One of my favorite cleaning brands, Alma Win care so much about the ethical world that they want to warn us about the honest truth relating to ‘Green Products’ The market is becoming saturated with new ‘Green Things’, which can be so confusing for the consumer, yet if you have the right knowledge you will know that a lot of it is false and simply a play on words, and will know what to look for when purchasing a safe product.
”Companies everywhere are jumping on the green bandwagon, making claims about being eco-friendly, biodegradable, fair trade, and ethical. This trend is known as ‘greenwashing’ and has unfortunately led to genuinely eco-friendly products becoming mistrusted by the public with only 10% of consumers believing the environmental claims of businesses.
If it is financially viable most consumers would of course rather buy products which haven’t harmed anyone or anything in their making, won’t damage the environment and could be better for their health. But being bombarded with buzz words such as ‘sustainable’, ‘naturally sourced’ and ‘organic’ can not only be confusing, it also raises the question of whether we’re ‘being had’.
Graeme Hume, MD of Alma Win cleaning products in the UK, has put together simple definitions for the most popular terms. He also shares his advice on how to distinguish authentic green brands from those whose exaggerated claims are simply a clever and misleading marketing ploy.
Natural / green / Eco-friendly
Meaningless terms which are often empty self-declared statements. Shockingly, under current legislation a manufacturer can claim a product is natural even if it only contains 0.01% of naturally-derived ingredients.
The only way to identify genuine claims of this sort is to look out for a third-party label which identifies the product as having gone through a strict screening process to determine its level of environmental responsibility. Such labels include*:
- ECO Garantie
- The Soil Association
- Ecocert
- The Forest Stewardship Council
- EcoLogo
Organic
Organic products have been produced without the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, hormones and other potentially harmful chemicals. It is widely unknown what long term effects these chemicals have on our bodies, and a number of studies link chemicals in non-organic cleaning and skincare products to serious health problems including eczema, asthma, infertility and even cancer. Therefore, if an organic alternative is available many people opt for it over a chemically-overloaded product.
But Graeme issues this warning: “Be careful about being duped by companies who claim to be organic without being fully transparent about the ingredients in their products. Just because one ingredient has organic origins it doesn’t necessarily mean that the rest is free from harmful substances. With cleaning products choose those which are free from petrochemicals, phosphates, chlorine and optical brighteners.”
Biodegradable
A biodegradable material will over time break down into harmless compounds, thus reducing landfill waste. “Biodegradable is a key word to look out for” advises Graeme, “but make sure that the product is 100% biodegradable otherwise you’re being taken in by clever marketing spin.”
Alma Win products are available to purchase online at www.almawin.co.uk and from good health food stores, organic shops and organic farm shops.”
Written by Gina Hollands
http://www.agreeneroffice.co.uk/how-assess-green-claims-products.html