Whole Story

We love our producers, suppliers and vendors and we think most of them have some pretty interesting stories behind their products too. We’re sharing some of our favorites here in an ongoing series.

GreenShield Organic was created by a dad on a mission to uncover hidden ingredients in household cleaners.

As a father of three, Adam McCarthy became so frustrated with a lack of ingredient disclosure on cleaning products, he decided to make his own.

"We list every ingredient on every package and state its actual name,” Adam explains. "We empower customers to decide which ingredients they want to use in their homes.”

GreenShield was the first brand of laundry, dish and hard surface cleaners to receive an organic certification from the USDA.

All of their ingredients are carefully sourced with the safety of people, pets and the planet in mind.

Just as important as what’s in GreenShield’s products is what’s not in them: phthalates, parabens, petroleum-based ingredients, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate and ammonia.

The company is committed to environmentally conscious packaging, too. "We have chosen to reduce the fuel and energy output by sourcing packaging materials as close to home as possible.”

Most GreenShield bottles are manufactured within a 1.5-hour drive from the bottling facility, and the labels are produced at a facility about 15 minutes away.

All GreenShield bottles are recyclable, or instead you might want to consider rinsing and refilling spray bottles to mist houseplants, or cutting the top off laundry bottles for crafty reuse projects, such as a watering can or pet food scoop. Let kids decorate the outside with stickers or paint for extra fun.

What are your favorite container reuse ideas? Share them with us in the comment section! Photography by Ha Lam.