Recently, I raved about Planet, Inc’s Dishwashing Detergent. I contacted them to let them know how pleased I am and received a very nice email back. Their Consumer Affairs department also sent me some definitions of words used in “green” products. I found it very interesting and, with their permission, I’m forwarding along sections of that email:
Chemists and government bodies (for example the USDA, as expressed in the Organic Foods Production Act) define “natural” as “free from extensive chemical processing”. Any cleaning product which uses one or more detergents in its formulation does not meet that standard. All detergents are what chemists define as “synthetic” in that they undergo extensive chemical processing as they are being manufactured. To put it plainly “detergents do not occur in nature”! The only cleaning agents which are not considered to be synthetic are those based on soap. Such cleaners have a variety of shortcomings in performance, which limits their acceptability in the marketplace.
So what do green cleaner companies mean when they use the term “natural”? Mostly, they mean “free of petroleum or petroleum byproducts”. Instead, their products are largely or wholly based on vegetable ingredients such as coconut or corn. This is a somewhat unusual application of the word “natural”, since both coconuts and oil are naturally occurring substances.
Even if you accept “petroleum-free” as being the definition of “natural”, there are problems in the way many companies apply the concept. While their products make use of vegetable-based ingredients, they generally do make SOME use of petroleum-derived ingredients. For example, most “natural” detergent formulations contain at least one of a class of cleaning agents known as ethoxylated alcohols. These cleaning agents are very beneficial, because they are very effective, biodegrade quickly, and are reasonable in cost. Ethoxylated alcohols can be based on vegetable ingredients (usually coconut or corn oil), but one of the steps in manufacturing them involves adding ethylene oxide (the source of the term “Ethoxylated”). Unfortunately, ethylene oxide is only manufactured from petroleum.
Planet believes that companies selling environmentally friendly products should use claims which are readily understood and defined. Such terms as “biodegradable”, “hypoallergenic” and even “vegetable-based” have commonly understood meanings, and standards which can be used to measure performance.
So, I hope you all find that information informative and helpful when you’re making decisions about what products to buy. Thanks, Planet, Inc., for that lesson on the vocabulary of green products.