Organic Baby Products

I’m a big believer in making my own cleaning products (especially with vinegar!) whenever I can.  But I still have a slew of cleaning products under my sink at home.  And what percentage of the population do you think actually makes their own cleaning products?  My guess is that it is quite small.  I also prefer to support small, local businesses (Simply Neutral is a wonderful Minnesota based cleaning line that I love!), but I don’t always have time to make an extra trip to the specialty store that carries those products.

That’s why I think it’s important to have high-quality, reasonably-priced, eco-friendly brands available at mass-market stores as a ‘better’ choice over scary conventional cleaning products, loaded with toxic chemicals.  Thankfully, there are quite a few great eco-friendly brands out there.  And now, there’s a new one…from Martha Stewart no less.  Not that we really need another choice, but it’s out there none the less.  I had a chance to review a few products so I thought I’d share my thoughts on Martha Stewart Clean…

My first thought was that this was going to be glorified greenwashing.  I started scouring the label, looking for the signs….

Do they disclose all ingredients of the label? YES – although it would be nice to see ingredients and MSDS info on the website so people could evaluate online.

Are there a ton of ingredients that are impossible to pronounce?  YES and NO.  I was surprised to find that the products contain a minimum number of ingredients and are completely fragrance-free and color-free.  Although the ingredients are 99+% plant and mineral-based (and fully biodegradable), many are still impossible to pronounce.

Do they slap the word natural on there without any backup?  NO – surprisingly, the word natural isn’t on the label at all.

Do they have a third-party certification? – YES – the products carry the Design for the Environment label by the EPA.  This means that the products have met stringent guidelines for human health and environmental safety.

In chatting with my Green Moms Carnival friends (who know a heck of a lot about green standards and ingredients), I found that many of them would prefer to see even tougher guidelines because chemical regulation simply has not kept pace.  Also, a product standard that takes the whole product lifecycle (not just the ingredients) into account would be nice.

But the bottom line is that, NO, I don’t think this is greenwashing here.

Wait!  We can’t forget the most important question – Does the stuff work??  I tested the all-purpose cleaner, the carpet stain remover and the dish & hand soap.  I give the all-purpose spray and the dish & hand soap a thumbs up (I have a thing for dual-purpose products!) but for the carpet-cleaner just a sideways thumb. It’s good for immediate stains but for set-stains on white carpet, I think you’re gonna need something stronger.

So is Martha Stewart Clean for you?

• probably NOT if the thought of Martha makes you cringe
• probably NOT if you are an ingredient purist who prefers not to use any ingredients that you can’t pronounce
• probably NOT if you are loyal to purchasing from small business instead of corporations
   

But for those of you whose day-to-day reality includes picking up affordable, eco-friendly cleaning products as part of a larger shopping trip, I’d say that Martha Stewart Clean looks like a pretty good option to me.  So far it’s available only at Home Depot (so don’t look for it on your next Target run) and online at Amazon (in multi-packs only). 

What are your thoughts on the Martha Stewart Clean line? 

{full disclosure:  I received 3 Martha Stewart Clean products at no charge for review purposes.}