Arm & Hammer

In my household, my wife and I are striving to reduce our carbon footprint. We already recycle, even though there’s no program in our city. There are recycling stations provided by Waste Management on the campus of the local university (Montevallo), though, so it doesn’t take too long for me to drop off our recyclables. It’s amazing how little trash we have now that we recycle. I’m already considering stopping my garbage pickup service because we have so little for them to take now. We’ve also begun composting, using cloth napkins at the table and cloth towels for cleanups, etc. So far we haven’t done anything that’s required a whole lot of effort. The point being here that I’m always on the lookout for things to do and ways to improve my eco-image.

One thing that’s always bothered me is packaging. I hate that you have to buy new packaging with every new thing you buy, which amounts to a massive amount of waste. But the good folks at Arm & Hammer have come up with a super idea that I hope catches fire. According to the commercial I saw today, household cleaners contain up to 95% water, so A&H have created this little bottle of cleaner that you can purchase using non-chemical cleaning agents (coconuts and palm kernel oil), mix it with water and reuse the old sprayer until it wears out. They’re even giving away the starter set for free at www.essentialsfree.com (of course, you have to pay the $4.99 shipping fee). This is a great idea, I think, and I hope other companies follow this example.