The cleaning products we sell are the result of a Safer and Superior New Product Standard that has led to more than 160 “green” certified products by major governmental and non-profit organizations worldwide. The Standard is as follows: Safer for the Environment / Safer for Human Contact / Superior Performance / Superior Savings. Each and every product we sell must meet the Safer and Superior New Product Standard, which well exceeds governmental and institutional laws and regulations pertaining to “greener” and “safer” cleaning products. The Standard is meant to ensure that customers do not need to lose in performance and cost when switching to safer and more environmentally friendly cleaning products. We will address the fourth of the four parts of the Safer and Superior New Product Standard in this post.

Superior Savings – With Green Concepts products you can have it all. Product Actual Cost – Although many green products are more expensive than brown ones, the reverse is true as well. In many cases a user does not have to pay more for performance effective and truly greener and safer products. In fact, the diluted product cost of our Green Concepts line of cleaning solutions is generally below the brown competition. Allow us to explain: the acquisition cost is the cost of a particular item “as is” in finished product form when delivered to an account and sealed prior to opening and using the solution inside the packaging. Thereafter, the product is either used straight without diluting it with water or it is diluted with water. In order to compare apples to apples, the size of the product and acquisition cost are only 2 factors that must be considered by a potential user. The diluted cost, generally referred to in the professional cleaning industry as “In Use” Cost, is the true and actual cost of the product that is used to clean. For example, it may cost someone $10.00 for one quart of concentrate from Company B, where the cost for one quart from Company G’s competitive product is $20.00. The Acquisition Cost face value by Company B is cheaper. However, the Company B product will have to be used at 8 oz. per quart of water to be effective where Company G only has to be used at 2 oz. per quart of water. The true and actual cost to the account is much less for Company G’s product. In fact, dramatically less in this case as Company B’s “In Use” Cost is $2.50 per quart of use solution where Company G’s is only $1.25, or half the cost of Company B. Overall Cost – In addition to price of the individual products alone there are other cost-related considerations and benefits that should be evaluated in determining Overall Cost. In the example above, Company G’s product is in higher concentration and, thus, the customer will only need one quart of Company G product for every four quarts of Company B product to make the same amount of diluted and “ready-to-use” solution. Thus, the cost of shipping and the availability of storage space in the closet and under the counter will vary depending upon the level of concentration of a particular product. Product safety, user health, user motivation, productivity, performance effectiveness and lost time should also be key considerations when evaluating overall cost. Finally, a facility using green products will achieve greater goodwill and satisfaction within their organization as well as with the local community, neighbors and visitors of the facility.

Our products are “Superior in Savings “, because the Product Actual Cost of our products is less than concentrated alternative products, and dramatically less than un-concentrated, “ready-to-use” competitive products. Further, the many cost-related considerations and benefits listed above under the Overall Cost analysis need to be accounted for in evaluating the Overall Cost in making an informed decision.

The cleaning products we sell are the result of a Safer and Superior New Product Standard that has led to more than 160 “green” certified products by major governmental and non-profit organizations worldwide. The Standard is as follows: Safer for the Environment / Safer for Human Contact / Superior Performance / Superior Savings. Each and every product we sell must meet the Safer and Superior New Product Standard, which well exceeds governmental and institutional laws and regulations pertaining to “greener” and “safer” cleaning products. The Standard is meant to ensure that customers do not need to lose in performance and cost when switching to safer and more environmentally friendly cleaning products. We will address the second of the four parts of the Safer and Superior New Product Standard in this post.

