Sierra Club battles Clorox

I knew trouble was brewing when I read a few months ago that Clorox bought Burt's Bees. Now, the company's line of 'green' cleaning products, called Green Works is making news. I'll be honest, I haven't tried the products and I probably should since I've been getting a lot of questions. But, I have to tell you I'm skeptical. A 2004 study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund named Clorox Company 'one of the nation's most dangerous companies'.

That's why I was so disappointed to read this weekend that the National Board of the Sierra Club - one of the nation's most respected environmental advocacy groups - voted recently to remove the leaders of the club's 35,000-member Florida chapter for opposing the national board's decision in December 2007 to allow The Clorox Company to use the Sierra Club's name and logo to endorse its Green Works brand.

To me and I'm sure for them, the Florida members viewed this alliance as a threat that would harm the reputation of the Sierra Clubs brand. (I failed to mention Sierra Club is expected to gain substantial financial benefits from a portion of sales kicked back to them from Clorox). As a nonprofit, I'm sure this was a hard decision to make, but it's great to see the decision made in the interest integrity rather than money. Hopefully the national office will recognize the leadership and integrity of its volunteers and rescind the decision.

For safer alternatives, you may want to download the following Green House Cleaning Guide (PDF) A friend forwarded this to me and it's great. I will also include in Pure Buzz , my e-newsletter too. Remember to visit www.purealternatives for update on other pure products.