Ladies, take a bow for kick starting transparency in household cleaners

Today, Clorox, the name synonymous with toxic bleach, announced that it's going transparent with its products ingredients.

"...it is now disclosing preservatives, dyes and a palette of fragrances used in its cleaning, disinfecting and laundry products in the U.S. and Canada. The Ingredients Inside program is available at www.CloroxCSR.com/ingredients-inside/" more

That doesn't mean that these products are safe or less harmful, but transparency is a step in the right direction. It also establishes a benchmark for other companies to follow. Once there is transparency, bad ingredients will be seen and no one wants that, consequently companies will work extra hard to come clean themselves before going public. 

Ladies, take a bow. YOU drove this action.

The picture below was taken from Mom's Voices.org. [correction, the site is called Women's Voice of the Earth] Do a search on "toxic cleaners" "toxic cosmetics" (both sink into your skin) and you'll see countless mom generated books and blogs on the subject. Public pressure is the wind beneath the toxic-free movement's wings. Mom's Voices is one of many women-fueled sites on this subject.

Listing all ingredients is a brave, first step for Clorox. They, like Wal Mart, are turning their Darth Vader image into a force for green good by taking a leadership for green position. It won't be easy for Clorox and those like them, unlike Seventh Generation who started out green, Clorox had to justify the reformulation and changing entire production lines before they could make a move. Public pressure made them do it, otherwise they would have started out clean like Seventh Generation. 

Here are a few more books on the subject, all written by women. Do you have a book on Toxic-free living? Please let me know. --Mary(dot)inwomenwetrust(dot)com

Practically Green: Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making
By Micaela Preston

Smart Mama's Green Guide: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Child's Toxic Chemical Exposure  By Jennifer Taggart

 

 

 

 

 

The Green Parent: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Environmentally-Friendly Living
By Jenn Savedge

  Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World
By Diane MacEachren

 

 

Green Cleaning For Dummies Elizabeth B. Goldsmith , Betsy Sheldon 

 

 

 

 

 

Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living Annie Berthold-Bond 

 

 

Green Cleaning Christine Halvorson Erika Swanson Geiss 

 

Comments

[ecokaren]

Great news! Transparency is a great start and maybe when consumers see all the toxins in their products, they'll stop buying them and companies like Clorox will make safer products. It's a step in the right direction. I'd like even the safe products to be transparent.

I love the book recommendations in this post.

BTW....I just discovered this site from Alicia's tweet! How did I miss this wonderful resource and a network of great women?

Thank You!

http://ecokaren.com

[Women4earth]

Thanks so much for helping spread the word on this amazing victory! Just a note that we're Women's Voices for the Earth, not Mom's Voices. :) Thanks again!

--Cassidy Randall

[Mary Hunt]

Thanks for the correction Cassidy, I need to add your group to my lists as well. Great work!!