I am among the group of travelers that takes home unused amenity bottles for final consumption and recycling. I have about 15 bottles sitting on my bathroom sink waiting to be used. Only three of the bottles have ingredients listed. While writing an article on amenities this week, I learned that it is not required that ingredients be listed when products are given away—which they are in hotel guestrooms. Eight of the bottles list where they were made (two in India, six in China). It should come as no surprise that most amenity bottles, even some containing what is marketed as cutting-edge “green” product, are made in China.
In doing research for my article, it became clear quickly that the amenity world is just as prone as most product categories are to “green” fuzziness. What I mean is that what is called “natural,” “pure,” “organic” and “biodegradable” to one person is likely to mean something different to another. There is even friction among vendors in regard to green claims. “‘Biodegradable’ is bandied around about products that are only partially biodegradable,” one vendor complained. “There’s no definition around ‘natural,’” said another vendor, who added that, “It’s all marketing hype at this point.”
The good news I learned is that many amenity vendors are making significant progress in their attempts to go green. This is happening with the product content itself, the packaging and the bottles. It is not an easy task for vendors, as oftentimes it costs more to include truly natural, organic ingredients. The other good news I learned is that a solution to all of the green ambiguity may be on the way. Green Seal, which creates science-based environmental certification standards, is working on a standard for liquid soap, solid soap, shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath and related bath and shower products.
Questions to Keep in Mind
Until Green Seal finalizes its standard and amenity suppliers adopt it, what questions should you be asking to ensure that your amenities program is as eco-friendly as possible? Here are a few ideas:
• What is the carbon footprint of the product I am buying? If a product does not contain harmful chemicals, that is great, but what if the bottle and its contents are manufactured in a country thousands of miles away? If possible, do business with companies that manufacture their products and source their ingredients locally—or as local as possible.
• If a supplier makes a claim that its soaps, shampoos and other items are 100 percent biodegradable, ask them what they mean by that. Ask them for documentation to support the claim.
• When you purchase amenities, do you really know what ingredients are in the products you are buying? If not, ask the supplier for a list of them. Do some research if necessary to learn about them. There may come a time when your guests will ask you about amenity ingredients—especially those guests with allergies and chemical sensitivities.
• If a supplier says that its bottles are biodegradable, what does that mean? Under what conditions are they biodegradable? Under perfect conditions? What if the bottles are buried in a landfill?
• No matter how green the content, bottles or packaging, if you do not have a recycling program in place to recover used bottles, what is the point? Ask yourself and your associates what is currently being done to stop the flow of amenity bottle waste. What is being done to ensure that it is recycled? After making a few calls, one vendor discovered that the tiny amenity bottles often are not recycled in communities where trash is sorted prior to the landfill. The bottles fall off the conveyor belts and are landfilled. That means it is even more important that those bottles go to a company that actually recycles them.
There are no perfect vendors so don’t be too hard on them. Do let them know, however, that you are concerned about the environmental impact of your choices. And the next time you are shopping for amenities, consider alternatives such as dispensers. With dispensers, there is at least no bottle waste problem.
Plan Now for Fall, 2009 Advertising
If you are a supplier selling green products, be sure to call me at (440) 243-2055 to discuss your advertising plans for the fall and winter. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
