Meet Our Standards

  • For a certifying brand, a controlled facility is defined as any facility in which a company pays utilities or employees, and has control over the day-to-day operations. This includes all company offices and remote work locations where specified.

    a. A commitment to environmental and ocean sustainability must be written into a company vision or mission statement.

    b. There must be a designated employee or group responsible for reporting on and maintaining environmental sustainability initiatives.

    c. A company’s entire greenhouse gas emissions inventory must be accounted for and reported in accordance with the WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

    d. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, companies must have a documented goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with a 50% reduction by 2030. At least 90% of this reduction must come from internal value chain reductions. The remaining 10% or less of greenhouse gas emissions can be neutralized through the purchase of high-quality carbon credits in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative’s Net-Zero Standard. High-quality carbon credits are defined by Seasixty° as a carbon credit verified by American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve, Gold Standard, or Verified Carbon Standard.

    e. 100% of carbon emissions must be neutralized by purchasing high-quality carbon credits while working towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals.

    f. Companies must have an internal solid waste management plan that includes 1:1 opportunities for recycling and waste collection with reduction action plans in place for reducing solid waste.

    g. Companies must have an internal chemical and hazardous waste plan that verifies waste is processed in accordance with local regulations, and have a reduction action plan in place for reducing chemical and hazardous waste.

    h. An active compost program must be available for all controlled facilities. Additionally, incentives for remote employees to engage in composting must be in place and documented.

    i. Water consumption for the sake of product manufacturing or otherwise must be completed at a rate that does not contribute to depletion over time, and a management system must be in place to track this.

    j. An energy reduction plan must be documented and active for all controlled facilities.

    k. Upstream and downstream shipping of products must be done primarily through ground transport. Air transport should only be utilized when absolutely necessary and an SOP for using air transport must be in place and documented. Where ocean freight is used, contracted companies should follow NOAA Fisheries Marine Life Viewing Guidelines, and adhere to North Atlantic right whale vessel speed restrictions and vessel routing recommendations.

    l. Companies must have flexible work options for employees that include hybrid or remote work models to minimize emissions from commuting.

    m. Incentives must be in place for employees to commute via carpool, bike, walk, or public transportation to minimize emissions from commuting.

    n. Companies must host mandatory company-wide sustainability training approved by Seasixty° annually.

    o. A minimum of two paid volunteer days must be granted to all employees with the option to volunteer with any organization they choose.

    p. Companies must make annual contributions to ocean conservation philanthropies, research, or initiatives of their choosing.

    q. Companies must exhibit a significant effort to remove single-use plastic from organizational operations.

    r. Janitorial and hygienic supplies must be non-toxic to aquatic ecosystems and not include ammonia, borax, chlorine bleach, chloroxylenol, parabens, phosphates, phthalates, methylisothiazolinone, sulfates, or triclosan.

    s. Landscaping practices must not include the application of chemical nitrogen or phosphate fertilizers or freely sprayed pesticides of the following types: organochlorine, organophosphate, organosulfur, carbamates, formamidines, dinitrophenols, organotins, pyrethroids, nicotinoids, spinosyns, pyrazoles, pyridazinones, quinazolines, antibiotics, fumigants, inorganics, and benzoylureas.

    t. Landscaping practices must not include the application of the following herbicides: alkylphenol ethoxylates, glyphosate, imazethapyr, atrazine, cyanazine, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, dicamba, trifluralin, pendimethalin, or metolachlor.

    u. If the company has any coastal locations, artificial lighting must be operated so as to not interfere with local marine fauna lifecycles.


  • For a certifying brand, an uncontrolled facility is defined as any tier 1 supplier in a company’s value chain over which the company has no operational control.

    a. Companies must have a supplier code of conduct for each supplier requiring adherence to local environmental, health, and safety regulations at the minimum.

    b. Companies must not utilize any of the Seasixty° prohibited chemicals or substances in the manufacturing of products. These are defined in the standards for controlled facilities and products.

    c. Companies must make a documented commitment to encourage uncontrolled facilities to adhere to at least one of the seasixty° requirements for controlled facilities.

