| Find out from an industry insider about different cleaners and their cautionary labels, resources to help discover true facts, what green lessons consumers can learn from the professional cleaning industry; how consumers can quickly verify the authenticity of their green cleaners, and how to purchase professional "green" products for household use.
Easy Ways to Verify Green Cleaning Products As consumer interest in green cleaners grows, so does the number of green choices on the shelf. How can you tell if a "green product" is really green, or if the green logo on the bottle is merely a marketing ploy?
Walk down the cleaning aisle in a grocery store and one will find just about every product has some type of cautionary language on the label. Many also have green logos. Determining the most environmentally preferred cleaner is not as easy as just reading the label.
There are two categories of household cleaners. Disinfectants and sanitizers are EPA registered products that follow guidelines for one set of cautionary "signal" words. Products that clean but don't kill germs, such as general cleaners, comply with the labeling required by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.
As if having two sets of labeling requirements isn't confusing enough, many signal words are the same for both sets of guidelines. Cautionary words such as "DANGER," "WARNING," and "CAUTION," are used in both sets of guidelines, but indicate different toxicity levels. One commonality, however, is that "DANGER" indicates the most toxic category for both EPA-registered and non EPA-registered products.
The professional cleaning industry has spent the last decade finding new, safer technologies. Today, custodians are using healthier, more environmentally preferable cleaning products that are just as powerful, if not more powerful, as the ones used years ago.
One environmental breakthrough in cleaning technology is the use of hydrogen peroxide. "We invented hydrogen peroxide cleaning technology about ten years ago in response to finding a healthier alternative for professionals who clean everyday," says Taylor Stewart, president of EnvirOx, LLC, a manufacturer of environmentally preferred cleaning products. "Today, we offer these professional-grade hydrogen peroxide cleaners to consumers through Green Seal certified OurHouse products."
How does one purchase these professional products? Some janitorial supply distributors will sell to the general public, but a minimum order might be required. These companies can be found in a local phonebook under "janitor equipment and supply."
Some manufacturers offer a consumer line of products based on the professional line. EnvirOx, LLC is one company that packages its professional line for household use, and offers it through OurHouseWorks, a wholly-owned division.
Professional cleaners verify the environmental authenticity of their cleaning products by turning to environmental organizations such as Green Seal and Terra Choice Environmental Marketing, Inc. Both organizations have rigorous evaluation processes to certify both professional and consumer products. Each posts a list of certified products on their websites, including ones made with hydrogen peroxide.
Other resources to confirm a product's true "green-ness" include recommendation lists by the Healthy Schools Campaign and the Responsible Purchasing Network. The National Institutes of Health provides an online Household Products Database that contains information about consumer products, the ingredients, and potential health effects.
Additionally, TerraChoice offers an online consumer primer in sorting through green product claims called "The Six Sins of Greenwashing."
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2008 by AlternativeApproaches.com
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