“Greenwashed”: How New Moms Can Avoid Hidden Chemicals and Keep Their Homes Healthy

Everyone wants to make the healthy choice- to choose non-toxic, environmentally products that benefit the earth, rather than harm it.

Choosing between a natural home and a toxic one- that’s an easy decision, especially for new moms.

But very few people do so. Why? Because it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Many cleaning product manufacturers promote and benefit from a knowledge gap between themselves and their customers. They make it hard to make informed, responsible choices- and hide their own destructive habits under misleading advertising.

With food, you know what you’re getting, thanks to government-mandated ingredient lists. But cleaning products don’t require the same transparency. Worse, since most such ingredients (in chemical cleaners) have long, complex names (who doesn’t love ethylene glycol monobutyl ether?) the customer is less likely to recognize and understand which are harmful- even if they can somehow find out what the ingredients are!

  So the customers are left confused and discouraged- and the companies
prosper.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit dedicated to a
healthier environment- and a healthier you- recognized this knowledge
gap and decided to do something about it. They set out to analyze over
two thousand different cleaning products, and separate the good from
the bad- to give the customer the edge in choosing eco-friendly
products.

Of course, this was easier said than done.

The cleaning industry hid its ingredients behind claims of “trade secrets” and confidential formulas. Worse, the companies used their own testing data to “verify” the safety of the products- without allowing the EWG to see that data. (See AspenClean ingredients by product)

But the EWG fought on, and with dedication and scientific elbow grease, managed to complete their Guide to Healthy Cleaning- a complete list of hundreds of products, with a rigorous rating system to determine their impact on our environment and our health.

What did they find? Well, not much good. Most products fell into the C to F range. Worse, they found abundant evidence of a process called “greenwashing”- when a toxic, unhealthy product markets itself as “green” and “natural.” Since those terms have no official requirements, it’s easy to claim any product is “green.” (See the F-rated Greenworks “naturally-derived” Cleaner)

Of the 237 bathroom cleaners, for example, that the EWG studied, only 9 received an A, a total of 4%- and more than 50% received an F. (See the ones that did get an A).

But there was some good- a handful of products did manage to get top marks. We’re happy to say that every single AspenClean product was deemed A-level. We’ve received a lot of environmental certifications and awards over the years, but this is the one we’re most proud of.

Of course, what the EWG didn’t study was the effectiveness of these products. While we can’t speak for the utility of other cleaning solutions, we can safely say ours are the only ones put to the test every single day by a professional cleaning service.

That means you can trust our products to keep your home clean and healthy- and to provide a safe environment for your child.

Choosing to have a healthy, safe home shouldn’t be difficult- and shouldn’t require being a trained chemist. The EWG has helped millions of consumers vote with their dollar, and to choose not to harm our planet, our health, and our families.

Check out their full Guide to Healthy Cleaning

View all AspenClean products with full ingredient lists, and use the promo code HEALTHYCHOICE to receive 15% off. Promo ends November 30th!