Getting Green By Going Green: SouthCoast businesses find profits in eco-friendly products

Being eco-friendly is bringing in the bucks for a crop of SouthCoast businesses that are pushing the boundaries of what has in the past been considered commercially viable in the mainstream marketplace.

Once considered the purview of back-to-nature fringe groups, the campaign for sustainable practices might be reaching its tipping point. Businesses are making investments in green living solutions as a viable source of income.

Few would know better than a professional cleaning team how much confidence people have traditionally put in harsh chemicals to kill germs and cut through grime. But, according to Jason Brady of Green House Cleaning, nontoxic cleaners are the answer to that floor you could eat off. They leave no residues that could harm pets, children or the environment, he said.

Mr. Brady, who started the niche business with his wife, Jennifer, one year ago, said they are filling a gap by giving customers the scrub and shine they want without the chemicals they don’t. “People are trying to get more conscious about their health and the environment. There are no residues left behind by detergents that can bother allergies, especially in little kids, no strong odors that for those who are migraine susceptible, nothing to trigger immune deficiencies,” he said.

The Fairhaven couple chose the products they use by research and testing on their own home, including its hardwood floors and granite surfaces. “Our bleach alternative has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in hospitals. Our vacuum filters the air so well that, according to the manufacturer’s statement, what comes out is 100 times cleaner than the original air in the home,” Mr. Brady said. To reach Green House Cleaning, call (508) 971-3625.

Thinking along the same lines, two Rochester mothers launched Olde Maids, an original line of nontoxic, eco-friendly cleaning products that they sell in 10 SouthCoast stores, online at www.oldemaidsinc.com, and soon on eBay.

“We make it all in our shop. We make it with our own little hands,” Marsha Hartley said. They even make all their packaging, and will refill and recycle empty containers from customers.

After 18 years as a housecleaning team themselves, Ms. Hartley and her neighbor Nancy Boutin had “had enough of the mass-produced chemical cleaners,” Ms. Hartley said. “It was affecting our health. Our hands were painfully dry, we were having trouble breathing and we were getting colds that would not go away.”

Four years ago, she said, “We started looking up old-fashioned remedies. Everything is basically made from household cooking ingredients. Because of our experience as housekeepers, we know what works.”

Ms. Hartley and Mrs. Boutin have been supporting themselves on the sales of their products alone for more than a year, with laundry powder topping the list as their most popular item. “It’s not scented, there are no phosphates and no chlorine, but it whitens like crazy and it leaves clothes smelling like they were hung on a clothesline.” All of the Olde Maid products — window cleaner, wood oil, low-abrasive tub and tile cleaner, and laundry detergent — are economical, costing about the same as supermarket shelf items, Ms. Harley said.

If eco-friendly cleaners are thrifty and effective, why haven’t major manufacturers hit the big time with them yet? Ms. Hartley said, “The attitude has been that chemicals are better. A lot of people have always been green, but it’s not just crunchy-granola tree huggers now. More people are more environmental than ever,” she said.

Mrs. Boutin said, “If we all do our one little part, it will all pull together. That’s how we feel about it.”

Ms. Hartley’s son, Morgan Cecil, launched Small Axe Tree Service in Rochester to provide landowners with organic plant health care. His practices are accredited by the North East Farming Association, and he has a thriving word-of-mouth business. “People will seek you out for the organic end of things,” Mr. Cecil said.

Instead of dosing a customer’s lawn with broad-spectrum chemicals that include fungicides, insecticides and herbicides, Mr. Cecil said his services rely on diagnosis and targeted treatments that do not pollute water sources or cause toxin buildup in the soil.

“The way I do it is different from everybody else because it just makes sense,” he said.

To combat caterpillars that become gypsy moths, Mr. Cecil applies a simple nontoxic natural bacteria.

Instead of using nitrogen fertilizers that destroy waterways with algae blooms and fish kills, Mr. Cecil enriches soil naturally with compost.

It’s time, he said, to give up the synthetics that were discovered during wartime efforts in the pursuit of lethal chemical weapons. “Those compounds are being used in a lot of other applications,” he said, that are unnecessary and destructive to the environment.

Reading ingredient labels is important. Diane Dupont of Westport found out the hard way that some “all-natural” goods are not guaranteed to be gentle for the environment or the body. A New England native, Ms. Dupont lived in New Mexico for several years, where, she said, her skin became extremely dry and sensitive. The all-natural soap she bought to pamper her face contained lye, which is made from wood ashes and has long been a popular additive for its caustic cleaning properties.