Safer for Human Contact – This is our most important criteria. Low to No Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – Volatile Organic Compounds are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air. An example is formaldehyde, with a boiling point of –19 °C (–2 °F), slowly exiting paint and getting into the air. Many VOCs are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. VOCs are numerous, varied, and ubiquitous. They include both man-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. Most of our products have No VOC Content.  The only VOCs that our products may contain are materials commonly in our diets, like citric acid in a glass of orange juice or red wine, at levels where volatility is of no concern.
Low Toxicity – Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ, such as the liver. A central concept of toxicology is that effects are dose-dependent; even water can lead to water intoxication when taken in too many doses, whereas for even a very toxic substance such as snake venom there is a dose below which there is no detectable toxic effect. Our products contain only materials classified as non-toxic by common industry and government standards, like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Safer Ingredients – Our products are designed after many years and many millions of dollars invested in good chemistry to achieve extremely effective cleaning products while using mush Safer Ingredients.  Our products have been developed in a Partnership with the U.S. EPA’s Design for the Environment Program.  The Design for the Environment Program has identified safer alternative ingredients through partnerships with industry and environmental advocates like us. These safer alternatives are comparable in cost and are readily available. CleanGredients is the result of this collaboration and a U.S. EPA resource for safer ingredients.  For example, we dye many of our products for safer user identification, but we ONLY use dyes that are approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for human consumption.  That’s right, even though our products are meant for cleaning tough stains and soils they contain coloring agents used in beverages in order to lessen the potential adverse effect if accidentally or unintentionally consumed by a small child or disabled adult.

Our products are “Safer to the User“, because they have Low to No Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Low Toxicity, and Safer Ingredients.  With good chemistry we can clean very well without harmful effects on the person doing the cleaning, the people that come into contact with the surfaces or materials being cleaned, or anyone that breathes in the air where the cleaning has taken place or where the products have been exposed to the air and surroundings.

The cleaning products we sell are the result of a Safer and Superior New Product Standard that has led to more than 160 “green” certified products by major governmental and non-profit organizations worldwide. The Standard is as follows: Safer for the Environment / Safer for Human Contact / Superior Performance / Superior Savings. Each and every product we sell must meet the Safer and Superior New Product Standard, which well exceeds governmental and institutional laws and regulations pertaining to “greener” and “safer” cleaning products. The Standard is meant to ensure that customers do not need to lose in performance and cost when switching to safer and more environmentally friendly cleaning products. We will address the first of the four parts of the Safer and Superior New Product Standard in this post.

Safer for the Environment – This is our mission. Readily Biodegradable – Everything is “biodegradable”. Biodegradable is a term used by many companies in misleading consumers. You are biodegradable. Even the home you live in and the facility you work in will biodegrade over the next few hundred years. The term biodegradable by itself does not mean that something is “green” or “environmentally friendly“. Marketing strategists and campaigns want consumers to believe that “biodegradable” means eco friendly when that is not necessarily the case. However, there are standards of biodegradability. Every ingredient we use must be “readily biodegradable“. Readily Biodegradable is the industry’s highest standard and it varies from country to country. A material is described or classified as “readily biodegradable” if there is evidence from standard tests that it will be broken down by living organisms and thus removed from the environment. To pass the most stringent tests defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is an international economic organization of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade, at least 60- 70% of the material must be broken down within ten days. Our ingredients are readily biodegradable under this standard.
Low Aquatic Toxicity – Everything we dispose of goes into the water table and affects the chemical composition of our water. Every ingredient in our products has been tested to show low to no fish and marine life toxicity. The low toxicity is equivalent to natural ingredients like orange juice or red wine being disposed of. In short, we protect the Earth’s water.
Renewable Resources – Every ingredient we use must be renewable in the future to protect future generations. Our products are the result of smart chemistry that is focused on sustainability and carbon footprint.
Concentrated Products – by concentrating our products we are able to reduce packaging and fuel consumption. Thus, by using concentrated products we can lessen the amount of plastic that goes into our landfills and the air pollution that stems from burning fossil fuels.

Our products are “Green” and “Safer for the Environment“, because they are Readily Biodegradable, have Low to No Aquatic Toxicity, are comprised of 100% Renewable Resources, and are Concentrated to reduce waste and air pollution.

We have created this Forum to share our information with you as we continue to grow and progress, and to allow us to hear “your” story!

We endeavor to help lessen the overall carbon footprint by formulating products and cleaning programs and procedures that are designed to better protect the surfaces and materials we clean, our land and water table, ourselves and future generations, as well as all other animals and living things with whom we share our world. That is “our” story.

We encourage you to read the Our Promise, Our Roots, Our Products and the FAQ sections of our website and comment here in the Green Concepts website Forum about your personal experience on our site.

Please share your personal stories and/or thoughts with us regarding the use of our products, or about anything related to the sustainability movement in general, as the more we share the more we all can learn and better ourselves and our planet.

Thank you for your commitment to safer science and sustainable products and practices.

Welcome to Our Forum!

The Green Concepts Team