The Allure of Green

With the increasing number of products available for killing pests, disinfecting surfaces and, in general, making facilities clean, pleasant and habitable, come more — and more stringent — regulations. Distributors who sell chemicals and pesticides are put in a tough place. They face piles of paperwork and pages and pages of detailed regulations to which they must comply. Add to that the arguments and resulting legislation of chemical opponents, plus the fact the regulations are constantly changing, and it becomes pretty difficult to keep up.

Recently, legislation has shifted to protecting those who work, visit or go to school in many facilities where cleaning agents and pesticides are used that can negatively affect the health of the occupants. Governmental buying is taking on a “green” flavor, and schools, too, are changing the type of chemicals and pesticides they buy to keep their buildings clean. In some states, schools are now required to give notice to parents and students when pesticides are being used.

With increasing layers of red tape attached to chemical and pesticide sales, and the increasing number of facilities and businesses that specifically seek green options, many distributors have found the green scene to present new and profitable sales opportunities. Not only is demand for the products increasing, but distributors are helping customers cut down on the costs and frequency of employees’ injuries and sicknesses that can be caused by more hazardous chemicals.

Tangent Industries, an Atlanta-based distributor, has been successful in marketing and selling an exclusive “environmentally sound” product line since the company’s 1991 founding. Bert Bellinson, Tangent president, says hotels, and city and state governments in the southeast like the products. They see them as a socially conscious move that doesn’t cost more than typical products.

When Tangent made its mission “Environmentally Sound Solutions,” it vowed that if a certain product was not safe for the user, or for the environment, then the company would find a way to make one that was. Tangent now sells more than $1.6 million in chemicals each year, and the company is proof that the trend toward green can be as profitable as it is socially conscious.

Defining It
The stifling regulations that characterize the chemical and pesticide industry is one reason selling green products seems so appealing. Just understanding the definitions involved with chemicals and pesticides can be confusing. Distributors must be aware of which fit under what definition, since the regulations that apply are different.

The main difference between chemicals and pesticides is that pesticides kill insects and organisms, while cleaning products are lumped under the “chemicals” label.

As legally defined in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), pesticides are any substance or mixture intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pest. The term “pest” encompasses viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms.

“Based on this definition, antimicrobial products (such as disinfectants and sanitizers) used on inanimate surfaces are considered pesticides and must be registered with EPA,” says Bill Balek, the International Sanitary Supply Association’s (ISSA) director of legislative affairs.

However, many distributors say they’ve opted not to sell pesticides due to strict government regulations and the piles of paperwork necessary for licensing. Others attempt to keep up to date and in compliance, even though it can be a tall order.

When asked what the No. 1 problem is in dealing with hazardous materials, Security 4 Chemical Co. vice-president Victor Siegel quickly answers, “Following government regulations...that’s the main thing, the paperwork.” Siegel’s Kansas City, Mo.-based company distributes pesticides and chemicals.

Chemical distributors say that the stacks of forms — including Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) — mandated by the federal government for some pesticides greatly hinders their marketing techniques.

“It’s a pain in the neck,” says Jesus “Manny” Pimienta, president of Sani-Chem Products Corp. in Miami, about state pesticide registration. He says that of the many papers and brochures mailed to him explaining the policies — particularly regarding transportation, shipping and handling — he only has time to read about half of them.

A state mandate for swimming pool operation means Georgia distributors must fill out forms for chlorine use, says Bellinson, adding that chlorine is Tangent’s only hazardous material. Also, in Georgia, papers must be filed annually for disinfectants since they are considered pesticides in that state, Bellinson says.

Keys to handling pesticides are meeting government regulations, storing the products properly and ensuring a safe shipping process, Bellinson explains.

With the newly appointed Bush Administration at the helm, it could be too soon to say what changes — positive or negative — will take place concerning chemical and pesticide regulation, though it’s not too early to make predictions. Pimienta feels “big changes” in regulations are on the way, which may include stricter handling guidelines, but overall, regulation may lessen. Bellinson thinks Clean Air regulations, and possibly other laws that are kind to the environment, could be overturned. He thinks it’s important that law makers and regulators consider the big picture, including the environmental benefits green cleaning can offer.

Stephen Ashkin, of Healthy Housekeeping Solutions, and a former vice president of Rochester Midland Corp., Rochester, N.Y., is an advocate of using green cleaning chemicals.

“I don’t think anybody believes the Bush Administration is going to tighten standards and be aggressive on that issue,” he says.

Whatever the future holds, distributors need to stay abreast of a fast-changing regulatory climate to remain compliant and capitalize on buying trends and habits.

Who’s Going Green?
Many distributors are showing their customers that green cleaning is a way to reduce labor costs by increasing morale and causing fewer illnesses and injuries. Green cleaning also has the ability to keep the environment healthy for cleaners and building occupants. Still, some customers aren’t yet cashing in on this buying trend.

Sani-Chem discovered that customers don’t care as much about government restrictions as its staff does. “A lot of the customers don’t get involved with the restrictions...all they worry about is getting a product that’s going to work,” says Pimienta.

Several distributors interviewed for this story said they’ve dabbled in green products.

Ashkin says that the popularity of green will continue to spread. Ask him which cities, agencies or industries have dug into the trend and he answers quickly and matter-of-fact:

“It’s the labor unions, combined with health and safety issues, that will continue to push this green-buying trend around the country — not the federal groups,” he says. “Most of the early case studies have sprung up in small, community-focused cities. Although in the past few years, large federal agencies like the Department of Interior and the Pentagon have expressed financial and social interest.”

This is a case where the customer’s product preference for green chemicals will be heard loud and clear, Ashkin adds. Distributors would be wise to listen.

