If you’ve been shopping for baby stuff, you’ve probably come across the GREENGUARD Gold certification, and maybe you’re wondering what exactly that means and why you should care.
Brands like Nuna, Uppababy, and even Zoe use it in their advertising, and it has become the certification that parents seeking a low-tox lifestyle will look for. It was for me when I first became a mom during COVID in 2020.
Since then, I’ve learned a lot about this certification, and honestly, more than I ever wanted to about toxins such as flame retardants, PFAS, and other chemicals commonly found in our products, and how they can affect our strollers and baby gear.
This post will help answer some of your questions about these toxins, the GREENGUARD Gold certification, and what it means, as well as provide a list of all the strollers that have the GREENGUARD Gold certification.
If you are new here, hi, I’m Emily! I’m the Stroller Mom, and as a parent of three kids myself, I care deeply about the safety of the products I buy and strive to live a low-tox lifestyle whenever possible, especially when it comes to the products I purchase for my kids. This is why I’ve done a ton of research about GREENGUARD certifications, and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned with you!
Disclosure—I am not an expert in this field; this is just the research I have gathered as a mom and as someone who has tried and reviewed over 100 strollers. This post also contains affiliate links. You don’t get charged any extra, but my family receives a small commission when you shop through one of my affiliate links, and we appreciate your support.
What is GREENGUARD Gold Certified?
Greenguard Environmental Institute (GREENGUARD for short) is an organization that tests a variety of consumer products, including furniture, building materials, cleaning products, and baby gear, for chemical emissions, known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Some of these VOCs can cause health problems that range from headaches and skin irritation with short-term exposure to chronic diseases and cancer with long-term exposure.
After completing its testing process (assuming the product passes the tests), GREENGUARD will certify a product as having low chemical emissions, meaning that the product’s emissions will not significantly contribute to indoor air quality, and it has a very low likelihood of causing adverse health effects.
GREENGUARD Gold certification takes it one step further with even stricter limits on chemical emissions, certifying products for use in healthcare facilities, schools, and nurseries where consumers may be even more sensitive to VOCs.A GREENGUARD Gold certification often helps bring peace of mind to parents.
GREENGUARD GOLD Certified Strollers
Some brands apply for all of their strollers to have the GREENGUARD Gold Certification, while others only have certain strollers meet the required criteria. Something I recently learned is that obtaining this certification requires time, given the extensive testing involved. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to the brand.
For example, after the Nuna TRVL DUBL and Nuna SWIV were released, they were the only strollers on the Nuna website that did not have the certification. This is because the certification can take several months. When I reached out to Nuna, they stated that they only apply for certification once a year and were waiting to hear back. A few weeks later, it was updated on their website.
So what strollers are GREENGUARD Gold Certified? Here is the list:
GREENGUARD Gold Full-Sized Strollers
- Chicco Bravo Primo ClearTex
- Chicco Bravo LE ClearTex
- Nuna Mixx Next
- Nuna Tavo and Tavo Next
- Nuna Triv Next
- Nuna SWIV
- UPPAbaby Cruz V3
- Zoe Tour (and Tandem)
GREENGUARD Gold Single-to-Double Strollers
GREENGUARD Gold Travel Strollers
*Delta Children is a more budget-friendly brand and has been sending all of their strollers to be tested. Check out their most up-to-date list here!
GREENGUARD Gold Side-by-Side Double Strollers
GREENGUARD Gold Jogging Strollers
GREENGUARD Gold Wagons
- Jeep Aries Stroller Wagon
- Jeep Deluxe Wrangler Stroller Wagon
- Delta Children makes several wagons that are GreenGuard Gold Certified.
What If the Stroller I Want Is Not GREENGUARD Gold Certified?
Don’t panic!
The strollers listed above all have GREENGUARD Gold certification, indicating a commitment to providing a safe product for your baby, but at a pretty significant cost to the company. This does not mean these are the only strollers with low chemical exposure for your baby. In fact, several other bands, such as Mockingbird, Inglesina, Bumbleride, Joolz, and others, share a lot on their websites about their commitment to making clean, low-tox products without any chemical flame retardants, PFAS, and PVCS.
For a product to be GREENGUARD Gold certified, the manufacturer must submit a request to GREENGUARD and provide samples of its product for testing. There is also an annual retesting requirement to maintain certification. The testing process can take several months and is quite expensive ($10,000-$1,000,000+ annually!). Because of these factors, some suppliers choose not to pursue certification with GREENGUARD. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean their product wouldn’t meet the GREENGUARD Gold standard, and certainly does not mean their product isn’t worth considering! What should you look for instead?
Look for other indicators of safety and quality
Although GREENGUARD Gold has strict standards regarding chemical emissions, OEKO-TEX Standard 100, the Baby Safety Alliance (formerly JPMA), and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) are other certifications or standards that help assure a product is safe for your baby.
Allow new products to “off-gas” and store in an area with good ventilation
New products have the highest concentration of chemical emissions, so if you can “air out” a new stroller before using it, ideally letting it sit outside (avoid direct sunlight) for a while, so you and your kids will have less exposure to any chemicals. Some VOCs are odorless, but many are not, so avoiding strong-smelling products is a good idea, too.
Avoid materials known to be sources of VOCs or toxic chemicals
Lead, phthalates, BPA, formaldehyde, and flame retardants are all things you want to avoid. Stroller companies often state if their products are free of these substances in their product description or sometimes in the FAQs. A thorough review of the product listing can be extremely informative. Some brands have company-wide policies about these harmful substances, which can often be found with a quick Google search (e.g., “Graco policy on VOCs”).
