The paper describes the concept and applications of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the field of environmental protection as applied to products. Instead of looking at single issues, such as recyclability or reduced toxicity, LCA requires a broader view of the environmental releases and energy uses of a product, process or activity beginning with raw materials acquisition, to product fabrication, and through final use and disposal. Although cradle-to-grave studies of products' environmental burdens have been performed for over twenty years, there is a renewed interest in the approach in the United States to use the tool to evaluate the 'environmental friendliness' of a product. The EPA has initiated several activities with the goal of developing the LCA as a useful tool in protecting human health and the environment. The article summarizes EPA's LCA activities and it identifies life cycle studies that were performed by and for various organizations in the United States.