Eco-Friendly Cleaners

Seventh GenerationIf you’re really into eco-friendly cleaning, you may already make your own cleaners out of baking soda and vinegar, scent your home with natural essential oils, and favor good old-fashioned elbow grease rather than harsh chemicals. Go, you pioneer, you!

But if you really want to be ecologically conscious while you clean but you don’t know where to start, or you’re just intimidated by creating your own cleaners, there are many good cleaning products on the market that will get the job done without leaving a huge carbon footprint. Here is a short guide to some of these:

Seventh Generation: This company is becoming more widely-available as environmental concerns spread across the country. While it can be purchased in stores like Target and Whole Foods, it can also be bought online. They may be the largest, or at least one of the largest, “green” companies with products ranging from laundry detergent to toilet paper, dish washing fluid to diapers. Their website also contains tips, advice and coupons.

Method: Method is probably my favorite eco-friendly company, simply because it smells so good, comes in such sleek, small packaging—and is readily available for me at Target. They have body care products as well as hand soap, laundry detergent, floor polish, and even disposable wipes. However, Method has come under a little scrutiny with hardcore environmentalists, seeing as not all of their products adhere to the Green Seal (see below).

Greenworks: Greenworks is a newer brand developed by Chlorox. They, too, have cleaners ranging from spray all-purpose cleaners and glass cleaners to disposable wipes to bathroom cleaner. Some environmentalists condemn Greenworks since Chlorox itself has a negative environmental impact; but who knows? If a demand increases for environmental products, perhaps their older, more harmful products will eventually become obsolete.

Ecosense: This line from Melaleuca, the home-sales company (sort of like the Avon of household cleaners), has dishwashing detergents, laundry detergents, household cleaners, sanitizers and many other products available. The downside is that you have to sign up with an agent to receive monthly shipments—even if you really don’t need them.

And if you want to find the cleanest of the clean, be sure to look up products that contain the Green Seal; these cleaners are certified to be nontoxic, non-corrosive, free from carcinogens and mutagens, and biodegradable. (From the list above, Seventh Generation holds standards higher than the Green Seal, while other companies have some—but not all—of their products listed.)