EcoMarkets Research Survey Conducted by TerraChoice
By SCOT CASE, Vice President
TerraChoice Environmental Marketing™ and EcoLogo™ Certification
Each year, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing™ conducts a research survey called EcoMarkets. The survey is part of our effort to monitor Green buying patterns and trends in business-to-business (B2B), procurement and supply chain management. Those taking the survey hold positions such as purchasing managers, buyers and procurement clerks for large and small organizations all over North America and Mexico.
The latest study, which was release in April of this year, is not only designed to help evaluate current Green buying patterns but also is used by TerraChoice to help coach our customers on how to better market their environmentally preferable offerings based on its findings.
Of the industries surveyed, the one that has seen the most Green growth, according to the 2007 EcoMarkets, is the professional cleaning industry. This is surprising for some in the jansan industry because it was not too long ago that there were only one or two major manufacturers marketing environmentally preferable cleaning products in North America. Today there are probably more than 70, and the list is growing.
At one time, Stephen Ashkin, president of the Ashkin Group and the industry’s most notable Green cleaning advocate, presented seminars on Green cleaning to virtually empty meeting rooms. Today, his presentations are in demand all over North America and have packed audiences. Because of this dramatic switch in emphasis, a reasonable question would be why is this happening and what it means for the professional cleaning industry.
Driven By Concerns
One of the things the EcoMarkets survey reveals is that there are growing concerns among end customers about indoor health. We see this most dramatically in schools as one district after another adopts Green cleaning policies and other measures to reduce cleaning’s impact on the environment, and protect the health and productivity of students and teachers.
Additionally, worker safety is a growing issue that many experts in the industry believe can be strengthened by going Green. In the state of Maine, it is estimated that 21 per cent of all reported job-related injuries occur among just four occupations:
- Nursing airs and orderlies in hospitals;
- Truck drivers;
- Labourers (except construction workers), and;
- Janitors.*
And, workers’ compensation data from the state of Washington indicate that six per cent of all janitors have lost-time, work-related injuries every year due most often to:
- Eye irritation or burns – 40 per cent.
- Skin irritation or burns – 36 per cent.
- Damage from breathing chemical fumes – 12 per cent.**
It is estimated that one out of every three conventional cleaning products contains ingredients known to cause environmental problems or harm human health. Green cleaning chemicals do not contain these harmful ingredients and, when used properly, have proved to be considerably less harmful to users and the environmental and are usually just as effective. As a result, many injuries to janitors could be reduced if not eliminated by switching to Green-certified cleaning products.
Finally, the survey indicates that among those who responded, there is growing concern about our environment in general. For instance, as most cleaning professionals know, floorcare products – strippers, glosses and finishes – can be some of the most powerful chemicals used in the industry. However, after performing floor maintenance with these products, custodians simply pour these chemicals down the drain along with the grime. If not properly treated, the chemicals can find their way into streams and rivers, impacting aquatic life, and can eventually even work their way up the food chain.
Is Green Cleaning for You?
Interestingly, when cleaning professionals with mom-and-pop to medium-sized cleaning companies that make up the overwhelming majority of businesses in the industry are asked about Green cleaning, most report that their customers are not requesting it. Additionally, they indicate that they are not considering transferring to environmentally preferable cleaning products – at least at this time.
However, what we do see is that many of the “big players” in the cleaning industry – companies that cleaning and maintain large facilities all over the world – have made the switch and are now not only using Green cleaning products and tools but are wholeheartedly endorsing the products as well as Green cleaning and using it as a marketing tool. Likely, the smaller firms are soon to follow.
(*) 2002
(**) Janitorial Products Pollution Project – 2000
- Scot Case is the vice president of EcoLogo™, North America’s leading Green certification organization. Case is an internationally recognized expert on responsible sourcing with more than a dozen years of professional experience. As vice president of TerraChoice, Case helps connect purchasers seeking more environmentally and socially responsible products with the manufacturers supplying them.
