Buying Eco-Friendly Cleaners

There are a lot of green cleaning products that make hefty claims about being safe for the environment—but can they be trusted? Follow these guidelines when buying green cleaning products to ensure they are truly environmentally friendly.

Watch out for toxic ingredients. Avoid products that contain chlorine bleach and ammonia, two ingredients that contain high and acute levels of toxicity. The fumes produced by these ingredients become an irritant to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. If combined together, these two chemicals pose an additional threat because they react with each other to form lung-damaging gases. It’s also best to avoid cleaners with labels such as "Danger" or "Poison" as these are tell-tale signs that the product is corrosive or may cause burns or other harmful effects to your health.

Avoid phosphates. Phosphates are minerals that can soften water, but they also act as fertilizers. When cleaning products containing phosphates go down the drain and are discharged into bodies of water, particularly into lakes and rivers, the phosphates cause pollution of the water due to a rapid growth of algae.

Buy products made of plant-based ingredients. The key ingredients in most cleaners are known as surfactants, which are the detergents themselves. Surfactants contained in many cleaning products are petroleum-based, though there is a growing trend towards using ingredients made from coconut or other vegetable oils. The environmental benefit of cleaning products made of vegetable oils is that these surfactants are renewable resources, whereas petroleum is a non-renewable resource that causes pollution during the extraction and refining process.

Check the degree of biodegradability. Most substances contained in cleaning products will eventually break down; so the “biodegradable” mention on the label may not mean anything at all. Instead, look for products that have a more specific claim, such as "biodegradable within 21 days". It’s also important to note that surfactants made from plant-based oils are not necessarily more biodegradable than those made from petroleum.

Avoid products containing nonylphenol ethoxylate. This is a petroleum-based surfactant that has poor biodegradability. Unfortunately, even when used, this ingredient is rarely ever disclosed on the label. If you do see it listed, however, definitely avoid using the product. In addition to its poor biodegradable quality, this type of surfactant is believed to have harmful effects on fish and other wildlife.

Verify if the product has been regulated. Be skeptical of products that give vague claims such as "non-toxic", “environmentally-friendly” or “ecologically-safe”. These terms hardly mean anything if not backed up by an environmental governing body. Short of being a scientist in a lab, the main thing to look for is not only statements such as “biodegradable” and “non-toxic” but also if the product has been certified by a third party such as the EcoLogo^M Program or the Design for the Environment Program (DfE) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has specific requirements that need to be met.