Forensic laboratories must reduce chemical, material, and energy burdens without weakening the reliability or legal defensibility of analytical results. This critical narrative review examines the application of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) to forensic toxicology, trace evidence, environmental and explosive-residue analysis, and field-deployable testing. Peer-reviewed literature and authoritative standards were identified through structured searches of PubMed, publisher databases, and official standards repositories up to 7 August 2026. Sources were selected for direct relevance to analytical sustainability, forensic application, method validation, or laboratory quality management, and bibliographic information was checked against publisher or DOI records. Miniaturized extraction, direct and non-destructive spectroscopy, microfluidics, paper-based analytical devices, automation, and alternative biosamples can reduce sample and reagent consumption and shorten workflows. Nevertheless, none of these approaches is inherently green: their environmental value depends on the complete procedure, including solvent toxicity, material composition, instrument energy demand, waste management, and repeat-analysis requirements. Likewise, a lower environmental burden cannot compensate for inadequate selectivity, sensitivity, robustness, measurement uncertainty, evidence preservation, or confirmatory capability. The principal contribution of this review is a dual-axis framework that combines quantitative greenness assessment with forensic fitness for purpose. Implementation should integrate tools such as AGREE, AGREEprep, GAPI, and the Analytical Eco-Scale with ISO/IEC 17025 quality systems and discipline-specific forensic validation standards. A staged implementation roadmap is proposed for laboratories with different resource levels, while the development of national or regional sustainability protocols is presented as a research and policy agenda rather than an established achievement.
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