What are “Green Products?”

A common misconception about “Green”, also known as Environmentally Preferred Products is that they are made to protect the environment.   And while that is true, more importantly Green Products are designed to protect the people who use chemicals for cleaning on a regular basis.   Many cleaning products we use everyday contain ingredients that are known or suspected to have possible long-term health implications.  Green Products are formulated to remove all of the potentially harmful ingredients.

Why should I use “Green Products?”

Now, more than ever, people are using “Green” products. The most common reasons are:

• To protect the health of employees and guests. There are concerns about workers long-term exposure to certain ingredients in cleaning chemicals via skin contact and inhalation. 
• Short-term costs:
  • Rising healthcare costs, loss of productivity and workers compensation premiums associated with occupational illness.
• Long-term costs:
  • Potential future liability associated with exposure to currently unknown harmful chemical ingredients.  We live in a very litigious society. This has already happened with items such as asbestos, tobacco and lead-based paint.
• The Federal government is actively promoting the use of green chemistry. Many federal, State and city government facilities are already using green products.  By 2010, all U.S. Federal contracts are required to use green products.

How can I identify a “Green Product”?

This can be difficult to do. The old adage “Let the Buyer Beware” definitely applies. Some manufacturers have taken advantage of the “Green Revolution” by misleading customers into thinking their products are green by simply changing the name of the product to a “green sounding” name or by removing only a few ingredients and not actually completely reformulating their products.

There are two primary standards for green products in our industry: Green Seal and the EPA.

1. Green Seal, a Washington, DC-based private business has developed 29 standards ranging from alternate fuel vehicles, newsprint and limited cleaning products. They charge manufacturers a fee to register their products.  Green Seal does not have a testing protocol for Floor Finishes, Sealers, Strippers or Maintainers.
2. The EPA, who has developed the Design for the Environment Program (DfE) for institutional cleaners and maintenance products.

We at Pioneer Eclipse believe that the EPA is the ultimate authority for Environmentally Preferred Products because:

• They are part of the U.S. Federal government and not a privately-owned business.
• EPA testing standards include All Products used in our industry, not just a select few.  Additionally, the EPA testing standards are much more restrictive (safer) than Green Seal.

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