Good Housekeeping recognizes excellence and innovation across a number of industries and consumer product categories with our celebrated and influential awards programs. Each year, thousands of companies enter for the chance to be vetted by our judges and earn the prestigious distinction of winning a GH award – an honor guaranteed to help your product stand out from the competition and boost retail.
For over 12 years, the scientists, analysts and experts in the GH Institute have delighted consumers with winning picks from our annual Beauty, Toy and Family Car Awards. We’ve recently expanded our awards lineup to include additional categories in which consumers are looking for more winning recommendations from a source they know they can trust. We’re now pleased to offer the following awards programs:
Why and How to Enter to Win a GH Award
Benefits of Entry
All entries are assessed by the experts and scientists in the Good Housekeeping Institute, so this is a perfect opportunity to get your product in front of our experts and editors, whether you win or not. For winners, the value of editorial coverage is unparalleled. Good Housekeeping currently has an audience of 58+ million consumers across our print, digital and social channels — and that audience is growing constantly.
We can’t wait to share the winners with our audience, who visit our website and social channels regularly for expert advice, shopping tips and trusted product recommendations. Winners have the opportunity to license the use of the Awards emblem, as well as additional assets including words, images, quotes, etc., to promote the news of the win. Winners are often featured in other relevant product stories on our site – and many of our awards programs turn into segments on prominent national TV shows.
How to Enter
- Complete submission form.
- Complete payment form.
- Send samples as directed.
GH Awards FAQs
Is the process the same for each awards program? All of our awards programs follow the same process. First, you must complete one submission form per product. For best outcomes, fill in as much detail as you can, including basic product information (MSRP, imagery, description) as well as product highlights and notable features/key differentiators. Please remember that one submission form per product entry is required. Next, complete the payment form.
As of 2024, the entry fee is $695 per product, with a discounted rate available if you submit during an Early Bird submission period. If you have more than one product to submit, please fill out a separate submission and payment form for each. Please note that samples are not required at the time of submission, but can be requested for further review at a later date. Note: Entry fees are waived for products that are active Good Housekeeping Seal holders or Good Housekeeping Nutritionist Approved Emblem partners in good standing; submission forms must still be completed. If you'd like us to notify you when the 2024 award program opens (or when any of our award programs open), please fill out this form.
Do you require product samples? Most awards require at least one to two samples. In some cases, additional samples may be requested based on testing protocols or for consumer testing. We will reach out to brands individually to request product samples and/or clinical efficacy data. For professional and app-based services or products, we will notify brands directly about specific requirements.
How are the winners chosen? Each awards program has a dedicated group of expert judges who evaluate all entries. Every submission is thoroughly reviewed by the editors and product experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute, along with third-party experts in some cases. While testing criteria vary by program, the main judging criteria for our awards are:
- Quality
- Performance
- Innovation
- Ease of use and assembly
- Value
The judges examine each submission as well as marketing claims made by the brand. Samples and/or supporting materials may be requested for further evaluation.
Which products are eligible to apply? Products must be approved for consumer use and available for purchase in the U.S. They can be new or existing items; however, they must be available for purchase when the award is announced.
Is there a limit to the number of products I may submit? No, you may submit as many products as you like. Just note that you must fill out a new submission form and pay a separate fee for each product submitted. The entry fee is $695 per product, with a discounted rate of $595 if applications are completed and paid for during the award program's Early Bird submission period.
Are there any discounts on the submission fee? Current and active Good Housekeeping Seal holders and Good Housekeeping Nutritionist Approved Emblem partners in good standing are exempt from paying a submission fee (submission forms must still be completed). There are no other discounts.
My product has already been tested and/or featured in Good Housekeeping. Do I still need to apply? Yes, you will need to submit an application regardless of whether your product has previously been reviewed by Good Housekeeping. Our awards programs are independent of prior coverage and previous awards programs.
