Last January, the Sierra Club, America’s oldest environmental group, endorsed a range of cleaning products manufactured by Clorox. Yes, Clorox the chlorine bleach company. And you can imagine how much environmentalists love bleach.

Green Works, however, is a chlorine-free zone, resting its cleaning credentials mostly on extracts of coconut and lemon oil. On a recent trip to America, I gave the company’s all-purpose cleaner a try. The verdict? Good at cutting through grease.

The most interesting thing about Green Works, however, is the price: only 10 per cent more expensive than conventional products. Other green-clean items can cost 25 to 30 per cent more, which has been an obstacle to widespread uptake. If more customers get drawn in, more manufacturers will develop their own greeny products.

Why should you care? Because cleaning is big business, and manufacturers will be trying to get money from you for their soi-disant green products. In the UK, the market for household cleaners is worth about £2 billion. Green cleaning accounts for a tiny fraction of that, but it’s the fastest-growing area.

I couldn’t get hold of a Clorox representative who could tell me whether the company plans to launch Green Works in the UK. But I can tell you in advance that the product won’t tempt me. I already have my own green cleaners – apart from the microfibre E-cloths whose praises I regularly sing in this column. The main items in my green arsenal? White vinegar and bicarbonate of soda, used separately or as a partnership.

Both are fully biodegradable, non-toxic, cheap and versatile. Watch this space next week for a rundown of their multiple uses. In the meantime, buy a box of bicarbonate and a bottle of vinegar (both are cheapest in hardware stores). And prepare to be impressed.

greenkitchen@thetimes.co.uk

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