Greenwashing: Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner

Recently in class, we discussed the topic of greenwashing.  Before our class lecture, I was not familiar with the topic of greenwashing whatsoever.  After learning what greenwashing is all about, I am shocked.  I am one of those people who naturally just believes a lot of what I read and I know that if I was walking down the aisles of a store and saw the word “green” on a product I would probably just believe it.  I definitely won’t do that anymore from here on out.

For this blog post, I decided to analyze Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner.  After reviewing the product on the Simple Green’s website, I would think that the product was safe to use.  Some of the positives of the product were that it was a safer cleaner and degreaser, was non-toxic with a biodegradable formula, and it was a powerful all-purpose cleaning.  But when Simple Green says that their product is “safer,” what do they mean?

This product may be “safer” but is it safe?  One problem that Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can lead to is the damage of red blood cells.  The product also is a possible human carcinogen and is banned in supplies that are certified by Green Seal or EcoLogo.  Along with these hazardous problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “disinfectant products cannot make green claims because they contain registered pesticides.”

Simple Green’s All-Purpose cleaner isn’t all bad if you actually read all of the instructions, but the product has definitely been greenwashed quite a bit and could fool most shoppers walking through the store.  If diluted properly before use, the cleaner is safer and less of a threat.

http://simplegreen.com/

http://www.ewg.org/research/greener-school-cleaning-supplies/greenwashing

 

2 thoughts on “Greenwashing: Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner

  1. I think this is really important to think about as well. In a lot of cases, it may seem as if these products are safe to use and still have efficient cleaning. But what ingredients are in them to make them so efficient? This is a really great example of greenwashing.

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