What is exactly a Natural Cleaner or Natural home care product ?  There had been no standards setup in the home cleaning products area but now the Natural Products Association (NPA) is now extending its natural seal and standard to include home care products, such as household cleaners, laundry detergents, concentrated and ready-to-use hard surface cleaners.

To receive the new Nature Seal of Approval, the product must meet these criteria:

• Product must be made up of at least 95 percent truly natural ingredients or ingredients that are derived from natural sources, excluding water
• No ingredients with any suspected human health risks
• No processes that significantly or adversely alter the natural ingredients
• Ingredients that come from a purposeful, natural source (flora, fauna, mineral)
• Processes that are minimal and don’t use synthetic/harsh chemicals
• Non-natural ingredients only when viable natural alternative ingredients are unavailable and only when there are absolutely no suspected potential human health risks
• Transparency and full disclosure of ingredients

In May 2008, the Natural Products Association established a standard and seal for natural personal care products, such as lotions, balms and shampoos.  To date, more than 340 products have currently been approved and certified.

Clorox Green Works has a money back guarantee on their Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent.  $3 off greenworks coupon. The products show a Sierra Club logo that was paid for.

Green Works openly list their ingredients unlike most Clorox products:

Water, plant-based cleaning agents (methyl ester sulfonate, alkyl polyglucoside, cocodimethyl amine oxide), glycerine, water softener (sodium citrate), plant-derived soap (oleic acid), enzyme stabilizer (boric acid), natural enzymes, alkalinity builder (sodium hydroxide), fragrance with essential oils, salt, calcium chloride, biodegradable preservative, blue & yellow colorant. Contains no phosphate or bleach.

Their MSDS (Material Safety Document Sheet) document shows several hazardous ingredients and petroleum-derived ingredients.  Clorox Green Works products are not perfect, but a step in the green, eco friendly direction.  Clorox has wide distribution so they will allow more mainstream customers to access greener cleaning products. We prefer the slightly more green Method or Seventh Generation products ourselves as they  do not  have petroleum derived products.

The holidays are over, time to clean up the mess. Gift wrapping paper, holiday cards and boxes that are 100 percent paper can be recycled. Foil, plastic coating and glitter cannot be put into recycle bins. Plastic bottles, jars, tubs and buckets are the only plastics that you can recycle at home. Check with your local recycling firm for details.

Packing peanuts and bubble wrap can be recycled at your local UPS store or shipping store.

Holiday lights no longer work or are no longer needed, can be recycled at some outlets.  This website takes them too.

Most garbage companies have Christmas tree recycling programs.  Be sure to get the trees outside and ready for recycling per their date requirements.

The EPA gives out Green Chemistry Awards to the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle, including the design, manufacture, and use of a chemical product.

When you are looking for green products, be sure to check out past Green Chemistry award winners.

A 2003 winner was the Environmentally Friendly Biofungicide Serenade from AgraQuest. It stops fruit and vegetable, rose, vines, and flower diseases.  It is Bacillus subtilis strain (QST713) based and compatible with IPM programs.

Method has a new O Mop All Floor care kit with compostable sweeper clothes and lemon-ginger all floor cleaner, $32.99 from Amazon. Ergonomic mop, corn-based sweeping clothes, reusable microfiber mop pad.

Got a Swifter? You could probably buy their $18 compostable, corn-derived sweeper dusters and use it with it. No need to buy the whole kit.  You then have a more eco friendly alternative in duster clothes.