Eco Friendly Cleaning Products in the Hotel Industry's Green-Sustain

Eco Friendly Cleaning Products in the Hotel Industry’s Green-Sustain

Introduction

Environmentalism is concerned on with the conservation and the improvement of the environment, as the Mother Nature is negatively and positively influenced by the activities of humans and non-humans (Holcomb et al, 2007). Eco friendly cleaning products are part of ‘going green’ in the hotel industry for a sustainable natural environment. Environmentalisms calls for restoration, preservation and improvement of the immediate natural environment as a way of controlling and minimizing pollution in protecting the diversity of animals and plants; an indication that issues of environmental ethics, land ethics, bio-philia hypothesis, ecology and biodiversity comes into play (Bohdanowicz, 2005).

Main Body

History

Some of the hotels in the hotel industry take issues of sustainability seriously, although the global changes are demanding a greener environment more than decades before. Modernization is facilitated by the issues of socialization and globalization, which has led to interconnectivity of the world. Eco friendly cleaning products are taking shape in the current hotel industry as more and more hotels are getting concerned on environmental conservation (Graci & Kuehnel, 2011). Taking a critical look at the United States, Green Hotels Association encourages collaboration of the hotel stakeholders in building a sustainable environment through appropriate consumption of the natural resources.

Pollution in the twenty first century has been on the increase, there are various negative effects of pollution to the environment. Pollution takes place as air pollution, land pollution, light pollution, noise pollution, thermal pollution, visual pollution and water pollution (Graci & Kuehnel, 2011). Production of eco-friendly cleaning products in one way or another contributes to the environmental conservation.

Air pollution identifies with the air contamination by harmful gases and smokes from nitrogen, oxides of carbons and sulfur among other gases. Cleaning products containing plastic materials may contribute to air pollution in one way or another especially when exposed to fire since most of the convectional products are not recyclable. Air pollution affects human health through allergies, asthma and respiratory diseases. Land pollution happens when the surface of the earth is exposed to degradation, if convectional cleaning products are not disposed properly and resources misused, this leads to the land pollution. Land pollution is negatively influenced by the chemicals from the cleaning products and litter from the cleaning products. Land pollution leads to the damage to the natural environment of animals (Bohdanowicz & Zientara, 2008).

Light pollution happens when visibility is made poor due to accumulation of other gases and pollutants in the air. Light pollution uses excessive energy and is harmful to the human health, since it alters the sleeping cycles and influences the curiosity and telescopes of the children. Noise pollution originate from loud and annoying loud sounds, this is common in the urban centers. Thermal pollution is caused by an increment in the temperature caused by the human activities. Visual pollution originates from damaged landscape that seem unattractive to the human eyes. Water pollution is caused by chemicals, raw sewage, industrial wastes, radiation spills, biological contamination and illegal dumping. Chemicals from convectional cleaning products may find their way to the water, which contributes to water pollution (Graci & Dodds, 2009).

Polluting the planet earth has diverse negative effects, pollution influence the existence of the ecosystems hence endangering plant and animal life. Pollution has an effect to the global water and ocean systems through global warming as the ozone layer gets depleted; human health is deteriorating with an increment in the pollution of the environment.

Eco Friendly Cleaning Products

Eco friendly cleaners are believed to be better alternatives than conventional cleaners in matters of conserving the environment. Some of the common eco friendly cleaning products used in the hotel industry identify with ‘Method Smarty Dishwasher Detergent Tabs’, ‘Bon Ami Liquid Cleanser’, ‘Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Glass Cleaner’, ‘Method Floor plus Surface Cleaner’, ‘Caldrea Dish Soap Liquid’, ‘Bill by Eco-Me All-Purpose Cleaner’ and ‘Green Works Oxi Stain Remover’ among others (Oprah.com, 2013).

‘Method Smarty Dishwasher Detergent Tabs’ claims that the cleaning product is biodegradable and that the cleaning product is free from chlorine, phosphates, petroleum distillates and ammonia (Oprah.com, 2013), the product also uses only eighty seven percent less plastic as compared to the conventional cleaners. ‘Bon Ami Liquid Cleanser’ is another eco friendly cleaning product commonly used in the hotel industry, the product is biodegradable and also free from chlorine and phosphates (Oprah.com, 2013), the packaging material is also made of recycled materials which are one hundred percent postconsumer plastics that are recycled (Oprah.com, 2013).

‘Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Glass Cleaner’ claims that the eco friendly cleaning product since it has no ammonia. Ammonia is believed to cause toxic irritation, the product has plant based cleaning agents mainly sourced from farms of coconut palm oil trees that are sustainable; others are made from vegetables and fruits (Oprah.com, 2013). ‘Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Glass Cleaner’ cleaning product is free from chlorine, petroleum distillates and phosphates. ‘Method Floor plus Surface Cleaner’ is an eco friendly cleaning product believed to be biodegradable. The cleaning product is also free from chlorine, phosphates and petroleum distillates. Packaging materials for ‘Method Floor plus Surface Cleaner’ is made from postconsumer materials that are one hundred percent recycled (Oprah.com, 2013).

