Can anyone offer any guidance on how to assess whether or not homemade cleaning products can comply?
For instance, in a building where all cleaning products are chemical-free and made from everday materials such as olive oil, baking soda and vinegar, is there an appropriate compliance path? Or would we be better off actually purchasing approved cleaning products?
Shira Norman
YRG sustainability70 thumbs up
April 21, 2010 - 1:27 pm
Brittany,
Homemade cleaning chemicals definitely comply with the sustainability criteria. These household products are obviously much more sustainable than manufactured cleaing products. In order to demonstrate compliance, make sure you submit supporting documentation from legitimate sources that explains the environmental benefits of using vinegar, baking soda, lemon, etc.
Robin Obaugh
Vice President - EngineeringHines
20 thumbs up
May 5, 2011 - 4:25 pm
It would be interesting to know who is doing this. It would be worth a conversation to see how it works.
David Tompos
PresidentNTA, Inc.
19 thumbs up
January 26, 2012 - 3:40 pm
April, Brittany or Robin,
Have any of you attempted to submit documentation supporting homemade cleaning products? I am currently working on a project where our cleaning staff is interested in pursuing the credit with homemade cleaning solutions made from lemon juice, vinegar & baking soda. Have any of you heard back from reviewers on this issue, or had other related experiences? I am open to any advice, recommendations or guidance on the topic.
April Ambrose
Business Development ManagerEntegrity
230 thumbs up
January 26, 2012 - 4:37 pm
We have not yet tried to submit this. We decided to make it easy on ourselves and go with pre-made products. (Did you know Seventh Generation doesn't have the labeling requirements?) Right now we are using Method cleaners.
We are still interested in submitting our home-made cleaners, but have not found good research or actual data on why they are healthier. Most of what we've found seems anecdotal or expected, rather than verified, which I believe is the reason for requiring third party verification and labeling.
Martha Norbeck
PresidentC-Wise Design and Consulting
70 thumbs up
November 20, 2013 - 3:47 pm
April, the Method cleaners aren't Green Seal, nor is 7th Generation. Did you submit these? Did you get the credit?
We are working on a tiny project and they need to find something they can buy at the drug store.