Green clean: Chemical concern grows, so do 'friendly' products

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Green clean: Chemical concern grows, so do 'friendly' products

_http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/04/04/features/home_garden/doc47f69731c0

8af854658680.txt_

(http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/04/04/features/home_garden/doc47f69731c08a\

f854658680.txt)

 

The household cleaning products aisle of the grocery store presents a

dizzying array of choices … and some scary-sounding possibilities, if you

read the

fine print.

 

The label for Tilex mold and mildew remover, for example, warns that if a

user inhales the fumes and stops breathing, 911 should be called. Sani-Flush

toilet bowl cleaner is labeled “corrosive†and advises that the product may

cause irreversible damage if it gets in a user’s eyes.

 

Debi Butler doesn’t have to worry, though.

 

She instructs her cleaning service to use nothing but water — plain water —

to clean her Bettendorf home.

 

She and her husband, Andy, reached that decision after her mother was

diagnosed with cancer and Debi began wondering how chemicals commonly found in

our

homes — in food, carpet cleaners, hairspray, cleaning products and so on —

might effect one’s health.

 

“We decided we wanted to get as eco-friendly as we could,†she said.

 

Although a water-only approach is extreme, concern about green cleaning

products — those that are gentle on the user as well as the larger

environment —

is “really becoming an issue,†said Barbara Thomas, who operates the

cleaning service that Butler uses.

 

As spring cleaning season gets under way, many consumers share that concern,

and indications are that friendly household cleaners finally are entering

the mainstream.

 

Here are some basic questions and answers regarding the issue:

 

Q: How can I tell if a product is environmentally friendly?

 

A: This is the key question and the toughest one to answer.

 

The Soap and Detergent Association, a nonprofit trade association based in

Washington, D.C., that represents manufacturers, says household cleaners are

safe for the user when used as directed.

 

The group further states that, “because of modern treatment methods, only an

insignificant amount of the ingredients actually reaches the environment and

that amount is at such levels as to not cause any adverse effects.â€

 

Others disagree, or at least raise questions.

 

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, for example, says that of

the roughly 17,000 chemicals found in common household products, only 3 in 10

have been tested for their effects on human health. Their effect on plants,

animals, land and water is another unknown.

 

The terms “eco-safe,†“environmentally friendly,†“natural,†and

“

non-toxic†are undefined and unregulated by the government, so they can be

applied

to just about anything, becoming meaningless, according to the Consumers Union.

 

Q: Isn’t there any third-party group that tests and certifies products as

“

green�

 

A: Yes, there are at least three groups that offer certifications or seals:

The Design for the Environment program of the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, or EPA; the Green Seal certification of the independent, nonprofit

organization by the same name based in Washington, D.C.; and Eco Logo, which

was

launched by the Canadian government in 1988.

 

There may be others.

 

Q: Where can I find these certified products?

 

A: Good news here!

 

The Clorox Co. just released a line of products called Green Works that is

available on grocery store shelves in the Quad-Cities (and nationally), priced

from $2.99 to $3.39.

 

All carry “Design for the Environment†certification from the EPA for using

“environmentally preferable chemistry,†and the company has an alliance

with the Sierra Club, a national environmental group.

 

The Green Works line includes five products: all-purpose, glass & surface

cleaner, toilet bowl, dilutable and bathroom cleaner, and they all are

comparable in price and effectiveness with traditional brands, the company

states.

 

Effectiveness is a key component since Clorox research showed that many

people who had used natural cleaners in the past found they didn’t work very

well.

 

Ingredients are plant-based: Coconut, corn and lemon.

 

In addition to Green Works, two Scrubbing Bubbles shower products

manufactured by Johnson & Son, Inc., Racine, Wis., have earned the Design for

the

Environment seal.

 

(For a complete list of EPA-certified products, visit

epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/formpartc.htm on the Web.)

_http://epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/formpartc.htm_

(http://epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/formpartc.htm)

 

Green Seal products aren’t quite so easy to locate.

