Question: " I would appreciate your advice.
I have been contacted by a small chemical manufacturer with a new cleaning line that is expected to be on shelves in children's boutiques, chair stores, and supermarkets this summer. They have developed and are marketing a full product line of organic household cleaners including; a multi surface cleaner (two fragrances), toy cleaner, organic stain and odor remover, floor cleaner concentrate, and laundry detergent. All the products are non toxic, biodegradable, cruelty free and created with organic and botanical ingredients. No VOCs or phosphates.
Since this is a new line, what are some questions we should be asking them? They are looking to work with us but I want to make sure I do my homework first.
Thanks so much!
"
Steve’s Answer:
I have to confess that I have reservations about small, boutique chemical companies ---- yes, they are a chemical company because they are selling cleaning chemicals regardless of their focus on children and willingness to donate a portion of their profits to charity. I believe since they are selling cleaning products the first priority must be their technology.
So a couple of questions I would ask them are:
They repeatedly make statements about their products being "safe". Thus I would want to see the testing data that support this claim. A marketing company will tell you about how much they love kids and the environment, or how the founder's kid has asthma or cancer which lead them to developing this product line (even though they were computer programmers, not chemists), or the will tell you about the natural ingredients which are used in food which of course makes them "safe" for cleaning products, or something else along these lines. (Please forgive my colorful descriptions as I am simply trying to paint a picture).
If they are a competent manufacturer of cleaning products specifically designed to protect children, they should be prepared to send you test data including eye and skin irritation, and skin sensitization using human test subjects. In addition, they may have done some respiratory modeling and chamber testing. Perhaps they also have data on chronic health tests or studies they have done. In addition to human health studies, they should have done some environmental testing for biodegradation and aquatic toxicity. Finally, they should have some performance data from an independent laboratory that compares the performance of their product to other name brands. And the point of this is that it isn’t enough to make claims without doing the actual tests. Good intentions are NOT enough.
One additional thing I like asking for is for a CV from their chemist (to determine if they even have one or have hired a consultant to do the products for them, which means they don't have someone on staff and again, makes them a marketing company to me.
Please know that if they turn out to be sincere and well intended people, but aren’t really chemists and cleaning product formulators --- this doesn't make them bad people. I'm sure they're wonderful human beings --- but they may NOT be good cleaning product manufacturers and I would find it difficult to buy from them with confidence.
A terrific rule of thumb comes from Former President Ronald Reagan who once said “trust but verify”.
Hope this helps,
Steve
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