green cleaning

Advice for navigating the wild world of products with eco-claims

Laundry detergent made from flowers! Cars that don’t pollute! Potato chips fried in organic oils! These days, everything seems to be marketed with an eco-spin — even products that are notoriously bad for people and the planet. So are companies truly seeing the green light, or are they just greenwashing? Photo: iStockphoto If green is […]

Grist staff Culture

Kudos to Seventh Generation on a Hollywood moment

I’m not saying I paid good money to see 27 Dresses this weekend. Nor am I saying that its ending, however formulaic, made me cry. What I am saying is how nice it was to see a generous, nearly full-screen shot of a Seventh Generation cleaning product clutched in Katherine Heigl’s frenzied hand. Not to […]

Katharine Wroth Technology

Bleach company discovers its green gene

Joel Makower has a characteristically thorough and thoughtful look at Clorox’s launch of their new "Green Works" line of cleaning products, in which he was peripherally involved (does the guy sleep?). I’ll admit, when I read these things, I feel positive and hopeful, and then I think, hm, how will some enviro manage to spin […]

David Roberts Technology

Umbra on household help and homemade cleansers

Dear Umbra, I recently moved in with my investment-banker boyfriend. So far, my efforts to teach him to have more fun with less stuff have been largely successful; however, I’ve hit a roadblock when it comes to his cleaning lady. My first question, Umbra, is this: what are the social and ecological implications of hiring […]

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Umbra on green laundry detergents

Dear Umbra, What are the “green” high-efficiency detergents for washers? Thanks,Marilyn Dearest Marilyn, A perfect question for parenting fortnight. Children have such tiny clothing that you wouldn’t think it would add up to an increase in laundry volume. Until you saw the proof. Too bad keeping them naked (cuuuute!) and periodically hosing them off is […]

Ask Umbra® Culture

An eco-entrepreneur’s advice on kid-proofing your cleaning supplies

Photo: iStockphoto As a practically perpetually pregnant person — I’m a mom of three and have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for 10 years of my adult life — I’ve needed to make my surroundings clean in a nontoxic and green way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no snooty domestic diva. I strongly believe cobwebs […]

Lynda Fassa Uncategorized

Can a mother survive without antibacterial wipes?

A few Sundays back, the newspaper seemed to spill an overwhelming number of cleaning-product coupons onto my living-room floor.

cleaners

"It's like They know," my husband said. "They're on to you."

"They" are the companies selling household liquids and powders for a little spring cleaning. And the secret my husband thought they'd discovered? I had decided to purge my pine-fresh scents and 99.9 percent germ killers in favor of a few products our "great-grandparents used," as advised by green-parenting maverick MaGreen.

Christine Gardner Culture

Umbra on disposing of toxic chemicals

Dear Umbra, Now that I’ve caught the environmental bug, I don’t know what to do with the toxic cleaning products (e.g., Ajax) that I have on hand. As a bulk buyer, I’ve got 5 to 6 bottles in my garage. Is it better to use them up, throw them away, or just have them stay […]