“My eyes swelled shut and my face burned. That’s what made me really start paying attention to ingredients on labels,” she said.

As a result, Ms. Dupont concocted a brand of all-organic skin care products “without chemicals or animal fat.” The creams, soaps and lip balms, she said, “just feel good, healthy, fresh and pure. If the dog eats it, he will not go into convulsions,” she said.

Her company, One Love Body Care, uses berries and herbs that Ms. Dupont grows herself, along with shea butter, beeswax, cocoa butter, sunflower oil and aloe. The potions are “cooked together like a stew” in her own kitchen, she said. Safe shampoos for dogs and cats sell for $8 each, body bars are $3.75, lip balms are $2, and lotions are $9 to $14. For a full list of products, visit www.onelovebodycare.net or call (508) 673-6859.

An eco-friendly gift and clothing store called For Goodness Sake opened in Mattapoisett this summer. Purveyor Amanda Panek, a former public school teacher, said she was sparked into putting her green beliefs into action when she was pregnant with her daughter.

“I wanted to do something that I feel helps the environment. This is kind of a novelty, but I really believe re-

using makes so much sense and uses so much less energy,” Ms. Panek said.

Her stock is carefully researched to ensure that items were made without pesticides, toxic dyes or inefficient energy expenditures.

Garments woven from organic cotton or hemp are priced comparably to regular high-quality clothing.

The most expensive article is an organic denim jacket that sells for $85.

Dishes and goblets are made of recycled glass. Pottery, candles, note cards, artwork and other gifts are all-natural and either locally made or Fair Trade imports.

Colorful, durable totes from Cambodia that are sewn from rice and feed bags run the gamut from small zip pouches for $11 to large laptop computer carriers for $45.

Her most popular sellers are kimono robes and folding bowls made from recycled chopsticks.

Of her decision to open a small specialty shop, Ms. Panek said, “There has been a really good response from customers to the concept. I think there is a trend shifting back toward natural processes. I have big dreams, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone into this.”

Working to put green-living visions into action are the members of Sustainable South Coast (www.sustainablesouthcoast.org), a new organization drawing together those who want to explore lifestyle and business choices that are healthier for humans and for the earth. Founder Carol Steinfeld discovered when she moved to the area 18 months ago that “folks were interested, but not getting together.”

Author of several books on ecological ways to reduce and reuse wastewater, Ms. Steinfeld makes her living designing what she calls “living water systems,” which include cutting-edge odorless composting toilets and recycling toilets that divert urine for use in growing gardens.

“Urine is where the most nutrients are in wastewater. It is made up of proteins that our bodies didn’t use, the same nitrogen that farms buy in commercial fertilizer,” she said, adding that nitrogen pollution is fouling our freshwater ecosystems.

Ms. Steinfeld’s company, Ecovita (www.ecovita.net) is opening a location on Fish Island in New Bedford, where they are designing a waterless urinal. She said the location is ideal to demonstrate the benefits of her green products, because on Fish Island, what gets flushed into a failed septic system goes right into the harbor. “We’ll also have a green roof on top of the building to catch rainwater and some gardens out back. Maybe we’ll never turn on the (municipal) water there.”

Although she admitted that some of these practices are “still exotic to the public,” Ms. Steinfeld said “sales are increasing every year.”

Other innovators in the region include Vectrix (www.vectrix.com), which makes the first zero-emission electric scooter to outperform a comparable gasoline-powered scooter.

They rolled out the impressive-looking machine, which resembles a motorcycle more than the typical scooter, this summer. Their research and development facility is in New Bedford.

In Fall River, the former Quaker Fabric factory is being retooled by the Canadian textile manufacturer Victor Innovatex (www.victor-inovatex.com/en) that bought it to produce fabrics from 100 percent recycled materials, without toxic dyes or chemicals such as antimony, which has been linked to increased cancer risks.

Chief Financial Officer Serge Laurier said they started their looms running last week.

Office supply store Pencils is selling a line of “sustainable furniture” made from green materials such as wheat, sunflower seeds and farmed bamboo, salesman Drew Schofield said. Even the linoleum is made from flax seeds, using no formaldehydes or harmful adhesives, and emitting no toxic gasses to compromise air quality.

The company just finished outfitting the Roger Williams University student union building with several hundred such tables and chairs. “At the end of a table’s usable life as a table, it can be ground up and used again.”

Although the furniture is more costly than nonsustainable lines, Mr. Schofield said, “It’s like anything else. At what point does the environment become more important than the price. Is it always about doing it the cheapest?”

By Pamela Marean

 

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