BACK LIST
Suds-U- Like
With supermarkets responding to the huge growth in public demand for ecologically sound products. The List reports on squeeky green 'ashing.
As long ago as l‘lbl. Rachcl (arson in ‘Silent Spring‘ was warning tts ol the dangers in oyer'-using detergents. but it has only been in the last twcly e months that concerns abotrt the eny‘ironment haye tttoy'cd otrt ot the specialist shops and into the popular arena. liy'en the big producer's ol detergents. such as l ~niley er and l’roctcr‘ ck (iarnblc. haye shaken oll their initial reluctance to get inyoly'ed in the market tor alternatiy'es.
l'nlor‘tunately . truth seems to haye become an early casualty in an escalating war ol words as the competition begins to hot tip between the manulacturers ol conyentional and alternatiye brands. At the same time. consumers are
manulacturer. and easily the most popular ol the alternatiy e brands. stands ottt as the ottly range ol( ireen
A way round the contusion would be to establish rigorous guidelines on labelling and mold the prolileration ot halt-truths and inl'uriating slogans which are increasingly becoming the
Should phosphates get into the water sy stem. they can encourage the growth otoxygen—ctinsuming algae to such an extent that the ability ol micro-organisms to break
cleansers which lists all the ingredients contained in each
becoming increasingly contttsed. lissentially . the contusion centres on two areas; lirstly .the chemical propertiesolconyenttonal and alternatiy‘e cleansers. and secondly". the inl'ormation ordisinl‘ormation contained in their labelling. Phosphates. en/y'ntes and bleach are common ingredients in many conyentional cleansers. Phosphates solten water. making it easier to dislodgedirt1en/ymes can digest stubborn stains ey en at low
down detergents can be reduced and plant and lislt lite threatened. lin/ymes can cause skin irritation. as well as being potentially dangerous to the people producing them. Bleach is another skin irritant and takes a long time to bio—degrade into harmless matter.
‘liliminating these ingredients and replacing them with ecologically more acceptable ones might be tine.‘ says Sheena l’hillips. ol l‘riends ol the lfar'th. 'but one olthe problems is
‘l'ir'iends ol the liar‘th are particularly keen to see a labelling system which uses strict and ctimprehensiye criteria to determine whether a product deseryes a ( irecn stampol‘appr‘oy‘al.‘ continues Sheena l’hillips. ‘\\e are concerned that the criteria assess the eny‘ironmental impact or cleansers l‘rom their production through to their disposal. and we would like labels to giy‘e supplementary
product. .-\rk. on the other ltand. lor'esake a lull listing lor' other inlor‘mation. including a quote lr'om [.inda .\Ic( artney.
.'\s yet. the rrnpact ol alter'natiy es on the eny ironrnent has not yet been lully monitored. l’erhapsa concentration ol the natttral acids used in the likes ol lpcoy er might be eny ironmentally harrnltrl in one way or another. Nonetheless. it would be sale to assume that they will not be nearly as damaging as the
inlormation detailing all the ingredients and whether the product is energy ell‘icient.‘
licoy'er‘. the name ol a Belgian
temperatures; and bleach giy‘es the that some cleansers are now being
illusion ol‘ clean. unsullied ady'ertised as being lree ol one or two whiteness. l'nl'or‘tunately'.allthese ingredientswhilst retainingother
damagingones.‘
phosphates. cn/y mes. toytns and
bleaches w lticlt are presently being thrown dow n the country 's sinks arid
haye their less appealing qualities. loos in tlte ltaltte l‘l cleanliness.
ENVIRONMENT- FRIENDLY
\ar totrs other eny tronmcnt-lrtendly products. No
products.
I Evergreen Wholetoods
\ttltstlale thtttl.~1:: lftlli.
\lttst ill l‘ctty er range. IHealth Trend to: l)t1rnbarton Road. 33-1
.attr‘tston l’lacc. SIS
l. l HHS. l'ull range or l'cttyel
I New Mood <3 .-\ly.t Street. :3.“ : \j \lHSt HI
l coyer range IPeppermintHealthFood } Housejt’Srtolrns Rinttl. ill biz: \it‘Sl ltl l‘coyer
products
I De Placido 4 St \lar y 's
Street. »il‘)l. \ittsttll
lacoyer range
IGood FoodZSS
Morningsrde Road. 15:
Willil \ityst tit l't‘ttycl
range.
