Eco-friendly products or eco-friendly attitude
Ok, so whats the most important?
Hello my name is Peter Sweeney and I am a carpet & upholstery cleaner that uses independently certified eco-friendly cleaning solutions. Do I use water, power and do I drive a van? Is some of the equipment I use made up of parts that come from non-sustainable sources? Are the eco-friendly products I use contained in plastic containers? The answer to all these questions is yes.
My point to these issues is one of awareness
I am aware,
my peers can be made aware,
and so can my customers
Where I do try and play my part is not just the fact that I use recycled paper for all my admin, email where possible, only carry weight in van that I absolutely need, take my empty plastic containers back to my suppliers to refill, use products that mean carpets and upholstery need to be cleaned less often (detergents leave sticky residues in carpets/fabrics that attract rapid resoiling), it’s the opportunity in realising that I and many of us have to do a bit more.
The point I am really trying to make
Is that we as a commercial sector have a responsibility to not only do our bit but encourage others to do the same. On an average day I could be in 3 customers homes and possible a commercial premises too (evening or weekend). If you add up the 250 working days in the year allowing for a 4 weeks off I could see at least 690 people in one year who have their own homes or play an integral part in the running of a business. This is where I really try to do my bit by explaining why I do things this way. I could go into more detail but for the purpose of brevity I will stick to the point. If we could educate the other 15 000 carpet cleaners to think along the same lines that’s 10 million times a year we can push the issue higher amongst people’s priorities.
How many other industries are there that could do the same?
Just a thought…….but if the power of small industry joined forces as one in this regard alone we would have more power to influence change than any democratic government could ever have.
In short, it’s the attitude that drives all other changes for the good and this is why we need to commune ourselves to the belief that we can make a small difference individually but a huge one collectively.
Peter Sweeney
Oakleaf Carpet & Upholstery Care
www.oakleafcc.co.uk
