When Natural is Anything But
How to know you’re not being tricked
A cleaning product can be labeled natural, organic, green … pretty much anything the manufacturer chooses, without conforming to a set of standards or laws. Since manufacturers don’t have to list ingredients, the eco-conscious consumer can be in for a lengthy search when looking for the best product on the market. All it really means is you’ll have to do some of the research and set standards yourself.
Look for brands with full disclosure
Unfortunately, companies that make cleaning supplies aren’t obligated to tell consumers what exactly is in the products they are using. Most provide only a partial list. Brands that make nontoxic cleaning products like Ecover, Seventh Generation and Naturally Yours claim to list all the ingredients they use. If you find a product that lists ingredients, research each one to find out exactly what they mean and if the product is suitable for you.
What eco-labels mean
Finding out whether the claim on a cleaning product is true has become a lot easier with the advent of Eco-labels.org, a Consumers Union guide to environmental labels. The website provides a comprehensive list of claims made on product labels and whether they are important for the consumer, such as the highly meaningful “certified biodegradable,” somewhat meaningful “certified vegan” and the un-meaningful “environmentally friendly,” “eco-safe” and “cruelty-free.”
Eco-labels evaluates labels based on whether there are environmentally meaningful standards behind the claim, that the rules for labeling are consistent and clear and that the organization behind the label makes information about themselves available to the public, including funding, board of directors and certification standards. For a good rating, the label’s organization should be independent from any product it is approving, including receiving any funding or having employees on the board of directors.
The bottom line
If you like a product but are still unsure whether it’s the best choice for your health and the environment, you can always look into the company by reading news and reviews by product users. It’s usually pretty easy to find out if they are just “greenwashing” for the sake of marketing, or if they entered the green products market because they believe in sustainability.
