The Green Cleaning Trend

One of the biggest trends in the cleaning industry over the last several years has been the move toward selecting green cleaning products, and using them in a way that reduces impact on human health and the environment.

There was a time in the not too distant past when green cleaning products were not considered viable alternatives by the majority of those in the cleaning marketplace, either because they were thought to be too expensive or because they were found to not work very well – or in some cases because they achieved the unfortunate daily double of being both pricey and ineffective!

It is fair to say that in the year 2011, those negative perceptions have changed drastically, and now there is a very robust selection of green cleaning products to choose from that are accepted in the cleaning marketplace as being every bit as affordable as their traditional counterparts – and in some cases even less expensive – and that have been found to work just as well – and in some cases they perform even better!

Because of this new reality of more affordable and effective green cleaning product options, combined with an increase in public interest in the environment and the topic of sustainability, there is now a greater desire to find greener alternatives in all cleaning product categories.

For the most part, selecting a greener alternative in the categories of general purpose cleaning chemicals, carpet care products, hard floor care products, cleaning equipment, sanitary paper products, hand soaps and trash liners has been made easier in the recent past thanks to third-party certification standards and guidance – and there are now several quality options from which to choose.

Click here to view the WAXIE Green Partner Support catalog

When choosing a “greener” cleaning product alternative, the main criteria to consider are:

• Human Health Impact: does this product reduce impact on human health when compared with the current product?
• Environmental Impact: does this product reduce impact on the environment when compared to the current product?

If you look closer at third-party certification standards for cleaning products from organizations like EcoLogo and Green Seal, for the most part the performance criteria for certified products can be divided up into the two categories of human health and the environmental impact:

• Reduced human health impact requirements (examples of criteria related to human health include product toxicity, asthmagens, and skin sensitization, etc.)
• Reduced environmental impact requirements (examples of criteria related to the environment include biodegradability, aquatic toxicity, and recycled content, etc.)

And more importantly, your WAXIE SMC can help you integrate these green cleaning products into an effective green cleaning program that protects health without harming the environment.

Green cleaning product certifications and attributes:
What is green cleaning?
Green Cleaning FAQ’s
Green Cleaning Resources
Green Cleaning Products