About Our Trust System

Words like non-toxic, clean, natural, and sustainable are everywhere. The problem is, they don't always mean the same thing.

That's why we created Truly Free Trust Badges.

Each badge represents a specific set of published criteria a product must meet. Instead of asking you to take a claim at face value, we're defining what that claim means on Truly Free — and showing you the standard behind it.

Because there isn't one definition of "better" for everyone. Our job isn't to decide what you should buy. It's to give you clearer information so you can make that decision for yourself.

Trust Badges help you quickly identify specific qualities or standards that may matter to you when you're shopping.

Looking for a product that's Unscented? You can shop for that.

Want something Plastic-Free? There's a badge for that.

Avoiding sulfates, dyes, parabens or fluoride? You can identify those products without digging through every ingredient list yourself.

And when you see a badge, you can see exactly what Truly Free requires for a product to earn it.

Our Trust Badge system includes standards such as:

Non-Toxic · Organic · Unscented · Cruelty-Free · Plastic-Free · Refillable · Made in America · Vegan · Non-GMO · Gluten-Free · Dye-Free · Sulfate-Free · Fluoride-Free · Glyphosate-Free

Each one has its own requirements.

A seller can't simply choose a badge because they believe their product qualifies.

Each badge has defined criteria and corresponding verification requirements.

Depending on the badge, that may include:

• Ingredient, material or packaging disclosures
• Third-party certifications
• Seller attestations and documentation
• Verification against Truly Free's published criteria
• Additional review by the Truly Free team

Some standards are relatively straightforward. Others require significantly more review.

That's intentional.

The amount and type of evidence required should reflect the claim being made.

Wendy has spent her career looking at the intersection of ingredients, consumer products and environmental health — first as an environmental lawyer and lobbyist, then working alongside brands in this industry.

But her interest in this work started much closer to home.

As a mom trying to find products that wouldn't aggravate her daughter's eczema, Wendy experienced the same problem many shoppers do: trying to make sense of ingredient lists, certifications and marketing claims while simply figuring out what to bring into her home.

Today, she works with Truly Free to help develop the criteria and requirements behind our Trust Badges.

Her role isn't to tell you what products you should or shouldn't use.

It's to help us turn broad claims into standards that can actually be defined, documented and evaluated.

Read More About Wendy's Process -->

You'll see the term on products everywhere, but what qualifies as "non-toxic" can vary dramatically depending on who's using it.

We didn't want to add another version of the same vague claim.

So we defined what Non-Toxic at Truly Free means.

Unlike badges that verify one specific characteristic, such as Sulfate-Free or Dye-Free, the Non-Toxic badge evaluates a product against a broader set of requirements.

At the center of the standard is Truly Free's Restricted Substance List, which identifies ingredients and substance categories that are prohibited or restricted under the standard.

View Truly Free's Restricted Substance List- ->

Some Trust Badges rely on established third-party certifications.

For example, a badge such as Organic or Cruelty-Free may require evidence of an accepted certification rather than Truly Free creating an entirely new certification system.

In those cases, our role is different.

We're verifying that the product has the documentation required by our badge criteria and making that information easier for you to find while shopping.

That's also why a Truly Free Trust Badge should not automatically be interpreted as a third-party certification itself.

The badge tells you the product meets Truly Free's published requirements for displaying that badge.

Because Trust Badges aren't a requirement for being sold on Truly Free.

A product without a badge hasn't necessarily failed one of our standards.

It may simply mean the seller hasn't applied for that badge, hasn't submitted the necessary information, or the product isn't applicable for that particular standard.

That's an important distinction.

Trust Badges provide additional information about qualifying products and help you shop by your values. They are not an approval system for the entire marketplace.

The badges aren't mutually exclusive.

A product might qualify as Non-Toxic at Truly Free + Paraben Free + Sulfate Free + Dye-Free, for example, while another might qualify for only one badge.

That's part of what makes the system useful.

Instead of putting every product into a single "good" or "bad" bucket, you can look for the individual standards that matter to you.

We don't believe another logo telling you "trust us" solves the problem.

We think the better approach is to show our work.

Here's the claim.

Here's what we mean by it.

Here's what a product has to meet.

Then you decide whether that standard matters to you.

Because the goal of the Trust Badge system isn't to make every decision for you.

It's to give you better information to make your own.