How can I make my application stand out? Focus on what makes the product special and unique, whether it’s an easy shopping experience, if it has sustainability features or anything else that’s interesting and noteworthy. Let us know tangible takeaways as opposed to generic claims – e.g., instead of saying “It’s extremely comfortable,” tell us what specifically makes it comfortable.
If our product wins, how can we promote the honor? Good Housekeeping encourages you to promote the honor to your network. Winners often issue a press release or send a dedicated email to their contacts. Winners may also post the news of their win on their own social media channels. When sharing the news, winners must follow the Good Housekeeping PR requirements, outlined in the next question. Winners also have the opportunity to work with a Good Housekeeping sales director or Wright's Media to license the use of the Awards emblem, as well as additional assets including words, images, quotes, etc., to make the news of the honor a more impactful part of their own marketing and promotional plans.
If our product wins and we want to issue a press release, are there any special requirements? Yes. All press releases must be approved by the Good Housekeeping PR team, and in certain cases may need to vetted by Wright’s Media based on what language is used. You will be directed to a Good Housekeeping sales director or Wright’s Media for questions about using a quote attributed to a member of the Good Housekeeping Institute in your release. No announcements can be made publicly prior to the award program’s embargo or announcement dates. No exceptions can be made to this timing.
If our product wins, will it be featured on Good Housekeeping’s official social channels? All organic social posts on Good Housekeeping's official channels are at the discretion of our editors and not necessarily a winner benefit.
If our product wins, will we receive hi-res images, PDFs or the awards emblem for our own use? You will be directed to a Good Housekeeping sales director or Wright’s Media for questions and pricing related to asset usage, including PDFs of the magazine, the official awards emblem, images, text from the magazine or quotes attributed to the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute.
If our product wins, does that mean we have received the Good Housekeeping Seal or a seal from Good Housekeeping? No, the Good Housekeeping Seal is a different opportunity. For questions on the Good Housekeeping Seal, please email Sara Rad at srad@hearst.com.
More About Each Program
Best Fitness Awards
The GH Wellness Lab opened in 2017 to meet the growing demand for trusted health, wellness and fitness advice and product recommendations from a trusted source. The team judging this category combines backgrounds in nutrition and dietetics, certified personal training, certified Pilates instruction, fiber science and mechanical engineering.
In addition to our expert judges, we use consumer testers to ensure that products are easy to set up and use, are ergonomically designed and offer motivating and efficient workouts. For fitness streaming services alone we collected nearly 2,000 surveys and analyzed thousands of data points to find our winners. For larger pieces of equipment, we home in on construction quality, ergonomics, exercise variety and accuracy.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 Best Fitness Awards are now closed.
- Please contact Stefani.Sassos@hearst.com with any additional questions.
Check out the 2024 Best Fitness Award winners!
Best Beauty Awards
There are thousands of beauty products already on the market and new ones launching every day. Since 2010, Good Housekeeping’s annual beauty awards have been guiding our audience on what products are worth their time and money in this overcrowded market space. With our Good Housekeeping Beauty Awards, the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab strives to highlight the best-performing skincare, haircare and makeup products as well as the best beauty tools, professional treatments and beauty tech on the market. Men's grooming products, supplements, health-related products and non-beauty products are not eligible for submission.
The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab evaluates the originality of the product’s technology, delivery form and packaging along with major product claims behind each submission. In the next stage, the products with the highest potential are assessed for efficacy and performance using consumer and/or Lab testing with state-of-the-art scientific instruments and/or by reviewing clinical, consumer and technical data provided by the brand.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for the 2024 Beauty Awards are now closed.
- Winners announced: April 2024
- To learn more about upcoming Good Housekeeping Beauty Awards and learn how to apply, please see our Beauty Awards FAQ.
- Please contact GHBeautyAwards@hearst.com with any additional questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Beauty Award winners!