‘Caldrea Dish Soap Liquid’ is another eco friendly cleaning product used in the hotel industry, it is claimed that the cleaning product is biodegradable and free from petroleum distillates, phosphates and chlorine. ‘Caldrea Dish Soap Liquid’ cleaning agent is sourced from palm oil farms that are certified, others are made from vegetables and fruits (Oprah.com, 2013). ‘Bill by Eco-Me All-Purpose Cleaner’ is another eco friendly cleaning product; the product is believed to originate from plant sourced and food grade ingredients such as sugar based and vinegar cleaning agents. ‘Bill by Eco-Me All-Purpose Cleaner’ is claimed to be free from chlorine, phosphates and petroleum distillates. ‘Green Works Oxi Stain Remover’ is oxygen based bleaching agent used in the hotel industry. It is believed that ‘Green Works Oxi Stain Remover’ is biodegradable, versatile and non-allergic (Oprah.com, 2013).

Going ‘green’ involves changing the day to day choices and orientation towards environmental conservation. Employees in the hotel industry are encouraged to disconnect unused electrical appliances from the power lines and promote products that are eco friendly. Envirotech (Environmental Technology) or Cleantech (Clean Technology) or greentech (Green Technology) has been encouraged in the hotel industry as a way of engaging green chemistry, environmental science, electronic devices and environmental monitoring in developing models and products that conserves the natural resources and environment, all these is carried out in reducing the negative impacts of the human activities towards the environment (Claver-Cortes et al, 2007).

Case Study between Hotels

Hotels have been ‘going green’ by forming associations that encourage environmental conservation (Greenhotels.com, 2013). One of such associations is the ‘Green’ Hotels Association, which advise hotels on products to use which are eco friendly, energy saving techniques and equipments, water saving tips and waste hauling tips among others. Hotels are encouraged to support innovative and smart vendors promoting green services and products, such as the eco friendly cleaning products; going green calls for listening and supporting green vendors through constant purchase of their services and products, in the same way. Target customers are encouraged to support ‘green’ hotels as way of conserving the natural environment (Greenhotels.com, 2013).

Going green in hotels has a long standing economic benefits attached to implementing social and environmental initiatives. Environmental sustainable strategy in the hotel industry encourage developing a competitive edge, customer loyalty, recognition and awards, high employee retention, brand loyalty, compliance to the regulatory bodies and efficient risk management in the hotels. Issues of going green dates back to the 1990s basing on a strong focus to the meeting the customer service due to the fluctuating levels of the economies (Greenhotels.com, 2013).

Surveys have indicated that hotels can implement many green practices, which at the end of the day saves significantly on costs, some of the common practices identify with using eco friendly products like the cleaning products, encouraging recycling and enhancing conservation of energy (Greenhotels.com, 2013).

Suggestions and Recommendations

‘Going green’ for the hotels is critical for the sustenance of the industry, it has been noted that eco friendly cleaning products encourage the hotels to go green in the conservation of the natural environment (Bohdanowicz, 2005). There are diverse benefits associated with going green. A green environment encourages balance in the natural ecological environment, which is made possible by the planet earth preservation and also conserving the natural resources and systems. Living a green life encourage reduction of pollution, encouraging conservation of the natural environment, making a choice of non-biodegradable products that are recyclable, conserving the wildlife and the forests, planting trees and plants on vacant lands and enhancing an ecological balance by conserving the natural habitat of the living things (Claver-Cortes et al, 2007). Benefits of going green are pegged on lowered costs of living, healthier lives, having a sustainable world, better life quality and development of new opportunities.

Going green for the hotel industry translates to the bottom line of the hotel, in the sense that the long term value is associated with the property and the services offered by the hotel. Guests in the twenty first century value hotels that encourage a green environment, therefore, going green is sensitive in creating a competitive edge (Graci & Dodds, 2009). The management of the hotels encourage going green since the well being and health of the employees is catered for, which translates to motivated employees who are ready to walk an extra mile for the success of the hotel; consuming eco friendly cleaning products is one of the steps of enhancing a sustainable and a green environment in the hotel industry.

Conclusion

Hotel industry in the twenty first century has been sensitive in environmental conservation, it is important for the cleaning products to be free from phosphates among other chemicals. Surveys have indicated that phosphates and other chemicals find their way to the streams and lakes through the wastewater (Holcomb et al, 2007). Such chemicals cause havoc to the aquatic animals and plants due minimized oxygen levels in the water and also encourage the growth of algae. Human beings have a personal responsibility of conserving the environment by going ‘green’; ‘going green’ means that the staff, guests and the management is healthier in the hotel industry (Bohdanowicz & Zientara, 2008).

References

Bohdanowicz, P. (2005). ‘European Hoteliers’ Environmental Attitudes: Greening the Business. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly , 188-204.

Bohdanowicz, P. & Zientara, P. (2008). Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospitality: Issues and Implications. A Case Study of Scandic. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism , 271-293.

Claver-Cortes, E. et al. (2007). Environmental Strategies and Their Impact on Hotel Performance. Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 663-679.

Graci, S. & Dodds, R. (2009). Why Go Green? The Business Case for Environmental Commitment in the Canadian Hotel Industry. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research , 250-270.

Graci, S. & Kuehnel, J. (2011). How to increase your bottom line by going green. GreenHotels and Resposible Tourism Initiative , 4-21.

Greenhotels.com. (2013). why should hotels be green? Retrieved September 11, 2013, from Greenhotels.com: http://greenhotels.com/index.php

Holcomb, J. et al. (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility. What Are Top Hotel Companies Reporting? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 461 – 475.

Oprah.com. (2013). 7 Green Cleaners That Really Work. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from Oprah.com: http://www.oprah.com/home/Eco-Friendly-Cleaning-Products-Clean-Without-Chemicals