Make of this what you will, but national retail chain Walgreens has introduced a new private-label line of household and personal care products it calls Ology (really?), which the chain is marketing as environmentally friendly. Howso? Well, says
Environmental Leader:
The paper products and light bulbs are 100 percent tree-free and made from readily available renewable sources, the company says.
Trees
are a renewable resource, but please go on:
The liquid products contain no harmful chemicals, according to the company, in a move prompted by increasing legislative pressure to regulate chemicals in consumer products.
Adds
Treehugger:
The new brand comes packaged in upbeat, cutesy graphics and 100 percent post-consumer materials, and includes baby care, laundry, cleaners, personal care, CFL bulbs and paper products. The paper products include bath and facial tissue, paper towels, copy paper, and toilet paper made from sugar cane husk and bamboo.
And how do the ingredient panels read? Perusing the shampoo label, for example, of the 13 ingredients only one, phenoxyethanol, raised a red flag, all the rest all ranking non-toxic on GoodGuide.com. That alone may be a deal-breaker for some, but compared to many of the popular toxic concoctions peddled to the masses in the name of shiny locks, it looks pretty good.
I find cutesy graphics to be more toxic than any chemicals, but I suspect that’s just me.
The Ology products are also designed to be value-priced.
I confess I have no reason not to give Walgreen’s the benefit of the doubt, and shall investigate further.
About Richard Romano
Richard Romano is Managing Editor of WhatTheyThink. He curates the Wide Format section on WhatTheyThink.com. He has been writing about the graphic communications industry for more than 25 years. He is the author or coauthor of more than half a dozen books on printing technology and business. His most recent book is “Beyond Paper: An Interactive Guide to Wide-Format and Specialty Printing.
