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January 18th, 2009:

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

Fresh eggs: clean green

Daniel Jeffreys – SCMP – Updated on Jan 18, 2009

Traditionally, homes must be scrubbed clean in the run-up to the Lunar New Year, so, in the coming days, houses and apartments will be scoured with all manner of cleaning fluids to ensure bad luck and evil spirits have been removed. The scouring will, inevitably, be followed by a flood of ecologically damaging fluids, pouring into the sewers, rivers and sea.

This year, in an attempt to limit this scourge, upmarket grocer ThreeSixty is cutting the price of all green cleaning products by more than 20 per cent. The store promises the lines it has in for this year’s spring clean are “chemical and hazard free” as well as “safe for the family and the environment”.

Among the items on offer are Earth Choice cleaning products, a line that, unlike its eco-unfriendly competitors, contains no phosphates, a major pollutant. Up to 15 per cent of the phosphate pollution in water comes from household cleaners and detergents. When phosphate content exceeds critical levels it speeds up the growth of algae, starving marine life of oxygen and sunlight. In some detergents, phosphates can make up to 25 per cent of the total.

Exclusive to ThreeSixty are two types of laundry powder: the Aquados Simply Sensitive and Simply Active. The maker promises the product’s special formulas give exceptional washing power with minimum impact on the planet. The Simply Laundry line is the first British detergent to carry the European Union’s Eco-label guarantee of greenness. The products have been tested to ensure they are safe for all skin types and have been approved by the Vegan Society.

“We believe that eating healthy foods is only half of the journey towards a healthy lifestyle – the other half is to care about what chemicals go on your skin and into the air we breathe,” says Sean Robson, the buying manager at ThreeSixty, who describes himself as a dedicated environmentalist. “Using chemical-free cleaning products means a safer environment for your family, and no pollutants for Victoria Harbour. We have laundry detergents, fabric softeners, surface cleaners, dishwashing liquids, glass cleaners and mosquito repellants that are toxin free and really work.”

The environmentally friendly lines are available in ThreeSixty stores at the Prince’s Building, in Central, and the Elements shopping mall, in West Kowloon, or from the ThreeSixty website, www.threesixtyhk.com. The discount on the products lasts until the end of the month.