Best Family Car Awards
The Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing cars and honoring the best sedans, SUVs, wagons, minivans and electric innovations for over 10 years. Each year, our team of experts — composed of GH's engineers, media & tech experts, automotive analysts and specialized consumer testers — team up with the auto pros at Car and Driver (another Hearst-owned brand) to determine the winners.
Assessing vehicles involves driving the year’s new vehicles on over 5,000 miles of city roads, highways, and test tracks to narrow it down the top makes and models. Using industry standards and our proprietary protocols, we rate cars on performance, design, safety, handling, mileage, onboard technology, interior space, value and more. Then our experts zero in on all the little things people really care about, like how easy it is to fold down the seats, the intuitiveness and modernity of the infotainment system, how much cargo space there is in the trunk and how well car seats fit in the second and third rows and whether or not they’re a struggle to install — along with any standout extras that we just love.
We also look closely at the interior: the amount of headroom and legroom, storage space for front- and rear-seat passengers, overall comfort and how easy the infotainment system is to use without reading the manual. Last but not least, we give points for innovative and useful features like a hands-free liftgate, well-placed lighting, and anything else that improves the driving experience.
Important Dates and Details:
- Please contact ljennings@hearst.com with any additional questions.
- Winners announced: April 2024
Check out the 2023 Best Family Car Awards winners!
Best Bedding Awards
The Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab is run by fiber scientists who regularly test the latest and greatest fabric-based products on the market. Bedding is one of the Lab’s highest-engaging areas of content, and the team spends much of their time finding the top-performing products to help readers sleep their best. For this program, the team joins forces with Good Housekeeping’s home editor to evaluate submissions based on criteria like quality, innovation, convenience and value. We then review the products in the Lab, our homes and the bedrooms of over 100 real consumer testers to get feedback on comfort, support, fit, appearance and more.
In the Lab, bed sheets and pillowcases are durability-tested for factors like fabric strength, pilling resistance and washability, while pillows are measured for how well they keep their shape after pressure is applied. To find the best mattresses, we research the specifications and send them to home with real users for extensive feedback—plus, we survey our consumer tester panel to get data on the mattresses they already own. Additional categories we look at for Bedding Awards include comforters and blankets, mattress pads, toppers and protectors, pajamas and other accessories like sleep masks and decorative items.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for the Good Housekeeping 2024 Bedding Awards are now closed.
- Winners Announced: March 2024.
- Please contact lsachs@hearst.com and emma.seymour@hearst.com with any additional questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Bedding Awards winners!
Best Snack Awards
The snack aisle seems to change every time you go to the supermarket. With an abundance of new snacks and health claims arriving on shelves every day, figuring out what to add to your grocery cart can sometimes feel overwhelming. How do you know which snacks are actually nutritious and worth your money? Enter the Good Housekeeping Nutrition Lab and our Best Snack Awards.
For this program, our registered dietitian and other experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute rigorously analyze ingredient lists, nutrition fact labels, packaging claims and flavor profiles to find the best of the best. Consumer testers weigh in on taste and provide additional real-life analysis. Our choices focus on innovative snacks in the food space for both adults and kids that meet our nutritional criteria (including caps on per-serving calories, sugar and sodium).
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for Good Housekeeping's 2024 Best Snack Awards are currently closed.
- Winners announced: April 2024
- Please contact stefani.sassos@hearst.com with any additional questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Snack Awards winners!
Best Parenting Awards
Parenting can be overwhelming enough, but throw in all the products you're told you need to buy and you may find yourself going down a rabbit hole. Fortunately, the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute are here to evaluate the top parenting items on the market to find the ones that actually work and are worth buying.
We review applications across all product categories designed for babies, toddlers, kids of all ages and their caregivers. Our team of experts — scientists, engineers, editors and more — vets each submission on criteria involving innovation, problem-solving capabilities and value, then evaluates the top contenders in person. These winners include hot new innovations that have just hit the market along with tried-and-true products that have stood the test of time.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 are now being accepted through March 20, 2024.
