It might not have been possible a few years ago, but a new paradigm is emerging in the cleaning aisles of our groceries and markets.

Once the top products were those that promised glistening surfaces cleaned with the strongest disinfectants and most potent, marketable-sounding concoctions of “brighteners” and “germ zappers” — devil and the environment be damned.

We’re still interested in germ killers, but the American public also appears to be embracing the greener, cleaner movement. Consider this news just in from Clorox: Their Green Works products, introduced in January 2008, have become leaders in their respective natural cleaner categories  “almost doubling the growth of the natural cleaning category in the first year of launch,” according to their news release.

That means that people are finding and buying Green Works dishwashing soap, all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, bathroom cleaner and others, which are all made with natural surfactants and other natural ingredients. And it no doubt helps that this line has been affordably priced and carried by many of your usual retail haunts, like Wal-Mart.

So here’s where the shift occurs, when green becomes not just the sensitive thing to do, but the smart business move. What is Clorox doing next? Making more green cleaners! They’re adding a Green Works^TM Natural Laundry Detergent and Green Works^TM Natural Laundry Stain Remover, bringing to 10 the number of green cleaners in the line.

Bleach? It’s a wash out.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Ever wondered what’s in that stuff you use to scrub the sink — the stuff that gets rinsed out into the water supply every time you do your chores?

A lot of people do, evidently — even those who don’t know a polyacrylate from a hypochlorite — and the folks at Clorox appear to be listening. They’ve announced an initiative to make that information (most of it, anyway) available over the course of this year, beginning with the products they promote as Earth-friendly under the Green Works trademark.

In January, the company constructed a new subsection of its “Our Products” information area: Bearing the straightforward title “Product Ingredient Listings,” the page currently lists scores of products bearing such household and commercial brands as 409, Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr; that last product, incidentally, has five of its six ingredients in common with regular Clorox bleach (although they’re present in different amounts).

The lists only show chemicals that account for more than one percent of a product by weight, which theoretically allows for “secret ingredients.” And as it currently exists, the site naturally does nothing to help consumers make sense of the chemical names by indicating possible concerns associated with each.

Instead, the site blandly assures visitors that “before Clorox brings any product to market, all ingredients are assessed for factors such as toxicity, sensitization and efficacy to ensure their safety.”

However, customers concerned about what they’re pouring down the drain will be able to cross-index this info with information available elsewhere on the web about chemicals.

The U.S. Health and Human Services’ public Household Products Database, for instance, warns that Clorox’s liquid bleach requires special handling and recommends that uses wear rubber gloves and use eye goggles because the bleach is “CORROSIVE to the eyes ” and may cause “severe irritation or damage to eyes and skin.”

The database does not always address the environmental impact of such cleaning products, though one could presume that corrosive cleaners, unless they biodegrade quickly, can play havoc with fish and wildlife.

To get full details on any household protect, click through to the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) information on the Household Products Database. Here you’ll discover that while Clorox makes a phethora of products for household cleaning that contain sodium hypochlorite, or bleach; the Oakland-based company also makes cleaners with hydrogen peroxide and other more environmentally friendly ingredients.
Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Last October we reported on a push to convince the makers of household water filters, particularly the Clorox-owned Brita, to set up programs to recycle their products, which aren’t accepted by any kind of municipal recycling programs.

The following month, Brita announced just such a plan, which finally goes into effect this month: In conjunction with Preserve’s Gimme 5 program, which focuses on recycling #5 plastics, Brita filters can now either be mailed back for recycling or (for those lucky enough to live near a location) dropped off at one of these participating Whole Foods stores.

Brita’s PR representative Mollie Bridgeman says that “Preserve hopes to enroll additional stores in the program in the coming months.”

But she couldn’t get the company to say anything substantial about another green issue concerning their products: The “Electronic Filter Change Indicator” found on some of the pitchers Brita sells for use with its filters.

The indicator is a small digital-watch-type device, built into the pitcher’s lid, that tells you when to replace the used filter with a new one. Users may assume the gizmo is somehow measuring how much water has passed through the filter — each one is supposed to be good for 40 gallons — but in fact it’s just a timer set to go off after two months (the average time a family takes to use 40 gallons, according to Brita) have elapsed.

Reminding users when two months have passed doesn’t require an electronic device or the environmentally-unfriendly battery it uses. Some filter-using coffeemakers have little plastic knobs that accomplish the same thing more directly with no electricity.

Moreover, since the battery is sealed inside the pitcher it can’t be replaced when it dies. When it stops working, nothing else on the pitcher serves as a replacement reminder; the average owner will probably toss the whole pitcher and buy a new one.

A cynic might guess that’s exactly the point, and he wouldn’t get much help from Brita, who had this to say about their planned-obsolescence gadget: “The digital Electronic Filter Change Indicator that is used on some pitchers is a reliable, user-friendly way for consumers to see when their filter is ready to be changed. Additionally, the battery lasts for approximately five years.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Everyone knows by now that habitually buying bottled water introduces a staggering amount of wasted plastic into the world. Even if you conscientiously recycle every bottle, that recycling process uses energy and would be unnecessary if you used a non-disposable drinking vessel instead.

For those who have ditched the bottled water habit but don’t trust what comes from their tap, water filters are an appealing solution. Filter-makers have seized upon environmental concerns, and Brita even teamed with Nalgene for an ad campaign disguised as a green awareness effort that asks readers to “take the pledge” to buy filters and reusable bottles.

Filter users in America, though, are realizing that filters have eco-drawbacks of their own: Namely, they aren’t recyclable. A web site called Take Back the Filter focuses on Clorox, maker of the #1 selling Brita filter. Although the European version of Brita maintains a take-back recycling program, Clorox has no such option stateside; products can’t currently be recycled or refilled with new filter material. Take Back The Filter is urging users to send them used filters, which they intend to deliver en masse to the company as a protest.

Some small companies are trying to fill this niche. ZeroWater, for instance, announced just this week that they’ll begin a take-back program that recycles 90% of each filter; Abundant Earth offers a range of filtration products it says it recycles. But until these startups own a substantial chunk of the market, they won’t keep most filters out of landfills.

Happily, though, the major players may be shifting: Judging from Clorox responses described here, the company has hinted it may have recycling options available within the year. Until then, of course, many of us are perfectly comfortable with our tap water.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media