Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Green Works cleaning products: Giveaway!

Congratulations Lara who said"

"Lara said... the wipes sound great. I love cleaning wipes but feel guilty about using them too much! "

You're getting the wipes!

So, I'll be honest here. ecochick is very eco-friendly when it comes to cleaning. VERY eco-friendly. Because basically, I don't do any. They are considering naming the underside of my sofa a preserved habitat for dust bunnies. Ha. So when I received some Clorox Green Works cleaners in the mail - specifically the Natural Biodegradable Cleaning Wipes and the All Purpose Cleaner, I kind of went, great! I'll try those out! Sometime. Sure. Then time passed. A lot of time, frankly. But the moment eventually came when I had to make the place look presentable. Something about "children" and "crawling" and "floors" and "gah". So I broke these cleaners out to give them a spin.

I'll be honest: I'm naturally skeptical about a lot of "natural" cleaning products. There's so much greenwashing out there, and many product claims are vague. What does "natural" even mean?  So the first thing I did was check out the label. These products did have some questionable contents - they said they contained things like "preservative" (which preservative?) and "silicon antifoaming agent" (oh dear.)  But, a couple of significant things jumped out at me.

First, the Natural Biodegradable Cleaning Wipes are just that: biodegradable. They are made from 100% wood based fibers, and can be chucked in the composter instead of the landfill. Right there, these wipes have a huge advantage over many others that are made from polyester or other petroleum based products and cannot be composted. So while a throwaway wipe is not the best choice, for those times when it's necessary, a compostable one is the best option.

Another bonus is the container for the wipes is made from at least 25% post-consumer recycled plastic, which is a really excellent start.

Meanwhile, the All-Purpose Cleaner carries a really significant badge:  The United States Environmental Protection Agency Design For The Environment badge, recognized for Safer Chemistry.  From the website:

When you see the DfE logo on a product it means that the DfE scientific review team has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that—based on currently available information, EPA predictive models, and expert judgment—the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.

There's another upside to these products: the smell. Many "regular" cleaning products basically leave me with a headache, with their hectically overscented smells. These don't. They smell real, natural and light.

And in my experience, they work. They work well. Surprisingly well, especially around this place which generally needs a fair amount of effort to get it cleaned up.

Interested in trying them out?  Well, you're in luck. First, if you go to the Green Works website, you can get a coupon for $1 off the compostable cleaning wipes by signing up for their newsletter (not sure how long that promotion's going to be on). Or, if you care to try your luck, ecochick's giving away a containter of natural biodegradable cleaning wipes and a bottle of all-purpose cleaner, whoop!  Just leave me a comment stating which of the cleaners you'd like to try out by Tuesday, April 27. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you! Giveaway will be done at random and recipients of the giveaway will be contacted by email. Canadian addresses only please. Good luck!

17 comments:

Jessica said...

Huh, I've seen these at the store, but wasn't sure how great they actually were. I'd love to try the wipes!

stsammy said...

I've tried the dish detergent before, and was happy enough by it's performance, but if I'm trying something new, I'm all over the bathroom cleaner. I'm perpetually hunting for something non-toxic that only requires a *little* elbow grease.... nothing quite yet compares to all those toxic beasts I've used for years. Maybe this would?

Tammi Hayne said...

I'd love to try out the all-purpose cleaner. I'm very sensitive to scents so am always looking for something environmentally friendly.

tammihayne@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Happy to know these products are better than many others! The cleaning wipes would be interesting to try for sure!

fournier.mm@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

As another sufferer of chemically induced headaches, I'd totally be for trying out this all purpose cleaner!

luna_5_light at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

I'd like to try the wipes.

motorroeder@shaw.ca

Trish said...

I'd like to try the Laundry Stain Remover. I've tried most of the other products and loooove the lime scent.

trish_joyce@hotmail.com

Morgan said...

I would be interested in trying the bathroom cleaner... good natural bathroom cleaners are hard to find!

Sarah said...

I'd be interested in trying the wipes - they sound like a convenient under the sink item!

sradovan at rogers dot com

brutonia said...

I'd like to try the stain remover...I use too much of this with a toddler around!


kebruton at gmail

Lara said...

the wipes sound great. I love cleaning wipes but feel guilty about using them too much!

Lara.wellman(at)gmail

Colleen at Forty Something Bride said...

I'd love to try out the glass cleaner, as all of my furniture is made from glass!

Kimberley B said...

I would love to try the wipes as I have a small fetish with being able to ipe down the kitchen and the bathrooms with them!

Food According To Karen said...

So often the disposable cleaning wipes aren't biodegradable. It's great that Green Works are. I'd love to try their Natural Dish Soap. Wish they made one for the automatic dish washer.

Maria @BOREDmommy said...

I would want to try the stain remover too!

Maria @BOREDmommy

orionsmom said...

I'd like to try the wipes.Thanks.
cyndicarroll@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I'd like to try the wipes too.