Green cleaning, Green Seal, greenwashing, GreenGuard — with so much information out there it's easy to find yourself a little confused and overwhelmed when it comes to the green movement. For example, since 2004, 10 states have passed legislation regarding green cleaning products (and Illinois has passed two different laws). Five of those 11 bills were passed this year alone.

These laws are pushing end users into the green movement at a record pace. In the last few years the number of building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs) using green products has grown tremendously. Just three years ago, only 53 percent of BSCs were purchasing green products, according to a Contracting Profits survey. Today, that number has grown to 81 percent. For ISPs, Housekeeping Solutions' surveys indicate the number of users has grown from 67 percent in 2007 to 91 percent today. That's incredible. I don't know of any other cleaning trend that has accelerated like green.

But the problem is, as fast as the movement grows, it changes just as quickly. It's hard to keep up. Organizations come and go, change names or revise their standards. You may have thought you knew everything about green one minute, just to find your facts out of date the next.

That's why we are giving jan/san distributors a new compendium on green. Sanitary Maintenance has compiled the most recent updates about green certifications, facilities and the aforementioned statewide legislation in one place. This will help ensure you are supplying your customers with the most accurate and up-to-date information.