- The submission fee is $695 per entry, with an early bird rate of $595 per entry through February 29, 2024.
- Winners announced: August 2024
- Please contact lsachs@hearst.com and stefani.sassos@hearst.com with any additional questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Parenting Awards Winners!
Best Cleaning and Organizing Awards
From its very beginning, Good Housekeeping has been with our readers every step of the way, providing cleaning and organizing advice and product testing recommendations to help keep their homes running smoothly and families safe. And while the type and number of products we test and the advice we offer in the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care & Cleaning Lab have certainly changed through the years, what hasn’t changed is that we are still as incredibly trusted a resource as we always were.
Our Cleaning Lab uses industry standard and in-house developed protocols to scientifically evaluate, for example, how well laundry detergents remove stains and how thoroughly washing machines clean and care for fabrics and dishwashers clean dishes, flatware, glassware, and cookware and more. Different flooring surfaces built into the lab allow us to test floor cleaners and tools on wood, tile, laminate, and vinyl floors. We measure how much dirt and pet hair vacuum cleaners remove from carpeting and bare floors and we look at every product through the eyes of a consumer to assess how easy it is to use. With so many cleaning and organizing products to choose from, we established our Best Cleaning & Organizing Awards to recognize the truly innovative and outstanding products that make caring for a home and making it a calm, clutter-free sanctuary so much easier.
All cleaning and organizing categories are eligible for the awards. We’re looking for products that perform well, are easy to use, and are standouts in their categories. The judging is conducted by our expert consumer product scientists in our Home Appliances and Cleaning Product Lab and any other GH Institute Lab where the expertise may be relevant. Consumer testing is also conducted in actual in-home environments and consumers are surveyed and their responses are scored.
Important Dates and Details:
- These Awards have been temporarily suspended for 2024. Please check back in 2025!
- Contact Carolyn Forte at cforte@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Cleaning & Organizing Awards winners!
Best Sustainable Innovation Awards
This program began as the Sustainable Packaging Awards, but expanded in 2020 to include a broader look at sustainable innovations and practices. We launched this program because the Good Housekeeping Institute tests thousands of consumer products each year, and the majority of consumer products are overpackaged.
The judging criteria aims to assess whether products have a minimalistic approach to product packaging as well as to determine utilization of any recycled, recyclable, or compostable materials. When assessing brand/company initiatives, we rate entries on key pillars of sustainability, including people, planet and purpose.
Judges for this program include directors from all GH Labs combined with leading experts in the field. The judges review submissions by examining measurable criteria, including material type and origin, product to packaging weight ratio, recyclability, compliance with model legislation and innovation. For initiative submissions, supporting data for all environmental claims and stats must be included.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 are now closed.
- Winners announced: February 2024
- Contact GHSustainabilityAwards@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Sustainability Innovation Awards winners!
Best Toy Awards
There are thousands of toys in the marketplace. This long-standing program honors the best toys of the year — toys that are safe, well-designed and well–constructed; inspire a child's imagination and creativity; foster problem-solving skills; encourage social play; build skills (whether fine motor, gross motor, math, science, artistic or other); and are just plain fun.
We look at toys suited for kids under 13 years old. To be considered, toys must adhere to the latest guidelines set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). We will verify compliance of such by requesting conformance to ASTM testing standards. After the lab assesses safety, durability/construction and play value, the real testers give the final verdict as many children play with the toys, assessing the fun factor!
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 are now being accepted through May 8, 2024
- Winners announced: October 2024
- Contact GHToyAwards@hearst.com with any questions
Check out the 2023 Best Toy Awards winners!
Best Kids' Book Awards
To find those special new books that come out in a given year, we turn to librarians, literacy experts and publishers to recommend some of their best reads. The submissions are then evaluated by reader of the correct interest and age level.
This awards program launched in 2022, and we are continually expanding its scope: We're accepting submissions in the following categories: board books/baby books, picture books (both fiction and non-fiction), early readers (of any level), graphic novels, middle-grade books that are a part of a series, pop-up books, concept books and activity books (all for children up to age 12).
