Green cleaning is a rather new concept and it basically means utilizing cleaning products and methods that are made of environmentally friendly substances. These products and methods have only one purpose: to preserve environmental quality and human health. Green cleaning products and techniques don’t use toxic and chemically reactive ingredients or toxic chemicals that emit volatile organic compounds that lead to various dermatological and respiratory problems.
Green cleaning is also a broad description of how industrial and residential cleaning products are distributed, packaged and manufactured. The terms eco – friendly or green apply when cleaning items are biodegradable and when the manufacturing procedure is environmentally friendly. Besides using eco – friendly and healthy products, green cleaning also entails a behavioral component. Thus, consumers must be taught to use green cleaning in the most efficient and effective way.
It seems that green cleaning is rather simple. However, its definition includes 3 key concepts that must be broadly explained. The first one is human health. Every cleaning product comes with a main purpose and that is protecting human health. Therefore, the definitions of environmentally or green products and actions must incorporate human – health considerations. When it comes specifically to green cleaning, this indicates that the manufacturers must care about how cleaning affects occupants and the custodial personnel in the environment where the cleaning activities are carried out. Vulnerable populations including individuals having suppressed immune systems, the elderly and the children must be given special consideration.
Another key term is comparative in nature. In essence, this is what green cleaning is all about. The definition does not exactly state what environmentally preferable means. On the other hand, it does compare green products with the competing services and products and says what is not good. At the same time, it promotes improvement in the green spectrum.
Finally, the third key concept is performance. Besides being green and environmentally friendly, these services and products must also be effective and actually do what they were meant for: clean. A cleaning product that is not able to clean indicates a waste of money, time and resources and does not sustain the definition of green cleaning. In fact, it shows exactly the opposite. Concurrently, the cleaning products’ performance is extremely important for preserving a healthy and safe indoor environment.
In a nutshell, this is what green cleaning means. Even though it’s a new concept, it is expected to become more prevalent in the near future. Everyone must understand that it’s important to preserve and save planet Earth and, at the same time, save ourselves. For this, people must start adopting a beneficial and positive green lifestyle.