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What do you look for in a green cleaner?

post #1 of 5
Thread Starter 
I was looking over the product reviews here and so many more people here at least seem to own or want the Clorox based 'green' cleaners vs. green cleaners from eco-friendly companies. Examples - Clorox Green Works Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner and Clorox Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner. Plus these rank fairly high, earning high scores on a green level.

I guess, based on this, I'm just wondering what people are looking for in an eco-friendly cleaner. Personally I can't stand the Clorox green cleaners because behind the cleaner, which is actually eco-friendly (i.e. no toxins and chemicals) they're still a company who earns the bulk of their money from extremely non-eco-friendly products. I'd rather choose cleaners from a company who manages to have an entirely green company - for example - Earth Friendly Products Parsley Plus All Surface Cleaner is not only green, but it works, and better yet the company is not founded on a toxic cleaner like bleach.

One argument I hear is, "At least Clorox is trying" but one, many, many other companies manage to make green cleaners across the board. If Clorox really cared about people's safety, why not ditch all the toxic cleaners? By only making one line of green cleaners, it just looks like greenwashing to me. Two, Inhabitat posted a valuable thought today, which was "It’s questionable whether or not Clorox would continue to carry their natural line unless it continued to drive their bottom line." 

So, when you look for greener home products are you concerned with the company as a whole, or just with that one product? Do you think a company can be green when they just have one green product vs. many? 
post #2 of 5
I agree with you re the Clorox company.  It seems to me that if they had really had a change of heart they would stop producing the toxic cleaners and just go with the eco-friendly ones.  IMO, what the company stands for is important.  That's why I love the Shaklee cleaners.  Shaklee has always been eco-friendly from Day One.  And their cleaners work really well.  Their concentrated household cleaners (general purpose and disinfectant) are very inexpensive as costed per reconstituted cleaner.

FYI, I don't sell it.  I'm just a satisfied, loyal customer.

Laurie
post #3 of 5
I make my own cleaner. a tbsp or so of eco-friendly dish soap. 20 drops of lavender oil, 20 d. tea tree oil, 20 d. eucalyptus oil, 20 d. clove oil. i mix it up in a 32 oz. garden spray bottle and viola!  disinfectant that smells DELICIOUS!! i do not know exactly which microbes each oil kills but these are all anti-bacterial so i figure that together, they have got to be at least as effective as Green Works. there is not a doubt in my mind that it is more effective. i just don't have data to support it. i have been doing it for years. have saved tons of money NOT supporting a megaconglomerate and my house, litterpans (even the occasional pet accident on the rug is deodorized and disinfected) all smell fresh. i change up the oils at times if i want to smell something different. orange, lemon, whatever!
post #4 of 5
I like the big picture.  I like that Seventh Gen has a very thorough label and is serious about corporate accountability. I have the Clorox cleaner at work because that is what my bosses buy, and I have to say it doesn't clean any better than my Seventh Gen or Biokleen products at home.

But here is the difference that I see occurring:  Go to office depot, or to Sam's club where businesses shop, and you won't find any eco-companies on the shelf.  Go to my local grocery store, and you might find one choice of eco-cleaner, and it is only the general purpose cleaner, you can't find the shower cleaner, dish detergent, or the paper products from eco-companies, just a one size fits all product.  (and that is the fault of the store not the product I'm thinking.)

I try to order online every couple of months and get most of my household items, or I have to go 10 miles past my grocery store to a Whole Foods to find any good selection of cleaners.  I have not personally bought the Clorox, I'm with you! If they want my business, they will clean up their whole company not just one portion.
post #5 of 5
Thread Starter 
Well, I agree with everyone! What the company stands for overall is a big deal to me. I also make many of my own cleaners, and I think that srj0385 hit a major issue on the head. Availability. It's not just green cleaners either. It's green everything. I'm always getting products to review from green companies and they're almost never available locally (even foods). You have to go online and search or hope that the company has their own online market, which not all do. People may buy the lamer Clorox products because they're actually available. I'm not sure if this is the stores call, or the company's problem. For a long time I've felt that green companies really need to step up their marketing techniques. Few are as successful as say Seventh Generation at selling their products to a wide consumer base.
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