Is Green Cleaning Dead?

     All I ever here from companies trying to sell us janitorial products is that no-one is using hazardous chemicals anymore, everyone is going completely green. As far as I can tell, this is a lie. From personal experience, I can say that many customers do not prefer a complete green cleaning. Most of our customers are fine with a hybrid of both green and non-green products, and I've also noticed that a lot of green-friendly commercial cleaning products have been disappearing from the market. But this turned out to be false. Doing a basic search, I found numerous companies selling green products, but they are not well advertised. Many of them I have never heard of, and so. I thought they didn't exist. What else am I supposed to think? I was reading this article: Is Green Still Growing? and it states that everyone was rarin' to go a few years ago when it came to more Eco-friendly cleaning solutions. But now? With the current economy, many people aren't interested. Some companies charge more for green cleaning because of all the extra time involved, and that additional cost is what cripples companies that are wholly green.
     People are also becoming more conscious of their pets. I can't tell you how many green cleaning products I have seen that is geared towards pet messes. Here's an article: Green Pets. Which I find kind of funny. Don't get me wrong- I am all for green cleaning, healthier pets, people, and the environment, but the sheer concept of it when you break it down is sort of ludicrous. People are wary of their pets when it comes to what products we may use on their floor, but when we offer an all green solution, they are...underwhelmed. When we tell them that our green products disinfect work well, but ultimately cannot cut through mildew or soapscum, some customers lose interest right away. The same customers that were so involved with their pets' well being that they are allowing very powerful cleaning agents into a vulnerable area- the bathroom. Which brings me to the next point.
     Do people even care about green cleaning anymore? I'm not sure. This article even asked the question for me: Green Cleaning - Do We Care? They state that there are many green products out there. Hundreds. And a lot of the them claim all sorts of things, like being earth friendly, and biodegradable. And a lot of these products are. The ones we use are, we checked on it. But when green cleaning came into focus, a lot of companies tried to jump on the bandwagon with less than honest chemical solutions that were far from green. This practice is called greenwashing, and it's more common than you think. So common, that many people consume green products without any research, or knowledge about the environment, meaning that they wouldn't know if they were being duped or not! A survey conducted at this website states that many people consuming green products had NO concern of the environment at all, let alone knowing anything about environmental issues. A large percentage of the people surveyed said that Carbon Dioxide depleted the ozone layer.
     What a perfect segway into my last point. If people do care about green cleaning, it's a specific group of people, rather limited perhaps. I could be exaggerating, but maybe I'm not. I have, however, noticed an influx of people doing DIY green products. Limited batch, small amount, and for personal use. Here's a perfect example: Cleaning Product Recipes. If you noticed, these small batch green cleaning products also have scents added to them to make them more appealing to the nose. Strong fragrances are added to many cleaning products, and the matter of the fact is, green cleaning dosen't smell clean. Your house won't reek of course, but there is no telltale whiff of bleach, or powerful lemon scent. Pine. So, we would get complaints when we would clean only with green products. From the customers that wanted us to use nothing but green products. And it's not their fault, they didn't know. So we use a hybrid system of both.
     So. Back to square one. Is green cleaning dead? I don't know. To be honest, there are such mixed opinions about the issue that I don't know where to fall. I've found that companies should at the very least offer green cleaning. They don't have to be 100% green, but that doesn't mean they lose their conscience about their impact on the environment. Being more conscientious about our affect on the planet often requires more effort. And there are many people that might not be ready for that commitment. Like most things in life, it's silly to pick on side over the other blindly. It's best to research, observe, and understand both sides, and then make an informed decision to find out where you stand. As with most things in life, compromise is often best. And maybe, just maybe, it's best to ease into something new, opposed to just blindly opposing or standing up for it. If you're all for green cleaning, great. If you're not, that's fine too! Just make sure that whatever position you take, you've made an informed decision.