Category — Green & Clean

Check this site out! Here are the cloths, sponges, and wipes to pair with your green cleansers. Twist is ANOTHER new product line that just caught my eye on Apartment Therapy. Here’s the post that led me to the Twist site.

A few months ago I wrote a post stating that buying green cleaning products made my shopping experience simpler because of the fewer choices on the shelves. I usually shop at Target and pick up Method or Mrs. Meyers cleaning products. Well, it’s not easy anymore! There are so many green product lines coming out now, or in the case of some, they’ve been around for a long time and we’re finally hearing about them. One of those companies is Shaklee.

I have Shaklee in my blogroll because I saw an interview with the current CEO and his wife in a “green” episode on Oprah and thought Shaklee seemed like a good company and good product. I finally have the chance to try them out. My work just bought a bunch of products for the whole building so I’ve been sort of testing them out.

I’ve been using the Basic H2 Super Cleaning Wipes and Cleaning Concentrate and the Get Clean Dish Wash and Hand Wash. So far, I’m really digging their products. The Basic H2 products are quite effective and seem to be unscented. (I have a weak sense of smell) And the hand wash and dish wash have very appealing mild scents. I hate to admit that the scents were a little more refined and subtle than my usual favorite green line, Method. But don’t get me wrong, I still love Method! I’m a sucker for their Karim Rashid designed wares.

So far Shaklee is strictly internet/mail order but they offer a starter kit that is supposed to last you forever. It features a wide range of the product line with concentrates and refillable spray and dispenser bottles. I’ll definitely consider personally buying their stuff in the future. The company has been around 50 years creating environmentally conscious products which is a great thing.

My place is still mostly stocked with Method products because, like I said previously, the whole line is easily available at Target and at the best price. Method is also branching out with new products for the home and even toiletries. I love their “paraben free” bloq shave cream in “green mint.” Also, just now visting their site to write this post, I noticed it has been totally revamped with a new look, new organization, and showing more new products.

And now a final observation on green cleaning products. Why is that the green movement is also fostering the best product and graphic design in the cleansing market? Just like Method, Shaklee was obviously thinking about good graphic design for their products. It actually makes you not mind keeping them on your counter, rather than hiding the stuff under the sink.

It’s my belief that being green and caring for the environment goes hand in hand with living the simple (and uncluttered) life.  So today is a shout out to taking care of the environment.  I know it’s seems like we’re being bombarded with green campaigns everywhere and that’s it has become cool to be green but this is something I’m happy has become trendy. Although trends fade, let’s hope that this wave of “green” feeling will change some habits and make for a cleaner world for our future and generations to come.  Here are a few simple changes you can make in your daily routine to get started. 

• Don’t leave the water running when brushing your teeth.
• Limit receiving paper receipts at the ATM.  Print one only when you make deposits at an ATM so you have a proof of transaction.  
• Buy one re-usable aluminum or non-leaching plastic bottle for water.  Please, please stop the bottled water trend.  Some cities in the US are banning them.  Let’s join!
• If you don’t need a bag to carry your store bought item home then “just say no” to the shopping bag. In addition, bring your own bags to the grocery store, farmer’s market, etc. 
• Switch to using non-chlorine bleach for washing clothes.  There are many alternatives now.
• If you can, support companies who are LEED certified.  I read yesterday that only about 130 corporation buildings/headquarters are LEED certified in this country.   I happen to buy my computer hard drives from OWC and just found out that they moved into a Gold Level LEED certified building and are being hailed as one of the top “Green” IT companies. And their products are great! I’ve been buying from them for years and now it makes me feel even better.  
• Drive your car at a consistent pace.  Don’t gun it!  You use up more gas and pollute the air more. You will get better gas mileage if you stay calm when driving. 

So one of my favorite cleaning brands Method (just wrote about them in recent posts) has also come out with a limited line of bath/body products. I recently purchased their bloq shave cream - go getter | green mint to give it a try. It’s not foamy like most shaving gels, but works just as good and what I especially like is the fact there are no parabens in this product. Jury is still out on whether parabens are harmful to our health but I’d rather err on the side of caution and try to eliminate as many potentially harmful chemicals from my beauty products as possible.I like the mint in the product, it gives a slight cooling effect and again, love the design.

Guess I was on to something with my last post. Here’s a recent Jan.22 article from Science Daily. We’re going to start seeing a lot more green products on the market but it’s definitely a good thing. For example, Clorox will be coming out with a brand named “Greenworks.” I’m happy the demand is making large companies find more eco-friendly solutions for their products. For now I’ll just stick to the brands that started the trend, makes my life simpler!