 

The group’s Web site (greenseal.org/findaproduct/location.cfm) lists about

140 cleaning products that have earned its seal, but the vast majority are

industrial/institutional commercial cleaners because that is where the green

movement began, said Linda Chipperfield, vice president for marketing and

research.

 

Household cleaners with the Green Seal include Shaklee cleaning concentrate,

available online and through distributors, including those in the Quad-City

region, and Second Nature carpet and hard floor cleaners, which are available

at Wal-Mart and Best Buy locations, Chipperfield said.

 

Other products without these seals may be green, too.

 

Q: What if I want to stick with my favorites — such as Tilex, Windex and

Soft Scrub? How can I find out about what’s in them and the effect of those

ingredients?

 

A: Again, this isn’t always easy to answer.

 

Manufacturers are not required to list ingredients on product labels. A

Pledge dust cloth, for example, says it contains “grab it technology†with

no

indication of what that is.

 

And even if ingredients are listed, the words likely won’t mean much to the

average user.

 

Tilex lists sodium hypochlorite, Windex includes ammonia-d and Soft Scrub

lists calcium carbonate. But you’ll have to look elsewhere to find the

effects

of these chemicals within the walls of your home or when they are flushed

down the drain — and the answer may not exist at all.

 

To find ingredients not listed on the product labels, visit the companies’

Web sites or call the 800 numbers listed on the products to ask for more

information. All manufacturers are required to provide what’s called a

“material

safety data sheet.â€

 

The sheet will list ingredients, and you can look them up on another Web

site maintained by the National Institutes of Health. Its Library of Medicine

has a Household Products Database, and you can search by product brand or

chemical ingredient. To find it, go to householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov.

 

Q: Can’t I just use natural cleaners such as lemon juice, baking soda and

vinegar?

 

A: That is another option, such as Debi Butler using just water. But they

likely will not be as effective as commercial cleaners.

 

In a laboratory study conducted by the Minnesota Extension Service,

alternative cleaners were found, as a group, to be less effective in both

microbial

reduction and soil removal.

 

For more on using these products and the study, see the adjoining story.

 

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or _agaul_

(agaul) . Comment on this story at _qctimes.com_

(http://qctimes.com/) .

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

_greenseal.org_ (http://greenseal.org/)

 

Web site for Green Seal; to find products, go to

_greenseal.org/findaproduct/_ (http://greenseal.org/findaproduct/) and

_http://greenseal.org/findaproduct/index.cfm_

(http://greenseal.org/findaproduct/index.cfm)

 

A site where you can find “Design for the Environment†products and what

the label means.

 

 

_ecologo.org/en/ certifiedgreenproducts_ (http://ecologo.org/en/

certifiedgreenproducts)

 

The site for Eco Logo, where you can find its green-certified products.

 

_cloroxgreenworks.com_ (http://cloroxgreenworks.com/)

 

Web site for Clorox’s Green Works line.

 

_healthyhouseinstitute.com_ (http://healthyhouseinstitute.com/)

 

The site for the Boise, Idaho-based company that provides environmental

information for consumers.

 

_cleaning101.com_ (http://cleaning101.com/)

 

The Web site of the Soap and Detergent Association

 

householdproducts.nlm. nih.gov.

_http://www.cleaningproductfacts.com/_ (http://www.cleaningproductfacts.com/)

_http://www.healthycleaning101.org/english/SDAC.html_

(http://www.healthycleaning101.org/english/SDAC.html)

 

This is a Web site maintained by the National Institutes of Health Library

of Medicine Household Products Database. You can search by product brand or

chemical ingredient.

 

_cleangredients.org_ (http://cleangredients.org/)

 

This is an online database of institutional and industrial cleaning

ingredients.

 

_zerowaste.org/ugca.htm_ (http://zerowaste.org/ugca.htm) and click on “green

cleaning product resourcesâ€

 

This is the Web site of the Unified Green Cleaning Alliance, a nonprofit

partnership of universities, government, businesses and other organizations

working to develop products and apply zero-waste strategies.