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 are slated to open in spring 2024.
- Winners announced: October 2024
- Contact marisa.lascala@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Kids' Book Award winners!
Best Kitchen Gear Awards
The Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Technology Lab is run by culinary product experts with backgrounds in professional kitchens, product development and recipe development. The team is constantly testing the latest innovations in cookware, appliances and other cooking-related gear and gadgets.
For this program, the Lab joins forces with the team in Good Housekeeping’s iconic Test Kitchen, including professional chefs, recipe creators and developers, food editors and more. GH's chief technologist has also developed specific criteria for kitchen appliances and products in the smart home category.
Together they evaluate submissions based on criteria like quality, innovation, ease of use, performance, convenience and value. They put submissions to the test in the GH Lab and Test Kitchen, working with real food and recipes to grade results. Products are also used in real-world kitchen, including those of consumer testers to get additional feedback from home cooks of all levels.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 are now open! Check out the application here.
- Winners announced: November 2024
- Contact nicole.papantoniou@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Kitchen Gear Awards winners!
Coffee and Tea Awards
A lot has been brewing in the coffee and tea worlds over the past couple of years. Our numbers show that consumers are paying attention to their daily cups more so than before and investing in the gear to savor it at home and on the go. In an effort to celebrate this category and all of its latest innovations, the Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab has launched the Best Coffee and Tea Awards, which highlights all things coffee and tea including the best coffee makers, tea makers, coffee grinders, accessories accessories, drinkware, coffee beans, tea leaves, pre-made beverages and more.
To evaluate the submissions, the Kitchen Appliances Lab team up with the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping Nutrition Lab and industry experts to test — and taste! — alongside hundreds of consumer testers. Winners are featured alongside the Best Kitchen Gear award winners (so no need to submit two different applications).
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 are now open! Check out the application here.
- Winners announced: November 2024
- Contact nicole.papantoniou@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Coffee and Tea Awards winners!
Best Home Reno Awards
The Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab is run by home building and engineering experts who are constantly vetting the latest and greatest items for your house. For this program, any and all home renovation products or services are eligible, including (but not limited to), cabinets, countertops, decking, flooring, furniture, home technologies, HVAC equipment, plumbing fixtures, roofing, siding, windows and more. Our testing-based evaluation process will be based on criteria like quality, innovation, ease of use, performance, convenience and value.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2024 will open in February 2024
- Winners announced: September 2024
- Contact dan.diclerico@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2023 Best Home Reno Award winners!
Best Family Travel Awards
We all love going on a vacation, but the actual travel required to get there can be downright exhausting… especially with the whole family. Good Housekeeping Institute pros — engineers, fiber scientists, parenting experts — work together to evaluate the best family travel items that make traveling easier and will last trip to trip.
We’re looking for the best products and services to make travel fun, easy and engaging for families, from suitcases and travel accessories, to airlines and trip-planning services. Tell us about fab luggage, wintery or swim gear, health and safety supplies designed with travel in mind, even travel-focused beauty and grooming items. We’ll also consider baby/kid equipment that has a special feature that makes it easier for traveling (like a stroller that fits into an overhead compartment) and tech/electronics that keep kids entertained on those long car and plane trips.
We’re also covering destinations, lodging, attractions, and experiences as well as the nuts and bolts of getting to and from your vacation. Airlines, car rentals, trains and associated services have a place in the awards. We’re also hoping to hear from helpful services like trip-planning websites, travel loyalty programs and other services of that nature.
Important Dates and Details:
- Submissions for 2025 are now being accepted through May 15, 2024.
- The submission fee is $695 per entry, with an early bird rate of $595 per entry through March 15, 2024.
- Winners announced: November 2024
- Contact lsachs@hearst.com with questions.
Check out the 2024 Best Family Travel Awards winners!
