Morrow, Ga.-based plumbing manufacturer TOTO earned the International Living Future Institute’s prestigious Declare label and is listed in the Declare Products Database.

Declare labels focus on specific information important to building industry professionals and consumers by offering a transparent platform for the disclosure of materials, chemicals and elements known to pose risks to human health or the environment. After an investigation of the materials, six of TOTO’s high-efficiency toilets are now in the Declare database.

During the evaluation process, TOTO learned it would be required to make changes to its product line for the requirements. The polyvinal chloride in its toilets’ rubber flappers, plastic refill tubes and seat pads were ruled hazardous. TOTO immediately began working with its vendors to produce PVC-free materials.

“TOTO is pleased to be the first market mover in our industry to earn the IFLI’s Declare label, providing insight into our efforts to reduce the health and environmental impacts of the materials and processes used in the manufacture of our world-class bathroom products,” said Bill Strang, TOTO USA’s president of operations for the Americas. “Transparency is the cornerstone of all our initiatives and key to providing customers with informed choices about our products and a profound understanding of the ethics upon which we operate.”