Fight Grows Over Labels on Household Cleaners

[snopes]

Manufacturers of detergents, household cleansers and furniture polish, like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and others, are facing questions from consumers about the chemicals in their products. While many of the chemicals are present only in small amounts, some have been associated with asthma, birth defects and fertility problems in higher doses. And even if the amounts are low, consumer groups say, what is the effect of using these products over a lifetime?

The questions have left the industry in an awkward position. It wants to be seen as environmentally sensitive and consumer-friendly. But at the same time, companies do not want to give competitors and makers of cheap knock-offs all the details of what goes into Pine-Sol, for instance, or Windex.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/bu...t/17green.html

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by snopes

...companies do not want to give competitors and makers of cheap knock-offs all the details of what goes into Pine-Sol, for instance, or Windex.

It would take a decent analytical chemistry lab a couple hours to identify everything that might be in most household products. So "trade secrets" really isn't very believable.

[snapdragonfly]

My feeling is that if I am going to buy something, I should have the right to know what is in it. Even if other people or agencies have decided for me that certain ingredients probably aren't unhealthy enough for most people to cause a signficant risk, that still ultimately should be my decision. I get rather offended at the notion of other people making decisions about what's under my own roof for me. I don't care what the reasons are or if they are valid or not. It should be my right to decide.

On as to whether or not ingredients are harmful - I absolutely will not use Pledge, because it contains tuolene, and having had some experience with it in a finishing product and realizing how extremely toxic that stuff is (makes turpentine look like milk in comparison) I don't want it in my environment and I don't care how small the amount. I switched to Method furniture polish and I just love the stuff and it's much less toxic. (also, btw, if you ever want to refinish a peice of furniture which has been Pledged over the years, good luck with that, as the fisheyes will drive you up a wall and you will either give up and live with a crappy looking cratered finish or pay a professional big bucks to fix it, unless you find out the rather well kept secret of Fisheye Flowout. Just saying. That whole "feeds the wood" thing is BS.)

[niner]

Originally Posted by jimmy101_again

It would take a decent analytical chemistry lab a couple hours to identify everything that might be in most household products. So "trade secrets" really isn't very believable.

I would call it exactly trade secrets - but they're not trying to protect themselves from competitors. They're trying to protect themselves from (g)you, the consumer. If two products, one brand name and one perfect knockoff are sitting side by side, how many people buy the brand name for higher cost? I suspect that number would drop significantly if both products were clearly labeled to have the same chemicals.