  • The following Seasixty° standards must be met for all products manufactured and sold by the certifying company.

    a. Product packaging must be fully and easily home-compostable or recyclable with minimal action required by the consumer. If single-use plastic is included in the product packaging, a plan must be established to remove the plastic where possible.

    b. For consumer products, a circularity framework or end-of-life strategy must be at least in the planning stage at the time of certification. If available, information about the circularity framework or responsible disposal of the product should be easily accessible by the consumer either on the packaging or on the company’s website.

    c. Packaging must include at least one component made of recycled materials.

    d. At least 80% of agricultural products used in products must be grown organically or regeneratively farmed.

    e. Where synthetic textiles are used, care instructions must include guidance on how to launder with minimal release of microplastics.

    f. For textile-based products, care instructions should give recommendations for energy-efficient laundering practices as well as guidance on chemicals and compounds to avoid in detergents such as alkylphenol ethoxylates, borax, phosphates, chlorine bleach, parabens, ammonia, phthalates, sulfates, and methylisothiazolinone.

    g. Sea-sourced products must be sustainably harvested so as not to deplete stocks or negatively impact ecosystems and biodiversity.

    h. Products and packaging should not cause harm if introduced into the environment. In addition to the compounds indicated in the landscaping standards, products and packaging must not contain the following chemicals nor should they be present in their manufacturing processes: alkylphenol ethoxylates, ammonia, benzophenone-2, biocides, BPA (bisphenol A), butylated hydroxytoluene, chlorine bleach, chloroxylenol, formaldehyde, heavy metals (including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, and nickel), methylisothiazolinone, nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (TiO(2)), nanoparticle zinc oxide (ZnO), octinoxate, oxybenzone (benzophenone-3), ozone-depleting substances as defined by the EPA, parabens, phosphates, phthalates, plastic microbeads, poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs); sulfates, or triclosan.

  • Alkylphenol ethoxylates

    Has been shown to impair endocrine function and cause organ damage and mortality in aquatic species (Chokwe et al., 2017)

    Ammonia (NH3)

    Toxic to aquatic organisms and can contribute to a hypoxic water column which can lead to a decrease in biodiversity (EPA, 2023).

    Benzophenone-2

    Toxic to coral reefs and contributes to coral bleaching, endocrine disruption, and cell death (Downs et al., 2014).

    Biocides

    Have negative impacts on reproductivity and growth rates and can be fatal to some aquatic species (Guardiola et al., 2012)

    Borax

    Has been found to cause chronic toxic effects in fish including cell degeneration and histological lesions (Capkin et al., 2017).

    BPA (bisphenol A)

    Disrupts endocrine function and can cause negative impacts on reproduction and development in aquatic species (Oehlmann et al., 2009).

    Butylated hydroxytoluene

    Has been shown to cause acute toxicity in aquatic species (Liang et al., 2020).

    Chlorine Bleach

    When combined with other compounds in wastewater, harmful byproducts can be formed which are carcinogenic, genotoxic, cytotoxic, and mutagenic to aquatic species and humans (Parveen et al., 2022).

    Chloroxylenol

    Has been shown to cause DNA damage and histological lesions in fish (Capkin et al., 2017).

    Formaldehyde

    Has been shown to cause toxicity in aquatic species (Tišler & Zagorc-Končan, 1997).

    Heavy Metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, and nickel)

    Bioaccumulate in the food web and cause chronic toxicity in aquatic species and humans if consumed in significant quantities (Zaynab et al., 2022).

    Methylisothiazolinone

    Has been found to cause chronic toxic effects in fish including cell degeneration, DNA damage, and histological lesions (Capkin et al., 2017).

    Nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (TiO(2))

    Induces phototoxicity in marine phytoplankton (Miller et al., 2012).

    Nanoparticle zinc oxide (ZnO)

    Aggregates in seawater and freshwater and has negative impacts on growth rates in aquatic phytoplankton species (Miller et al., 2010; Schiavo et al., 2018)

    Octinoxate

    Reduces growth and primary productivity rates in aquatic phytoplankton species (Tian et al., 2021).

    Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3)

    Contributes to coral bleaching (Downs et al., 2016).

    Ozone-depleting substances

    Contribute to the degradation of the ozone and planetary warming (EPA, 2023).

    Parabens

    Are found to be toxic to aquatic species and can mimic estrogen in marine mammals. Studies have shown that parabens bioaccumulate and biomagnify in marine food webs (Lee et al., 2018; Xue et al., 2017)

    Phosphates

    Contribute to eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems (Kundu et al., 2015).

    Phthalates

    Disrupt endocrine function and can cause negative impacts on reproduction and development, and create changes to DNA in aquatic species (Oehlmann et al., 2009; Perpetuo et al., 2020).

    Plastic Microbeads

    Accumulate in aquatic ecosystems and can adsorb toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Once ingested by aquatic species, the contaminated microbeads are introduced into the food chain where the heavy metals and toxic compounds bioaccumulate and biomagnify (Cheung & Fok, 2016; Liu et al., 2021).

    Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs)

    Have been shown to cause immunotoxicity in aquatic species and negatively impact air-sea gas exchange and marine carbon cycling (Fair & Houde, 2018; Mahmoudnia, 2023)

    Triclosan

    Has been shown to be highly toxic to fish and cause DNA damage to aquatic species (Capkin et al., 2017).

    Sulfates (SO4-2)

    Contributes to the acidification of surface water and can inhibit the reproduction and development of aquatic species (Zak et al., 2021)