A clean -- and green -- start to 2011

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‘Earth-friendly.’ ‘Green.’ ‘Renewable.’ What do the words tell a shopper when it comes to the onslaught of new eco-marketed cleaning products landing on store shelves?

‘The last 24 months was a real sea change as large traditional brands are introducing greener or green versions of products,’ said Jeffrey Hollender, author of a new book ‘Planet Home’ and former chief executive of the cleaning products company Seventh Generation. ‘I believe that trend will continue.’

Expect to see more products such as Replenish, which is sold as an empty spray bottle with a reservoir of liquid concentrate attached to the bottom. Consumers fill the bottle with water themselves, and the concentrate lasts for four bottles’ worth of cleaning, meaning less packaging heading into the trash.

Times staff writer Mary MacVean explains some of the changes headed your way.

Photo credits: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

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