Fwd: GCS: Clean-Sweep Holiday - Method Home

December 5, 2007

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Dec 05, 2007

GREEN CHIP COMPANY

COCKTAIL FACTOID

The floor, walls, and ceiling of Method's brainstorming room at HQ are covered with grass to bring the " outdoors inside " and to " keep Method weird. "

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Can cleaning products be skin-friendly, lung-friendly, and elf-friendly, all at the same time?

The Bite

Yep. Leave it to Method to spread cheer through home-cleaning products. True to the brand, its holiday line is equal parts yummy smelling (think cinnamon bark and peppermint vanilla), stylish, and nontoxic. Because toxins are naughty, not nice.

Company Background

Eight years ago, Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan started cooking up cleaning products in their San Francisco kitchen. Since then, the two high-school buddies have become green-biz rock stars, but their approach has stayed the same: " We want to take green mainstream by changing the products, not the people, " says Lowry, who worked for the Carnegie Institute fighting global warming before co-founding Method. Its products - for everything from sink to skin - are accessible and affordable, packaged in style, and come in scents that beat ho-hum pine and lemon ( " the scents nobody hates, but nobody loves, " laughs Lowry).

Why Care

Biodegradable, nontoxic ingredients. All Method product formulas are approved by Cradle to Cradle author Dr. Michael Braungart as environmentally sound and socially ethical.

100% carbon neutrality in all its manufacturing, offices, and employee travel, via renewable energy purchases and tree planting.

Wind-powered manufacturing facilities.

Responsible sourcing. Third parties, such the EPA's Design for the Environment program, ensure that all environmental and social aspects of Method and its suppliers are up to snuff.

Not tested on critters.

Keeping It Real

Method is looking to improve its sourcing and use more domestic, organic ingredients, such as organic, North American-produced coconut oil for some cleaners. Also, although not all of Method's packaging is made from recycled materials, it is designed to be recyclable, and the company is working on using biodegradable materials such as bamboo for future packaging. " We don't do it perfectly, but our eventual goal is that every piece of packaging has a past and a future, " says Lowry.

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