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January 13, 2008

Comments

David Fox

The three year process is a useful datapoint. Here's hoping there are many other companies well into similar transition/development that we're yet to hear about.

Also terrific to hear the "All of which has invigorated the company" sentiment.

Danna

Will it not be great when all the major companies get that nature does everything better!

Karen

I'm very happy to see companies like this making green products more widely available. I know that Proctor and Gamble has taken similar steps with their Pure Essentials line, which is actually a great product. I hope that more consumers start using products like this, and having a trusted brand name will certainly help to at least gain their consideration.

Stephen Albinati

One of the most interesting points about Greenworks is that they will be providing a green product at a 20% premium rather than a 100% premium.

I'm glad to see that we are finally getting away from the idea that things need to be much more expensive to be green.

Mark W. McElroy

Like all so-called green products, Clorox's Green Works could make it possible for consumers to live more sustainable lives and that's a good thing. But a green product does not a green company make. Rather, it only begs the question: Is Clorox itself, for example, sustainable? If I'm not mistaken, Clorox has never published a sustainability report. This raises another question: If a company's operations are wildly unsustainable and yet its products are green, doesn't the greenness of the products fade a bit, if not a lot? My own view is that any company that produces and seeks to exploit so-called green products is duty-bound to measure and report on the sustainability of their own operations. Otherwise, we really have no way of seeing the whole picture.

Regards,

Mark

alex

Great Blog I always have a good time reading it. It’d be great if someone knew about this site www.earthlab.com ? I have used their carbon calculator and it seems pretty legit? Has anyone else used it? They are partners with live earth and Al Gore so it must be pretty credible? If anyone else has done digging on this let me know. Oh and I got a score of 289 on their test…lower than the average in my state! Whoop whoop!

Arboga

hmmm...

thanks for sharing the formula for being ' green' and authentic:

STEP ONE - put your massive PR machine in motion

STEP TWO - buy endorsements

STEP THREE - trumpet the small steps in a way that overshadows any faults.

glad to know that clorox is now the purveyors of goodness. animal testing? who cares. transparency of ingredients on green works but not other products? why bother.

candidly, i wish more time was spent supporting the brands that are actually trying to make a difference beyond a simple product proposition.

greed is good.

A

Special K

I have to say that I just stumbled across this blog after seeing a commercial for the new Green Works line, of course I had to instantly google it to find out if it can be true...and it seems like a hit...I'm planning to start stalking my local wal-mart...It will be a lot easier on my budget to buy these new clorox products rather than the "green" products I'm using now.

Dave

Thanks for the great post Joel! I am really excited about this post - gotta hand it to Clorox - they are consistently coming out with innovative products.

anonymous

I honestly don't mean this to be a personal attack but, Joel, do you ever right about any company that hasn't hired you on as a consultant or with whom you serve as an advisor?

Joel Makower

Dear anonymous: Thanks for the non-personal attack, but if you scroll through past posts, you'll see that the majority of them are about things with which I had nothing to do. For example, you'll see posts over the past few months about Wal-Mart, Google, Coca-Cola, UNEP, and many others -- none of which are clients or affiliated organizations.

I blog about companies and organizations with which I'm involved because I am able to provide insight and context, which readers seem to like.

Finally, many of the mentions I make of relationships are solely for disclosure. In some cases -- for example, with NBC's Green Week, about which I posted some months ago -- I had nothing directly to do with the initiative, but since the company is a client of a firm with which I am affiliated, I felt obliged to disclose the connection.

Funny that I'm justifying transparency to someone who criticizes anonymously!

Chester's Clean House

Good post on Green Works. I am glad Clorox is starting to go green, but they have a long way to go. I still like 100% natural cleaning products made from stuff around the house. Guess clorox doesn't really want you to know about that.

Lauren S

This is such a fascinating conversation!

Check out the perspective on WorldofGood.com, a new online Social Network for commerce as a force for poverty alleviation!

http://community.worldofgood.com/blogs/mcmilker_blog/2008/01/18/clorox-benefits-from-fdas-decision-on-natural

http://www.worldofgood.com/oo/c

-What do YOU think? Add your perspective!

mary

If the green works is make from 99%coconut and lemon what is the other 1%
Thank You

josh

Interesting read. I checked out the Clorox and Green Works websites. They claim to be taking steps on their total business (beyond Green Works) to measure Carbon Emmissions and implement an aggressive reduction plan.

I also saw that Green Works has another endorsement with the EPA that wasn't referenced in the article.

Whether you buy the product or not, it's good to see some action from a Cleaning Chemical company.

We have been using the new Clorox green products in our home for over a month now. They are wonderful. I feel they clean very well, and I am not overwhelmed by the fumes created by conventional cleaning products. My mother didn't believe the products would work, but she has examined my clean home closely and she is ready to make the switch to green products now.

JackieD

I would only purchase this product if their other products did not test on animals and were also environmentally friendly, which sadly is not the case. I am also disapointed that Burt Bees is now owned by Clorox. Won't buy their stuff any more either. Clorox is just another big, greedy corporation jumping on the "go green bandwagon" trying to create a better image for themselves by bulldozing their way in and pushing out those who truly are environmentally friendly and cruelty free. I will pay the extra to stay with the companies who are the real deal.

Hannah Steiner

Its great that Clorox recognizes the increasing consumer demand for environmentally friendly products, but it would be much more encouraging if they had released the product after recognizing their own responsibility to the environment. The later is much more genuinely motivated, and would demonstrate their internalization of sustainable business practices. Instead, they are motivated by chances to increase market share while utilizing established distribution channels. I feel that, just like many other companies, Clorox has found a way to capitalize on the "greening" trend without actually embracing the principals behind the movement.

Städ

Thank´s for sharing the green formula, i will keep using green products

Fuller Brush

Looks like an excellent product. Must smell wonderful with all of those great ingredients.

nancy

I just bought one of the green products. I think it works great.

Jim Sochacki

While Clorox was doing this, they bulldozed away 10 small mountains and 25 large farms in the Shenandoah Valley where I live to put in subdivisions of 5000 square feet and greater houses. They also put in scores of strip malls and luxurious medical centers. Of course, most of these buildings are made mostly of concrete, stone and metal; products that are mined rather than lumber, soy and hemp; products that could be grown on the farms they bulldozed away. Of course, Las Vegas is 100 times the environmental disaster and the Gulf Coast is 50 times the environmental disaster that the Shenandoah Valley is.

Unless, we demand that schools be built from products that are grown and children are taught to use products that are grown to make things and to live as simply as possible using these things the Earth will be a complete cesspool soon.

Isaac Newton predicted that in 2000 the Earth would be in turmoil. He predicted that the world would have incredible means of travel and communication. He predicted that around 2060 the Earth would basically be destroyed and then man would realize that they have to live like Jesus said; The Earth is your home, live simply and love always.

Local Cleaners

This a nice way to reinvent a product, especially Clorox. It has become a household name and it being environment friendly definitely would help increase their sales.

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