new internationalist
issue 203 - January 1990
Ethical shopping
Green shopping guides usually only assess products according to the damage they do to the environment. Thls is important -but it is not enough. We should also be looking hard at the ethIcs of the companies Involved. In that spirit here is an NI guide to the ethical practices of multinationals selling household cleaning products - as well as advice on what to look for in a washing powder.
Clean. The table below compiled by New Consumer, evaluates the attitudes and practices of six companies which dominate the world market in household cleaning products. None of these companies has significant involvements in military sales, nuclear power, alcohol, tobacco or gambling. But these areas should also be considered when you are deciding whether a company is clean as well as green. |
Company |
Brands |
Home country Advert |
Annual |
Percentage |
No. of the board of executives who are: |
Use of animals to test products |
Involvements |
No. of companies |
Donations to Advert |
||||||||||||
women |
members of ethnic |
||||||||||||||||||||
Procter & |
Ariel, Bold 3, Bounce, |
US |
18,127 |
1%+ Advert |
2+ |
2+ |
Yes but is |
Licenses |
27 |
None in the US |
|||||||||||
Unilever |
Comfort, Fresh, Jif, Lux, |
UK/ |
25,674 |
Unknown |
0 |
0 |
Yes but is |
At least one |
33 |
Yes but |
|||||||||||
Reckitt & |
Airwick, Brasso, Cherry |
UK |
2,091 |
Unknown |
0 |
0 |
Yes but is |
At least one |
20 |
Yes but |
|||||||||||
Colgate - |
Ajax, Fresh, Halo, |
US |
4,428 |
4%+ |
2+ |
1 + |
Yes but is |
At least one |
34 |
None in |
|||||||||||
Patersons |
1001 Range, |
UK |
285 |
Unknown |
0 |
0 |
Yes |
None |
10 |
Yes but |
|||||||||||
SC Johnson and Son |
Brillo, Slade, Goddard's, Klear, Living Wood, Pledge, Shake'N'Vac, Shout, Protector, Freedom, Johnson Wax |
US |
4,500 |
5%+ |
1+ |
1+ |
Yes, but is phasing out |
At least one subsidiary in SA (154) |
20 |
None in the US |
.and green · Surfactants - make water more efficient as a cleansing agent. Those made from petrochemicals probably take longer to biodegrade than those made from natural ingredients. · Phosphates - soften the water and make it more alkaline. They usually constitute around a quarter of the weight of most washing powders and an even higher proportion of dishwasher powders. A large amount of phosphate in rivers strips the water of oxygen and poisons fish. · NTA or EDTA - are used instead of phosphates, but both pollute drinking water and food by combining with toxic metals already in the environment. · Bleaches - sodium perborate and sodium percarbonate are used in washing powders to remove stains. The former results in boron contamination of rivers - while the after can only be used with a stabilizer like EDTA - which also pollutes food and water. · Enzymes - digest stains, and are thought to give allergies to workers who handle them. · Optical brighteners - are used to make washed clothes look whiter. They convert invisible ultraviolet light into visible blue light; they are thought to lead to allergies. · Preservatives - are usually made from petrochemical ingredients which have to be manufactured. · Plastic packaging - is mostly non-biodegradable and best avoided.
Best buys Aotearoa/New Zealand: The most eco-frlendly washing powder available is a pure soap called Lux Flakes. Nutriclean and Amway products are both reportedly biodegradable. But if you want to be sure, Greenpeace and the Ministry for the Environment have produced booklets with recipes for making your own alternative cleaning liquids. Australia: Herbon - available through some health foods shops in some states. Ecover - expected to be available by mid-1990. Products vary from state to state; details can be obtained by contacting the campaigning organizations listed in the action section, and through the Friends of the Earth household ecology guide. Canada: Pure soaps like Ivory are phosphate free and Ivory Snow is also enzyme-free. Loblaws and Miracle Foodmart both make their own brands of 100-per-cent phosphate-free detergents. And the Canadian Green Consumer Guide offers a detailed list of recipes on how to make everything from washing powders to non-caustic drain openers, furniture polish and moth repellents. United Kingdom: The vanguard in 'environment-friendly' washing powders is formed by Ecover and Ark, each of them produced by ethically sound 'alternative' companies of the same name. The only harmful ingredient these powders contain is bleach - but Ecover supplies this separately so that it is not used unnecessarily. Supermarket chains like Sainsbury's with Greencare are now beginning to follow their lead. United States: Some well-known phosphate-free brands available in the US are All-Temperature Cheer, Tide Liquid, Wisk and All. |