CMM - January 2012
facility focus What Does Green Ice Melt Really Mean There is little regulation of green claims in the ice melt industry making it difficult to decipher an environmentally preferable product from the masses By Rob Peterson T providing validation Ice melt manufacturers may use these terms to merely indicate that packaging is made from recycled material or that the product contains green coloring whereas maintenance professionals may interpret these terms to mean that the product is beneficial to the environment in some way Other products truly are environmentally friendly substantiating their claims with the manufacturers own research and or thirdparty certifications The concept of green is quickly taking hold in the JanSan industry Recent statistics indicate that 80 percent of JanSan professionals will do what they can to incorporate the use of environmentally safe products in their jobs This growing awareness is a reflection both of the spread of the Earth friendly principles that guide businesses and consumers today and the fact that custodians are sensitive to the potential for harm from the range of chemical based products they encounter as they do their jobs Green labels can help steer JanSan professionals toward Earth friendly products But the green label can sometimes be confusing The reason There arent any firm regulations that govern when the term green can be used in promotional materials product names and packaging Some products may claim Earth friendly status merely because the manufacturer created a unique definition of green to match his or her product specifications The Ice Melt Industry Because the ice melt industry is largely unregulated theres nothing to prevent a manufacturer from adding small traces of additives to basic rock salt and claiming greater environmental benefits creating a unique symbol that implies eco friendliness including green or environmentally friendly in the product name or making other misleading marketing claims without While environmental claims are often more subjective than performance claims they should be quantifiable in some way such as through fewer chemicals introduced into the environment or other means How can maintenance professionals pick the products that can make a positive difference The Ice Melt Industry To help protect businesses and consumers against misleading marketing claims The residual properties of many ice melt products means they will fight the accumulation of snow and ice for some time after their initial application 40 CM Cleaning Maintenance Management January 2011
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