Security 4 Chemical’s green chemicals line didn’t get a huge following in Missouri, but Siegel knows there’s a big push in California. “Some like it; some don’t care one way or the other,” he says.

Others worry that green cleaning compromises effectiveness. Pimienta feels that the green chemicals don’t work as well as typical products, but says he knows they’re better for the environment. Though green products may never out-perform more caustic chemicals, facility managers will continue to weigh the advantages of using them against their disadvantages when making their buying decisions.

Recent Developments
A series of bill drafts have circulated around Capitol Hill recently, as well as state assemblies and senates, many of which aim to protect school children from harmful exposure to chemicals and pesticides.

A Seattle-based study examining the exposure of 96 urban and suburban children to household pesticides found that all but one had trace levels of pesticide in their urine, according to researchers at the University of Washington.

Passed by the U.S. Senate in June, the Children’s Environmental Protection Act of 2001 (S. 855) requires schools to have pest management plans in place and to tell parents at least twice a year when and where pesticides will be applied in buildings or on school grounds. The bill also suggests schools look at sanitation, structural repair, and other strategies to combat pests.

However, S. 855 exempts many pesticides that janitors use as cleaning products, including disinfectants, says Doug Parsons, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) communications director in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

Because lawn sprayings of pesticides are included in the Act, the EPA will help schools provide a guidance and a pest-management plan, says Parsons, and work with state governments to ensure schools comply.

Parsons says the Senate Agricultural Committee is drafting a bill that would let the EPA extend its current policy of charging maintenance fees to registrants of pesticide products.
Thirty U.S. states currently regulate the use of pesticide products in or around schools, according to Balek. In Canada, the Supreme Court recently upheld a town’s bylaw that bans any pesticide use within municipal borders for cosmetic reasons, including on private property — clearing the way for other Canadian cities and towns to pass similar laws.

Several U.S. states have also adopted bills designed to protect the environment. California’s passage of the Healthy Schools Act of 2000 requires school officials to notify parents 72 hours before pesticides are sprayed on school grounds.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation, a branch of the state’s Environmental Protection Agency, will publish a website and a manual later this year about the policy, says Kelly Campbell, campaign coordinator for Californians for Pesticide Reform, a coalition of 16 California groups.

In 1998, Californians for Pesticide Reform’s research concluded many pesticides sprayed on schools are cancer-causing.

Pests are prone to create havoc in older, larger school districts. “A lot of schools are falling apart. Because of structural problems, you’re getting pest management just because of that,” says Campbell. The Los Angeles Unified School District recently installed door-sweeps on all of its school doors, she adds.

In 1999, Chicago-based Safer Pest Control Project helped pass Illinois’ Integrated Pest Management in Schools Act, requiring schools to practice integrated pest management, including notifying parents of students 48 hours before spraying begins.

Jessica Bullen, the project’s senior program associate, says that Louisiana, Massachusetts, Texas, Maryland and West Virginia have passed similar legislation.

Also that year, Oregon’s state legislature passed a law requiring that all commercial and residential pesticide use be documented. After January 2002, data collections will begin and all commercial and government entities must comply, says Laura Weiss, Oregon Environmental Council’s pesticides and toxics program director.

Most of the above legislative moves were birthed from the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) “inerts disclosure” campaign’s success in October of 1996 — the Eugene, Ore.-based group won a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit forcing most product ingredients to appear on pesticide labels. But the coalition continues to push for the disclosure of every ingredient in chemicals.

The EPA established an inerts work group that would advise companies on the issue. Three proposals are on the table, and one could be adopted in the next three months, says Caroline Cox, NCAP staff scientist.

The proposals ask the EPA to do the following: put all pesticide ingredients on labels; put all ingredients on labels unless the manufacturer can justify withholding them; or voluntarily choose and identify which ingredients to put on labels. EPA recently denied the first proposal, citing the need for the protection of trade secrets.

Undue Burden
Bill Almond, National Association of Chemical Distributors spokesperson, says regulation negatively affects sales and marketing efforts of the association’s 330 members, who have a combined customer base of 800,000.

“If they know they will have to spend a lot of time filling out papers to sell this chemical to just a small amount of customers, they won’t do it,” says Almond. “Naturally, as any person would, they would choose not to sell the product.”

However, if the market proves profitable for a certain product, a distributor may go ahead and distribute the product despite an avalanche of paperwork, says Almond.
Given the recent legislation regarding pesticide use on school grounds, Balek suggests distributors study the new regulations carefully.

“Distributors would be wise to become familiar with the various requirements in their market and be prepared to position themselves as an information resource to schools who now find themselves operating under different regulatory constraints in relation to pesticide use,” Balek says. “As such, distributors can distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace.”

For now, distributors are paying attention to regulation not only for the sake of their day-to-day sales tasks, but also for future marketing plans.

Tangent remains focused on its green chemicals line, definitely going against the grain but not as affected by pending restrictions and regulations.

The company is not only thinking “outside of the box,” but also cares about what’s inside each box it ships. It used to pack products with real popped popcorn, but recently switched to “recyclable and recycled styrofoam.” Bellinson ensures a note is inserted in each box about where to recycle the styrofoam.

Distributors are currently faced with two converging trends: a shift to green buying practices among many of their existing and potential customers and stricter regulation in the industry. Some distributors are finding ways to sell existing product lines under new conditions, and others are experimenting in selling green chemicals. Both directions present opportunities and challenges, but smart, savvy distributors can achieve success in either arena if they’re fully aware of the costs and benefits that apply to them and, more importantly, to their customers.

Kristine Hansen is a freelance writer based in Madison, Wis.