Sustainable cleaning is more important than ever, but why?
There are a few reasons.
For one thing, with COVID-19 here, keeping living, retail, and work environments as hygienic and clean as possible has become a priority to reduce the spread of the virus and keep occupants of these premises safe.
This means we are cleaning our spaces more frequently, more thoroughly – and are using more cleaning and sanitizing products as a result. Chemical cleaning detergents, which contain toxic compounds, are the most commonly used kind of cleaning product. They cause all kinds of damage to your health and the Earth and are causing more damage now they are being used more frequently due to COVID-19.
These types of detergents are problematic in many ways.
Firstly, the chemicals used in most of them contain and release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that negatively affect indoor and outdoor air quality and harm your health.
Secondly, they have a huge negative impact on the environment. Producing these cleaners and transporting them leaves a high carbon footprint, while the VOCs in them contaminate the environment.
One of the most serious consequences of using household chemical cleaners is that they pollute water systems with their toxic ingredients due to often being flushed and poured down the drain. Even though they go through wastewater treatment systems which break down the dangerous chemicals, the systems are not always able to break down and filter out all of them, meaning they end up back in rivers, lakes, and our drinking water.
However, we can lessen the harmful impact that our cleaning has on the environment.
One of the best, easiest ways to do this is to choose non-harmful, organic, eco-friendly products instead of traditional chemical cleaners. With increasing environmental awareness, there is a whole range of non-toxic, sustainable, biodegradable cleaning options. This means there is no reason to be harming the environment or our health in the name of hygiene and cleanliness.
On top of that, for businesses to reduce their environmental footprint, using eco-friendly products is a smart choice.
How do I identify an environmentally friendly cleaning product?
Manufacturers of cleaners can add labels like “green” or “environmentally friendly” to their products, but these claims don’t always mean that the product is necessarily biodegradable or sustainable, for instance. Customers must be discerning and not take these general statements on labels at face value.
What is better is to look for official ecolabels that certify products as verifiably sustainable, biodegradable, and so on. One such example is the South African ecolabel Afriso Certified Organic and Eco-Choice Africa. Legitimate official ecolabels can be identified by checking if they are members of the Global Ecolabel Network (GEN), an international authority that verifies ecolabels around the world. Countries’ ecolabels must meet certain benchmarks to in order to demonstrate “good environmental practice” to be members of GEN.
Buyers can also look for specific descriptive labels on products to identify nonharmful, eco-friendly, and even ethical cleaners, such as:
· Nontoxic
· Biodegradable
· A complete list of inactive and active ingredients on the label
· Free of chlorine, dyes, and hypochlorite
· Recyclable packaging
· Bulk packaging
· Natural fragrances
· Packaging made from recyclable/biodegradable materials
· Fairtrade
· Phosphate-free
· Vegan
· Cruelty-free.
So, why don’t more manufacturers produce eco-friendly detergents, and why don’t more businesses and households use them?
It mostly comes down to the higher production cost and, for end-users, the higher retail price. It is common for customers to choose cleaning products based on their price, known effectiveness, and brand name. Their ecological impact, however, is somewhat of an afterthought.
However, increased eco-consciousness and market trends point to a higher demand for green cleaning products, so it is likely manufacturers will be making a greater effort to increase their eco-friendly offerings in the future.
Meanwhile, more and more professional cleaning and hygiene services such as Vogue Hygiene have opted to only use green products.
Those who want to lower their business or home’s ecological footprint should consider adopting greener cleaning products as a priority. Vogue Hygiene is an excellent choice for an outsourced green cleaning solutions provider to help you meet your lower carbon targets.