Blogs & Ecology

Although, sadly, kitchens everywhere rapidly become gross (as pictured), products for cleaning are rapidly greening. Case in point: the Clorox Green Works line has had remarkable sales growth, since introduced in early 2008. Forty million dollars worth of sales is an amazing market gain in such a short time: especially for a company with a brand name built on the root word "chlorine," a term that has long represented chemical anathema to a faction of traditional environmentalists. What a parable of brand power.

Imagine you’re in a shop and not certain whether the product you’re about to buy deserves the green credentials the packaging indicates it has. You get out your iPhone and key in the name of the product. The next moment you’re presented with all the scientific information about the ingredients, manufacturing processes and much much more. In the next few weeks, that’s going to be reality if all goes to plan with new startup company Goodguide.

Environmental Building News has published a directory with products for the residential green building market. The directory is targeted specifically at homeowners and home builders and includes over 1,400 products from the GreenSpec® database which the company's internal editors have maintained since 1998.

Products listed in the directory are selected for GreenSpec based on specific criteria including recycled content, FSC-certified wood, avoidance of toxic constituents, reduction of construction impacts, energy or water savings, and contributing to a safe, healthy indoor environment.