Lately more and more marketers seem to be jumping on the green bandwagon – we see green claims everywhere. Now that savvy consumers have decided that green living practices are better for the environment or for their health (or both), companies hope to attract these consumers by positioning their products in a green light. The only problem is, these claims may be false or exaggerated and it is often difficult for even savvy consumers to tell the difference.
So the FTC is looking to put a red light on green claims. The FTC hasn’t reviewed its green marketing guidelines since 1998. Over the last 10 years phrases like “environmentally friendly”, “eco-friendly”, “bio-degradable” and “non-toxic” have been abused, whether intentionally or unintentionally, on product labels.
House cleaning is no exception. I ran across a house cleaning company in NYC (which I shall not name here) that marketed green house cleaning and when I called to ask what cleaning products were being used the sales person couldn’t tell me. Just that they were certified. Certified by whom, I asked. The sales person couldn’t tell me that either. On their web site they did note that they sprayed aromatherapy products at the end of the cleaning. (Even natural fragrances can trigger sthma and allergy attacks, however.)
Green is different things to different people. Maid Brigade conducted consumer research before we converted to our exclusive Green Clean Certified(R) system and learned that people most often think of the environment (meaning our planet’s) when they hear the word “green” but when asked about green behaviors, they said they were more likely to make choices to improve their immediate environment.
TRUE green cleaning improves boths environments. We use cleaning solutions that are certified through Green Seal, the premier certifying body in the US today. We can tell our customers what they are, we can even prodivde the MSDS sheets so that you can be sure we are not introducing harmful chemicals into your home.
Maid Brigade stands by our promise to leave your home as healthy as possible after we clean it, and we can prove it. Ours are not irresponsible marketing claims – ours are a commitment to our customers and employees.
