how clean are your household goods?

     Take a look at laundry, household and personal cleaning products around your house.  As for non-U.S. companies:

    Unilever (British/Dutch) manufactures many soap products in Canada (read the label) boasting many environmentally minded improvements in production procedures in recent years AND a reversal on using sea-life-killing microplastics as exfoliants in soap and beauty products.  Their website says:

    We stopped using plastic scrub beads in 2014 in response to concerns about the build-up of microplastics in oceans and lakes. We had formerly used them in some of our exfoliating products. We now use alternative exfoliating ingredients, such as apricot kernels, cornmeal, ground pumice, silica and walnut shells, enabling people to feel confident that the Unilever face and body washes they use do not contribute to the accumulation of microplastics in the world’s oceans.

    There are people in the labour movement who are still angry at the prolonged Toronto strike at Unilever and subsequent shutdowns.  But still, Unilever has solid labour contracts.

     Swiss company Nestlé has recently invested $46 million to expand production of its specialized “science-based solutions for the health of the skin, hair and nails” in Baie d’Urfé, Québec — for all of North America.  Some jobs there. But many of us shun Nestle because of its international campaigns against breast feeding.

    Some of U.S. giant Proctor & Gamble’s Always, Olay and Swiffer products are made in Canada.  Its popular Dawn dish detergent is not.  And even though the commercials show how well Dawn cleans oil off seabirds, web postings say P&G still uses microplastics and critics say P&G tests on animals.  

    We’ve been well served by Nature Clean and Eco Max products — eco-friendly, made in Oakville and Markham, Ontario respectively — and now readily available at Toronto’s Fiesta Farms, Whole Foods and Big Carrot stores (among others). Reasonably priced.  Love to read a spread about their operation.  Now you can find them alongside U.S. eco-friendly housebrand cleaners (Meyer's and Seventh Generation) in Canadian Tire too. (see "U.S. good guys" button above).

    What’s on your shelves?  Take a peek, do some Googling and write a few paragraphs for us. Send it to response@dudleydoesright.ca