reviews products to ensure they continue to meet the evolving science and safety standards. (Not to mention, once a product becomes verified, you must notify the EWG if you ever change its formula.)
To us, EWG verification is more than just a mark, it represents our genuine, long-term commitment to consumer (and environmental) health.
why being EWG Verified® matters more than ever
Let’s face it, today’s personal care market is saturated with products that look and sound safe, but they aren’t always backed by evidence and true transparency. This practice (of freely using terms to make empty promises) is often called “greenwashing,” and it leaves consumers feeling confused, overwhelmed, and often tricked when it comes to deciding what personal care products are truly safe—and which ones are just gimmicks.
In our book, it’s not enough to just make claims. Consumers want and deserve proof, transparency, ingredient integrity, and third-party verification. That’s exactly what the EWG Verified® seal provides, using science, safety data, and strict guidelines to reassure you that the product (like Davids EWG Verified® toothpaste products) is as safe as it claims to be!
This level of detail and accountability is especially important in our current world, where product lines are expanding, social media is booming, and influencers are…well, influencing. At the same time, consumers like you are thinking more critically than ever about what they put in and on their bodies…and how these products impact our long-term health (and the health of the planet).
Marks like the EWG Verified® seal provide a sense of comfort, trust, and empowerment, especially because:
- 65% of today’s consumers look for a clear ingredient list to find and avoid potentially harmful ingredients.
- Only 9 ingredients are banned in US cosmetics by the FDA. This is drastically lower than the 1,600 banned in the EU.
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The average adult uses 12 personal care products a day, and men have doubled their use of personal care products in the last two decades.
At Davids, we’re honored to provide you with multiple EWG Verified® toothpaste, mouthwash, and oil pulling products that truly care for you and the planet…and has the ingredient lists to back it up!
how Davids meets and exceeds EWG’s standards
For us, earning the EWG Verified® seal wasn’t about checking a box (or even putting a cool seal on our packaging). It was about solidifying a commitment we’ve honored since day one: creating safe, effective oral care products without compromise.
To meet the EWG’s rigorous standards, we provide full ingredient transparency whenever possible and ensure our manufacturing processes consider our consumers and the planet. Yes, this means our ingredients are ethically sourced and derived from nature. But it also means we leave out many questionable ingredients that other big-name brands use to fill their tubes. Our EWG Verified™ oral care products are proudly:
- fluoride-free: although fluoride has dominated the oral care space for decades, we’ve found a proven alternative. Nano-hydroxyapatite supports enamel remineralization and tooth sensitivity relief without the risks associated with high fluoride intake.
- SLS-free: this common foaming agent is known to irritate and burn sensitive mouths, so we opt for a natural alternative derived from coconuts!
- free from artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives: who needs these when our ingredients are so great? We avoid ingredients derived from petroleum to keep our formulas safe, sustainable, and clean.
Instead of these questionable ingredients, we opt for ones that are safer and more intentional like:
- vegetable glycerin because the glycerin you’ll find in conventional toothpaste often comes from animal fat, and our toothpaste is both vegan and cruelty-free
- premium essential oils to bring you fresh flavors, the way nature intended
- sodium cocoyl glutamate, derived from coconuts to bring you a natural, mild foaming effect that won’t irritate your delicate oral microbiome
- hydrated silica and calcium carbonate, our premium, ultra-fine micro-abrasives that gives your teeth a gentle “exfoliation” without damaging your enamel
On top of our ingredient integrity, we use recyclable aluminum toothpaste tubes, 98% USA-origin ingredients (to ensure quality control and minimize shipping footprints), and ethical sourcing to “overdeliver” on our promise of safety, sustainability, and transparency. As you can see, being EWG Verified® isn’t just surface level for us…it’s in our DNA! It’s a deep reflection of our belief that oral care should always be safe, honest, and uncompromising.
other special marks on our EWG Verified® toothpaste and oral care products
There’s no doubt that the EWG Verified® seal is a meaningful milestone for us. Next to it (on our boxes and/or our website), you’ll find a few other qualifications that also amplify what we stand for, including:
- the leaping bunny certification: we never use animal byproducts or test our products on animals. To prove it, we’re leaping bunny certified, which is considered the gold standard for cruelty-free products!
- third-party lab tested: our cutting-edge blend of nano-hydroxyapatite with carefully selected naturally sourced and naturally derived ingredients (we call it Hydroxi™) was tested by a trusted third-party lab to prove that our claims about its effectiveness are backed by real evidence
- FSC-certified packaging: our sustainable packaging is made with FSC-certified paper, meaning it comes from trees that live in responsibly managed forests, and that our business practices don’t contribute to unethical deforestation
- 98% USA-origin ingredients: you’ll find that many personal care brands import cheap products from overseas, blend them together in the USA, and then call it a “USA-made” product. At Davids, we don’t subscribe to this kind of trickery. Instead, we use 98% USA-origin ingredients to ensure we’re getting the best quality on the market…while cutting our carbon footprint.
Just like EWG verification, these marks aren’t about perfection. Instead, they represent progress and our promise to raise the bar for what oral care (and personal care) can and should be! If you’re looking to give your mouth (and planet) the care it deserves, make Davids a loving part of your daily self-care routine!
