How to Spot Greenwashing & Choose Sustainable Cleaning Solutions
As sustainability initiatives continue to shape procurement standards and regulatory frameworks, the term “eco-friendly” – as well as buzz word terms like “green” and “natural” – have become increasingly prominent in the cleaning products market.
Unfortunately, in the absence of consistent regulatory definitions or third-party oversight, this designation can be applied inconsistently, making product evaluation increasingly complicated for procurement teams, facility managers, and EHS professionals.
This phenomenon is known as “greenwashing”, and it may lead you to find yourself asking: What actually makes a cleaner environmentally responsible?
GREENWASHING: A form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses green PR and green marketing to persuade the public that an organization’s products, goals, or policies are environmentally friendly.
Selecting a cleaner that aligns with environmental sustainability goals requires more than these surface-level claims. It demands an understanding of chemical formulas, operational efficiency, packaging lifecycle, and third-party certification standards.
In this article, we’ll break down the key criteria behind eco-friendly cleaners, offering you a practical framework for evaluating cleaning solutions that support both sustainability objectives and high-performance demands so that you can confidently choose cleaning products that are safer for people, the planet, and your operations.
Cleaning products play a critical role in every industry. Whether you’re in a manufacturing environment, food and beverage production facility, or just the back breakroom – most surfaces require cleaning at some point of their lifecycle.
Using the cleaners daily, they interact with your equipment, your facility, your people, and even your product.
Conventional, everyday cleaning products may seem harmless, but they often contain some level of petroleum-based surfactants, phosphates, chlorine, and VOCs – all of which can have negative consequences for:
By contrast, eco-friendly cleaners are designed with lower toxicity, better biodegradability, and safer performance making them a smarter choice for both sustainability and environmental stewardship.
And for industries like food production, education, healthcare, and manufacturing, going green isn’t just a choice – it’s increasingly becoming a compliance requirement.
So – what makes a cleaner actually eco-friendly?
The foundation of any green cleaner is its chemical composition. Harsh chemicals may clean the surface well, but they come at a gradual cost to the operator and to the environment.
While any product can claim that it’s green, a genuinely eco-friendly product starts with safe, biodegradable, and low-impact ingredients.
KEY INSIGHT: Always consult the product’s SDS and ingredient disclosure (if available); products lacking transparency or listing “proprietary blend” without much detail should be flagged for further review.
Sustainable cleaning products extend beyond the formulation to encompass the entire product lifecycle, including a product’s packaging design, transport efficiency, and recycling opportunities.
Even a biodegradable cleaner loses its eco-friendly edge if it’s packaged in layers of non-recyclable plastic. Sustainable packaging goes hand-in-hand with eco-conscious cleaning.
Third-party certifications provide the ultimate test of credibility: essential external validation for environmental and human health claims, ensuring products meet established performance and safety standards. These independent reviews hold products accountable to strict environmental and health criteria.
Cut through greenwashing with the help of certifications.
These certifications require testing, documentation, and transparency, offering peace of mind to businesses and individuals alike.
KEY INSIGHT: Always check the product’s label or website for official logos and be wary of generic “eco” symbols that don’t point to specific criteria or audits.
Eco-credentials are irrelevant if the product fails to meet your facility cleaning standards. An effective eco-friendly cleaner should perform comparably to – or even, preferably, exceed – the efficacy of conventional products, particularly in industrial environments.
KEY INSIGHT: A high-efficiency cleaner reduces the number of applications needed, decreasing water and energy usage and minimizing downtime to amplify both environmental and economic benefits.
A product is only as sustainable as the systems that produce it. Facilities evaluating sustainable options should also assess the manufacturer’s environmental policies, energy and waste management, and supply chain practices.
Now that we’ve covered what makes a product genuinely eco-friendly, here are a few advertising concepts that should set off your internal alarm bells regarding greenwashing:
Looking for an eco-friendly cleaner that performs under pressure and checks every sustainability box? TREO® General Purpose Cleaner is built for today’s environmentally conscious facilities.
Engineered with readily biodegradable surfactants and a low VOC, phosphate-free formulation, TREO® General Purpose Cleaner tackles industrial soils ranging from light residue to tough organic buildup – all while protecting your people, your equipment, and your planet.
Available in concentrated forms, TREO® can dramatically reduce your packaging waste, transportation emissions, and storage footprint. It integrates seamlessly into both manual and automated systems and has been independently certified by the EPA Safer Choice program, ensuring it meets rigorous environmental and safety standards.
A production facility operating large industrial, stainless-steel tanks had a persistent buildup issue on the outside surface.
These tanks were consistently exposed to open fire heat sources underneath during operation and, as a result, accumulated soot, smoke, and carbonized residue on the lower sides of the metal over time.
The team needed an effective but safe solution to remove the residue and turned to TREO® General Purpose Cleaner to do the job.
The results?
With just a few minutes of dwell time for the cleaning chemical followed by a bit of elbow grease, the tank was left shiny and clean. The heavy soot and fire residue was dissolved with minimal agitation or irritation to the surface and the operator.
Interested in seeing more? Check out our TREO® Product Line Overview here!
Truly eco-friendly cleaners are distinguished not just by their labels, but by the science of their formulation, the integrity of their supply chains, and the impact they have over their lifecycle. For facility managers and procurement teams, evaluating these factors ensures cleaning programs align with both environmental targets and operational priorities.
By applying a rigorous framework based on ingredient analysis, certification standards, lifecycle impact, and performance data, your team can confidently select solutions that support compliance, reduce risk, and drive long-term sustainability outcomes.
Ο Read SDS & ingredient disclosure
Ο Check for third-party certifications
Ο Verify packaging type and recyclability
Ο Review cleaning performance specs
Ο Investigate manufacturer sustainability claims
Are biodegradable and eco-friendly the same thing?
No. Biodegradable refers specifically to a substance’s ability to break down in the environment. Eco-friendly encompasses a broader set of criteria including toxicity, resource usage, packaging, and performance.
Can eco-friendly cleaners be used in food production or regulated environments?
Yes, provided they meet applicable standards. Many are NSF-registered or compliant with FDA or USDA requirements, depending on the facility type.
Is there a tradeoff between eco-friendliness and cleaning strength?
No, not necessarily. Many modern formulations deliver industrial-grade performance using safer, more sustainable ingredients, especially when designed for specific applications.
Have questions about how DuBois can support your facility’s performance and sustainability goals? Our experts are ready to help you find the right solution for your process.
"*" indicates required fields
