Gretchen Schaefer
202.833.7311
Reader Beware: Don’t Buy Alarmism in “Green Goes With Everything”
WASHINGTON, DC (October 1, 2008) – Sloan Barnett, in her new book that condemns traditional cleaning products and promotes Shaklee and homemade cleaning concoctions, “Green Goes With Everything,” confesses that she’s a “shameless pitchwoman for Shaklee products.” And for that reason, her findings and conclusions need to be treated skeptically by the media and consumers.
“We appreciate Ms. Barnett’s transparency and understand why she wants to promote the products sold by the company for which her husband is the Chairman and CEO,” said Christopher Cathcart, President of the Consumer Specialty Products Association. “It is unfair, though, that she does so by alarming consumers with misinformation and at the expense of traditional cleaning and other household products that have been used safely by families for many years or, in some cases, decades.”
“It’s hypocritical for Ms. Barnett to state that the ‘media assault us daily with scary statistics and dire warnings about harmful products’ when this is precisely what she herself does in her book,” Cathcart said.
For instance, Barnett suggests a connection between cleaning products and asthma. “In reality, there are numerous studies documenting the benefits of reducing exposures to various bio-allergens in the home that trigger asthma,” Cathcart said. “Household cleaning products are designed to help remove these types of bio-allergens. There is no conclusive evidence cleaning products create problems when used properly.”
Chapter Two goes into detail about many ingredients commonly found in traditional cleaning and other household products and Ms. Barnett’s distrust of government regulatory oversight of traditional cleaning and other household products.
“Just because a chemical is found in a product, that does not mean the product is toxic or hazardous,” Cathcart said.
Cleaning products sold in the United States are regulated under the current system of risk evaluation and risk-based labeling under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act regulations (FHSA) for consumer products. Through the FHSA regulations, the point-of-purchase label informs consumers about the product effectiveness expectations, the potential risk, product ingredients contributing to the risk, appropriate handling and storage, and applicable first aid information.
Additionally, disinfectants—also known as antimicrobials—are registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are critical to hygiene and help protect families against staph, salmonella, and other bacteria when used according to label instructions.
“The first line of safety in the development of cleaning and other household products lies within the evaluations that are conducted by individual companies prior to marketing their products,” Cathcart said. “Companies conduct extensive evaluations of the ingredients and the mix of ingredients in the products to determine the safety and environmental profile of the products prior to marketing. As a practical matter, it is in the companies’ best interest to undergo these types of evaluations in order to protect consumers and brand reputations.
“After reading the conclusion in Chapter Two where the author suggests ridding your entire house of all of the products she attacks, it’s no surprise to see the next 31 pages dedicated to the promotion of the Shaklee product line,” Cathcart said.
If not a Shaklee product, Ms. Barnett recommends a few other select brands or making alternative cleaners at home. “Consumers should be aware that homemade cleaners are not tested or held to any standards. Even some of the most common homemade mixtures may not be stable for storage and could even become breeding grounds for bacteria, or be unstable by releasing gas and building up pressure in a closed container,” Cathcart said.
“The manufacturers of traditional home cleaning products have a long, proud history of developing effective products that provide tangible benefits to consumers, not the least of which is helping to promote public health,” concluded Cathcart. “While Ms. Barnett certainly has the right to promote her book, and her husband’s company, perpetuating needless scare tactics is certainly not in the public’s best interests.”
About CSPA
The Consumer Specialty Products Association is a non-profit national trade association representing approximately 250 companies engaged in the manufacture, formulation, distribution and sale of hundreds of familiar consumer products. It is organized into seven Divisions: Aerosol Products, Air Care, Antimicrobial Products, Cleaning Products, Pest Management Products, Industrial and Automotive Specialty Chemicals, and Polishes and Floor Maintenance. For more information, please visit www.cspa.org.
To learn more about consumer specialty products, go to:
www.aboutcleaningproducts.com
www.aboutgerms.com
www.aboutaircare.com
www.aboutbugs.com
www.aboutaerosols.com
