Green Products: Do we have to buy green to be green?

I talked yesterday about companies that 'greenwash'. We all know there are products out there that say they are green, but how can we really trust that?

The top five product categories that come to my mind when I think green are: Household cleaners, furniture, cars and energy, garden chemicals, and home building products.

Let me pre-empt this article by stating that just because you have a green product, or a web site that talks about them doesn't mean you need Flash animation. Green is already cool, you don't have to sell it to people finding your site because they are all searching for something green. If anything, you should make your web site accessible to all people searching for green and not exclude people with slow internet speeds...I'm done waiting.

So, what makes a product green? There are many definitions. According to the Building Green web site, "an independent publishing company", green means:

1. Products Made with Salvaged, Recycled, or Agricultural Waste Content


2. Products That Conserve Natural Resources-This includes products made from 'certified wood'


3. Products That Avoid Toxic or Other Emissions


4. Products That Save Energy or Water


5. Products That Contribute to a Safe, Healthy Built Environment

Each has their subtopics, and I suggest you read the article to get more specifics. However, one thing noticeable is they are intentionally broad. Also, one thing they left out is how will the product eventually be disposed of? Nothing lasts forever! One day, all of this stuff may end up in a landfill.

Next on the list is green cleaning products. Whether this surprises you or not, an article I read about the European Union adopting green standards legislation stated:

Turns out that most of the trickery happens when business 2 consumer deals are involved. B2B is an entirely different story, not least because of reputational risks involved.

So you really have to watch your back on products specifically targeted to consumers. This probably includes cleaners, detergents, organic and natural foods, etc. I once saw a bag of anthracite coal being sold at a home improvement store for burning in a wood stove. Everything I've ever been taught is that coal is dirty. This could be because I'm from Pittsburgh! But the packaging on the coal said it burned with 99% efficiency, and left little ash. I don't know if I can believe that. This is why there needs to be standards.

You can download the European Union Environmental Commission's 'Buying Green Handbook' to get a sense of what other countries are doing. It's a mixture of starting a green company and buying green, but you can get a general idea of what green means.


According to the EcoMall web site, their definition of green is:

[Laurence Tasaday] states, First we consider the product's life cycle – its manufacture, use, and disposal – to determine its total impact on the environment. Then we weigh its benefit to humans against its environmental costs. Third, we ask whether any less harmful alternatives are available. And finally we ask the most important question, Is it worth it? That is, does the value of the product outweigh its environmental costs?

So let's look at 'GreenWorks', a green cleaning product put out by Clorox. This information was found on their web site: www.cloroxgreenworks.com

Their definition of natural is: " having ingredients primarily sourced from plant and mineral based materials and having a petrochemical content of less than 1 percent." Here is a list of the ingredients:

Green Works Natural Dilutable Cleaner (99.20 percent natural): Filtered water, coconut-based cleaning agents (alkyl polyglucoside, lauramine oxide, sodium lauryl sulfate), corn-based ethanol, natural alkalinity builders for enhanced performance (potassium citrate, potassium carbonate), fragrance with essential lemon oil, colorant

The Pros:

• It comes concentrated. a.k.a. less packaging


• It uses coconut cleaning agents– This sounds good, but where did the coconuts come from, who is growing them, and are they able to feed their children when they go home at night?


• It's recognized by the EPA for 'safer chemistry. They are working on a sustainability scorecard. I can't wait to see that.


• The container is recyclable...where recycling centers exist.

The Cons:

• What are 'natural alkalinity builders'? Heroin is natural, for pete's sake.


• They added color to sell it better. I don't care what color it is!


• They don't disinfect, but I’m not always a fan of killing everything. Unless it's raw meat juice!

So, now what are you going to do with this information? Are you sold? Although I did buy it, I'm not completely sold. Though, I'm not completely sold on organic cleaners like Seventh Generation either.

know, maybe a good wash down with vinegar and water would do the trick. Perhaps being green isn't about buying green! Perhaps we should ask ourselves, would my Grandma use this?