Clorox's Eco-friendly cleaning line

Ok, so I'd be a bad green blogger if I didn't mention that Clorox (who recently bought Burts Bees) has released a line of green cleaning products. They're called "Green Works" and the company brags that unlike other eco cleaning products, they work! (Er, if you go through this blog I haven't found many products that don't work fairly well. I'm still marveling over how clean my shower is if I spray it with Seventh Gen every time I use it.)

They have a separate website for the new products here. There is a section specifically and seriously devoted to defining what they mean by their terms "natural" etc, which I appreciate. I was laughing at the description under the bathroom cleaner of, once again, "coconut based cleaning agent". I've mentioned many a time how funny I find it that cleaning companies tiptoe around admitting to using "SLS" and "SLES" for foaming power, because of a sense that these ingredients have been linked to skin irritation and even cancer (provable or not, there is a green consumer bias against these ingredients as well as parabens, etc.)

I don't know. I like lemon essential oil (used in most of these), but I'm not swayed. These're not as cool sounding as some of the products I already use. Plus, Clorox is not generally a company I want to support. Aside from making generally non-eco friendly products, they still test on animals!
I'd rather people buy these than most mainstream cleaning products, but I'd also rather people support some of the brands linked to the right in this blog than Clorox.

I learned about this because Natural Health magazine gave the line a mention in their last issue.

Seventh Generation Natural Citrus Shower Cleaner

Before getting into the shower cleaner I have to post how disappointed I am in Burts Bees for selling to Clorox. It seems eco-friendly, natural cosmetics companies drop like flies as soon as they get profitable enough. I have been a Burts customer forever. I filled out their survey when they asked whether existing customers thought a proposal to sell in drugstores was problematic. (I said no, so long as nothing changed in their quality and ethics.) Alas, just like Tom's of Maine, they were tempted by money and sold out to a company whose products do great damage to the environment. I won't be reviewing their hand soap as planned for this reason. Treehugger wrote about the whole issue here.

On another hand, Seventh Generation's Natural Citrus Scent Shower Cleaner is the best planet lovin' shower cleaner I've used in a really long time. I use it for daily maintenance, not for thorough scrubbings (I usually keep two different products for the two different needs.) My shower doors have been so much cleaner than usual, almost as clean as if I'd just done a tough scrub. The orange smell is a little bit barfy (seriously, though this might be me), but the actual spray bottle is the best I've used in a while too. It produces these mighty, lush sprays that cover a lot of ground. I'm glad Seventh Gen is updating its scents, and I hope their new products work as well regardless. As I've mentioned before in this blog, I've only ever used one Seventh Gen product that wasn't great, and that was the toilet paper.

Burts Bees Citrus and Ginger Root Hand Soap

We've finally reached the end of the Method hand soap in our house (except for the recently reviewed Almond Flower.) This past weekend, therefore I was able to nab some of the Burts Bees hand soap that I've been wanting to try. I mean, it's been out for a while now. I was disappointed to sniff the Green Tea Lemongrass, as it ended up having a bit of a generic soapy-detergent aroma. I asked my scent-picky husband to try sniffing both that one and the Citrus and Ginger, and he picked the latter. I wasn't entirely surprised, as he has a slew of Orangey-Ginger products.

The Burts in our master bathroom soap dispenser now, and I really like sniffing my hands after using it. I have also noticed that it's the only hand soap we have in our house that doesn't dry out my hands. I don't rush to moisturize right after using it. Between the smell, and the the better skin reaction, I am happy.

Burts was really the first natural company I got into. Like most people, I was introduced to them when I tried their lip balm. Later on, I nabbed one of their head-to-toe starter kits for a ski trip. I have a great memory of using the lettuce complexion soap in the motel. I loved the way that bar smelled. A while back when I was about to buy the Burts Lavender toothpaste at my Whole Foods, one of the clerks commented that Burts was great, but their quality had gone downhill since Burt and his wife got a divorce and the wife took over the company. Honestly, I haven't noticed much of a difference. I'm glad they have hand soaps, and a new hand sanitizer out. (Of course, now that I'm not teaching, I'm not as paranoid. Well, except for when I ride public transit.)


p.s. if you support the idea of setting a standard for the use of "natural" on personal care products, sign their "bill" here. Their values, as summarized here, are laudable.