Common Ground: A Product that’s Nuts About Sustainability

April 2007 | Green Scene

A Product that’s Nuts About Sustainability

Maggie’s Soap Nuts get clothes clean, leave world green

Would you knowingly buy a product that could damage your health? How about poison the environment? Well, it’s likely that we’re doing both when we purchase a name brand laundry detergent, since so many contain ingredients such as sodium sulfate, a corrosive inorganic compound that can cause severe eye, skin and respiratory irritation. Not to mention all the nitrates and sulfates that seep into the ecosystem.

Fortunately, there’s a renewable, biodegradable and hypoallergenic alternative to these chemical-ridden detergents, including one in particular that goes beyond the “earth-friendly” ones in the supermarkets. Sound nutty? Ha ha… it is!

Maggie’s Soap Nuts are nothing more than the dried fruit of the Chinese soapberry tree (Sapindus mukorossi), the shells of which contain saponin, an all-natural surfactant (a substance that when dissolved in water creates a soapy froth) used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine to treat skin ailments such as dandruff, eczema and psoriasis. Saponin is also used as toothpaste. It’s been used to clean clothes for centuries in Southeast Asia. But do these nuts get today’s laundry done?

Common Ground staffer Carrie Staller was curious about the free sample that arrived and tried Maggie’s Soap Nuts at home. “I was perfectly happy to dig through my wet clothes to find the soap nut bag before I put my clothes in the dryer. I love composting!” she exclaims. Editor Todd Spencer noticed that the clothes Carrie cleaned with Soap Nuts were remarkably lacking in smell. “Her clothes didn’t smell like anything,” he says. Carrie adds, “One full load of laundry may be too much for this product. Instead, I tried a smaller load, and I could detect the soap nutty scent on my clothes.”

Indeed, a little adjustment can go a long way. If used at lower temperatures, Soap Nuts can wash multiple loads, allowing up to 50 laundry loads per box. And with a gift — a pair of wooden earrings — inside every box, Maggie’s Soap Nuts is good, clean, and fun. This may be the product you’re looking for to begin your spring cleaning. — Lela Tuhtan

To learn more, visit maggiespureland.com

PlanetTran

Now you can extend your green business practices to airport car service for your VIPs

PlanetTran, the first all-hybrid car service in the country, opened up shop in Boston in 2003 and, just a few weeks ago, has extended its fleet to San Francisco, where for a little extra cash than a cab ride, green-minded companies can shuttle corporate VIPs to and fro SFO via Toyota Prius.

While other scheduled car services may nod to their greener clientele with a hybrid vehicle option — for example, SF Limo has added Prius and Camry hybrids to their airport fleet — PlanetTran boasts a full commitment to the hybrid and rides on the crest of the country’s transition from oil dependency and greenhouse gas infamy.

PlanetTran started when founder R. Seth Riney realized that the growing buzz for energy efficiency did not yet resound through the public auto service industry. The demand was there, but the companies in existence had already invested in fleets of gas-guzzling vehicles. So Riney developed a new company with a new mission: to meet the traveling needs of the eco-conscious commuter.

With rates higher than a generic taxi service (PlanetTran quotes a $69 charge from downtown San Francisco to SFO, while Yellow Cab estimates closer to $40 for the same trip), PlanetTran has thrived in Boston and expanded to the Bay Area due to its enthusiastic reception by renewable-energy-inclined corporations wishing to extend their green business practices beyond their offices.

“Now it’s a matter of growing to accommodate the demand, and the demand is very large,” says PlanetTran EVP Knox McMullen. “The amount of work is staggering,” he explains, “but it is very rewarding that I am involved in growing something.” The company also gets credit for being an inspiration to others. In 2005, OZOcar in NYC and Ecolimo in L.A. opened for business with all-hybrid fleets.

Currently with eleven Toyota Priuses strong in San Francisco and thirty-two in Boston, PlanetTran plants itself on opposite coasts in hopes that its roots might take hold and multiply. — Michelle Dolinsky

Visit planettran.com for more info.

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