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Have you ever ...

Wiped out your lawn along with the weeds figuring that, if some lawn treatment was good, more would be better?

Made a second trip to the store because the product you bought the first time turned out not to be right for the job?

Made a dash for fresh air after mixing two cleaning products?

Sprayed your tomatoes for bugs, only to find that the spray you used wasn't supposed to be used on vegetables?

If you've ever "been there, done that," you already know that reading the label first can save you time, trouble, and money. This is why EPA, the specialty pesticide industry, environmental groups, and state and local governments started the Consumer Labeling Initiative to make labels easier to read and understand. However, no label can do its job if no one pays attention to it. The key message that EPA and its partners in the CLI want to get across now is to "Read the Label FIRST!" so you can avoid problems like these.

In the Consumer Labeling Initiative, EPA and its partners did research with consumers just like you to learn how to make labels better on household pesticide and cleaning products. You can read all about it using the links on this page. Some of those newly redesigned, simpler-to-use labels are appearing on products on your store shelves right now, and more will be appearing over the next year. Use the Contact Us link to tell us how they work!

EPA and its partners also launched the nationwide "Read the Label FIRST!" campaign at the Philadelphia Flower Show on March 6, 2000. You can help us spread the word. Select "Read the Label FIRST!" to find out how YOU can help to protect kids, pets, your household, and the environment!

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.


Information about the Consumer Labeling Initiative:


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