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California and Washington recently passed legislation to limit certain constituents in brake pad friction materials. As part of the California (CA) legislation enacted in 2010, brake pad manufacturers need to perform an alternative assessment to identify potentially safer environmental and toxicological choices for future friction material production. Copper, chromium VI-salts, lead, cadmium, mercury, and other compounds have been identified as potentially unsafe to the environment. This paper contains the methodology behind an objective and comprehensive alternative assessment to quantify the ecological impact of friction materials. Utilizing raw material specific Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers and their associated toxicological reference values (TRVs), this newly defined method estimates the total toxicological impact of finished friction materials on both the environment and on a human carcinogenic level to allow the manufacturer to screen greener alternatives.