The City of Ventura’s Environmental Sustainability website asks the ominous question, “Do you know that many household cleaning products, even used as directed, could be hazardous to your health as well as the environment?”

The website follows with a series of recipes for “safe substitutes,” featuring items such as “mold killers” made from tea tree oil and vinegar, furniture polish made from olive oil and lemon juice, and deodorizer made from vinegar.

Practicing what it preaches, the city requires its housekeeping contractors to use only Green Seal certified cleaning products. Green Seal, begun in 1989, is a nonprofit organization evaluating and certifying the environmental claims of a variety of products.

Green Seal focused first on standards for paper, and by 1993 had developed standards for the environmental claims of household cleaning products. Green Seal describes itself as using “science-based programs to empower consumers, purchasers and companies to create a more sustainable world.”

“ Since we started this program (requiring Green Seal certified cleaners) in 2007,” said Joe Yahner, manager of the city’s Environmental Sustainability Office, “our contractor has eliminated the use of many harmful cleaning products, improving indoor air quality and reducing the manufacture of toxic chemicals.”

Similar to the city, the County of Ventura also uses only Green Seal-certified products. However, rather than using a contractor to do the job, the County of Ventura’s own General Services Agency provides cleaning services at county facilities.

More at source: Moorepark Acorn

Green Cleaning Certification Course here.

Find a GREEN cleaning service here.