What is the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly?
Sensitive Choice helps millions of consumers worldwide live better with asthma and allergies.
The National Asthma Council Australia created the program to help people identify products and services that are asthma and allergy aware, through the trusted blue butterfly.
Products and services that carry the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly have been reviewed and approved by an independent expert panel that determines their potential benefit to people with asthma and allergies.
You can find the reassuring blue butterfly on hundreds of products, from bedding to building products, cleaning agents to carpets, air purifiers to vacuum cleaners, and more.
Only products and services that have been approved through this rigorous review process and may provide a potential benefit to someone with asthma and allergies, carry the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly logo.
Funds raised by the Sensitive Choice program contribute to research and education led by the National Asthma Council to reduce the health, social and economic impacts of asthma and allergies both in Australia and overseas.
About us
Sensitive Choice helps millions of people worldwide to live better with asthma and allergies. It does this by:
- Educating people about the importance of managing their asthma
- Providing consumers with a way of identifying products and services that may benefit people with asthma and /or allergies and improve health and wellbeing
- Encouraging manufacturers and suppliers to produce products and services that are asthma and allergy friendly
- Raising funds for NAC to better support health education and treatment Guidelines.
The National Asthma Council Australia (NAC) created the Sensitive Choice® program in 2006 to better educate people on how to manage asthma and allergies and empower consumers to identify asthma and allergy-aware products and services.
As a not for profit organisation the NAC uses the funds raised by the program to support its work to improve outcomes for people with asthma and allergies.
Products and services seeking to be included in the Sensitive Choice program must submit research, testing and evidence, which is then assessed by an independent and voluntary panel of experts to determine their potential benefit to people with asthma and allergies.
Manufacturers and suppliers are also encouraged to produce products and services that are asthma and allergy-friendly and that could benefit people with these conditions.
It is reassuring to find the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly on hundreds of products around the world – from bedding to building products, cleaning agents to carpets, air purifiers to vacuum cleaners and even the paint you put on your walls. Only products and services that have been approved through this rigorous review process earn the right to carry the Sensitive Choice logo.
A global program
Sensitive Choice is a global program with trademarks in over 60 countries, so people with asthma and allergies can look out for the reassuring blue butterfly around the world.
Created by the National Asthma Council in 2006, hundreds of household and building products from over 65 partners globally have joined the Sensitive Choice program after passing our rigorous review process.
If you live in New Zealand and want to know more about asthma and allergies, visit the Sensitive Choice New Zealand website.
Our expert panel
Before a product or service is approved by Sensitive Choice it is rigorously reviewed by our independent expert panel.
The Product Advisory Panel considers whether the product or service is suitable to carry the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly.
Panel members can include:
• An allergist
• A chemist
• An engineer
• A general practitioner
• A pharmacist
• A epidemiologist
• A respiratory physician
Our application and approval process
Through a formal application process, applicants must:
- Complete the application form and supply as much credible evidence as possible to substantiate the asthma/allergy benefit or claim.
- Provide independent testing through a licensed and registered testing facility, demonstrating that any approved product does everything claimed in addition to offering a potential benefit for those with asthma and allergies.
- Provide samples of each product (where requested).
- Provide a full list of ingredients for all products containing chemicals.
- Demonstrate full compliance with all relevant Australian or New Zealand laws, regulations and applicable standards.
The Product Advisory Panel reviews evidence to determine that a product or service is not harmful and demonstrates a potential benefit for people with asthma or allergies, and does everything claimed by the manufacturer before making a recommendation.
The Panel assesses products based on the research supplied and against other current and credible research available worldwide. The Panel may request further information before making a final recommendation to the National Asthma Council Australia. It is important to note that the Panel is not comparing products against competitor products and approval does not mean the approved product is better than all other similar products.
Applicants are not able to meet any Panel members or discuss their application directly with the Panel.
All applications are confidential and each member of the Product Advisory Panel is required to declare any conflict of interest prior to the Product Advisory Panel meeting.
The Product Advisory Panel’s advice ends with this recommendation. This recommendation is not subject to appeal and the National Asthma Council Australia is under no obligation to accept any recommendation. The Panel has no further involvement in the applicant’s potential participation in the Sensitive Choice® program, including the negotiation of any Participation and Sponsorship Agreement.
For further information on joining the Sensitive Choice program, visit our business page here.
How we use Sensitive Choice revenue
Funds raised by the Sensitive Choice program support the work of the National Asthma Council Australia to improve outcomes for people with asthma and allergies.
It also ensures that the NAC continues to provide reliable, up to date information and advice to people with asthma and allergies.
The black butterfly
The black Sensitive Choice butterfly represents products or services that are made using a component/s or material/s which is Sensitive Choice approved, rather than the whole product being approved.
Only products or services that have been wholly approved as asthma and allergy aware can proudly wear the blue butterfly.
Contact us
The Sensitive Choice program is an initiative of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Sensitive Choice does not manufacture, buy or sell products. For details relating to products or services that have been approved by Sensitive Choice, such as where to buy, product specifications, servicing or complaints, please contact the distributor directly.
Please click here to contact us.