I HanoverHealth Foodsltt
llanoychtreet.235
l l‘N 42‘91 \iosl til
lacoycr range. IRobinsons Health FOOd
IThe Health NutSFF Store :3 New lsrtkgatc.
lirttntsticldPlaced?) [r-rrlyfia‘i lll‘ts \ittsl
S35.“ l‘ttll range ol l'coyer
products.
IThe KernelVl)eanhaugh
Street. 33: SW8. \iost ol
licoy er range.
INatural Food Larderjtb
Bruntsticld Place--11"
3H3“. \lttst tit l'coyer
rartgc
I Nature's Gate th'tt-rk
Sire-ethos ion" l-rrll
range ot licoy er products.
plus some by \rtor . l’tire products
Springand Bio-l)
- -. -_J rite-1N1: :ttUctobel tttsyt79
cny tronmcnt—trntrtendly w ashing~up liquids. I Wm Low .\‘o .-\r'k
products; some l'coy er
l'ttll range Hi licoyct' products.
I Grain And Delicatessen lZES Shettleston Road. “(flown
IThe Grain Store 234 .-\lbert l)riyc. 43‘) 5M". l'ull licoycr range. plus some ('lear Springand ('urnie products.
IThe GranaryM Bushy Road. ('larkston. (FMS lHllll Some licoy er products.
I Grassroots tyismear \\ estern Road. 3.14 lS-H. lull range ol l1coy er products.
I Hannah's Health Foods :b New Kirk Road. Hearsden. ‘14: 2V3 l’till l'coy er range
I Health Food Store to Dixon .A‘xyenue. 433 SW5. Some lzcoy er products. I Health Foods “3 St Vincent Street. 231 “of
H34. Most Ht licoycl range.
I Holland & Barrettttt Satichiehall Street. 331 llSS‘ Wide range ol
lictn er. l'aitlt and i‘rttscll products.
I Pure Necessities “ l .1 (ircat \Vestcrn Road. 33‘) lbo‘). l‘ull range ol lieoycr products.
I Simply Healthy t-t Skir‘ytng Street. (filllttoJ Full range ot l;coy er products.
Edinburgh
IBlackhall Healthand WhOIBiOOdSbSottth (iroathrll .’\yenue. 315 Elm? licoyer washing
HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS: Stockists
enynonmcnt-trrcndly CHAINSTORES I Asda :\ yarrety ol .-\r'k.
ltcoy e r and ( ircen l-orcc
I Real Foods ‘~'
ltrottghton Street. *5”
products; one or two other
items. and more planned.
1‘11 1 and S ly’rottglram btit no cream cleaser.
Street. _‘_‘s lQlll lmi toilet cleaner or bleach as productsstocked. .lsyscll yet.
as a number ol I Safeway Selection ol eny rr'onmcnt-triendly .-\rk and licoy er products. .-\sda-labcl cleaners. I TBSCO Most or all ot .-\r‘k I BOOtS Some .v\rk and l'coy er ranges. plus products stocked. yarrety ot
I CO-Op l)itterent eny rronment-lrrendly products stocked by ow n-labcl products ditter'cnt atttltated stores. btit some Glasgow
I Centrepeace 143 Stockwell Street. 55: s35“ Some ltcttycl' products
I Elliot's Health Food Delicatessen “t Mtlngaytc Road. Bearsden. ‘MZ
pow dcr litturd t Sw rtt l. Sisal Some Izeoy cr
l'allrangcotl coyer I products
l.coyer products
IRoots Wholeloodsmt \cyyrrigtott ls’oad. tioS ISSS l‘tlll range or lower products IWholeFoodSQEt l’ortobellolltgliStrcct. ftly‘)\\ll.‘ lull rangcol
enytronment-trrendly cleaners stocked
I Gateway lull range ot .-\r‘k products; no licoye: products. l'..\cltlSl\ e
pow derand washing—tip liquid.
I Bristo Health Food Shop I Bristo Place. :35 3S 1‘)
term er washing powder and washing-upliquid.
I Edinburgh Organic Shop
l coy c: prodxtcts IYourGoodHealtht' \1“11\\.I{\‘L1Li.;1(\‘1:r1'1
brandsot cteantclcanscr I .1”, 1H,. ,1 r M“
( l-orce l and washing