clean sweeps

+ Keep a look out for (small) changes happening to some of your favorite method packaging! I'm noticing these cool "Pow! Tough on grease" stickers starting to appear on their all-surface spray cleaners; as well as some shiny, as in silver shiny, package wrap for the best in glass spray cleaner bottles (I've only seen this on the best in glass at the moment, not sure how far reaching it will go!) I'm not really sure what to think of the shiny silver with the glass cleaner? But who knows, I'm sure it'll grow on me... and if not, method will already be onto something new, anyway (they don't seem to stick around with one design for long!)

The best bit of news is, it seems the (had heard of, but hadn't seen) price reductions on a slew, and I'm talking slew, of method products have finally hit the majority of Target stores! From hand wash, to spray cleaners, wipes and more; prices appear to have been cut by around .30 cents an item! Which makes for a great savings, when you start stocking up on all those wonderfully delicious smelling goodies! So be on the lookout for some price reductions (not temporary!) the next time your trolling Target (and we know you troll Target. We all do, don't be ashamed) and snatch some up (but don't forget to uh, pay for them at the registers. Price saving method products = good! Snatch and grabs = bad. Class dismissed!)

+ method lust reader Netta let me know she's recently found a large selection (as her Target happens to suck, when it comes to properly stocking method supplies!) of method products at her nearby Walbaums. (Uhm, I'm not really sure what a Walbaums is, since we don't have them around here -) But if you do, check it out! Thanks Netta!

+ The method lust polls are almost closed! If you haven't had a chance to vote yet, well, what are you waiting for? They're to your right. Scroll, click, done! No excuses! Also, I'm noticing twenty-one people have said they've just discovered method lust! So like, YAY! Welcome! I'm curious, what do you think? What would you like to see here on ole' method lust? Drop a comment and let me know! Thanks!

method profiles - danny seo

method profile wha? Yeah, yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? But you know, it's sort of like that weird friend that loves hanging out with you, but uhm, disappears for months and months at a time and you wonder what you've done to warrant their secret dislike, and then suddenly they'll give you a call and yay! it's all happiness, fun and rainbows! (Well, until they disappear for six more months, and the cycle starts all over. But hey, let's forget about that, and just focus on the fun "they're back!" times! Ok? ok. Wait, I think I might be that friend... I think I need a moment... gotta make some phone calls...)

Today's spankin' new method profile comes to us from Danny Seo! Eh, you might have read something about him recently here on method lust. Maybe sorta something about him coming to some town, near me, method spree? Oh, really, who can remember these things, anyway? Right? Well, did you know he's been with method for three years! You did? Well, pretend you didn't anyway, and read on!

1+ Your name, please? And do you have a nickname at method?
Danny Seo, Method’s Co-Conspirator.

2+ What was your first method lust?
I know everyone is introduced to Method through handwash, but I was obsessed with their cucumber dish soap. I was so obsessed about it, I even named it one of my top favorite things in a USA Today story.

3+ What brought you to method, the company? (How did you become interested in a career with method?)
I was an editor at Organic Style magazine when I kept mentioning them at meetings. Finally, someone said I should just go work for them. When Organic Style folded (sob), I reached out to Method and we agreed to partner together in a really fun and unusual way. I help spread the Method cheer far and wide and you’ll often see me on talk shows or in magazine stories not just explaining our products, but also easy tips on going green in general. There’s a real mission-driven sense at Method: we’re not just interested in making really green, really great products, but we really want you to be as eco-friendly as possible, too, in your everyday life.

4+ What is your title/dept. at method, and what is it you do there? How long have you been with method?
I’ve been partners with Method for about three years now. Wow! Time goes fast! I probably work closest with our brand publicity team and get to do fun things ranging from producing a kid’s eco birthday party for Parents Magazine to waking up at 5AM on a Saturday to do a “how to clean green” segment for CBS. OK, maybe it’s not fun waking up at 5AM...

5+ What is the biggest thing you are currently doing, besides using method products, to help out the environment?
That’s a hard question, but I would say it’s always been my mission to give people really good, really helpful how-to information that solves their problems. So I write books, keep a daily blog, design products, answer emails/Twitters and write newspaper and magazine columns answering questions. However you want to get your information, I’m trying to provide it across several platforms. I just try out new ideas all the time and share my results.

6+ Who's the last person you've turned onto method?
My parents. Goodbye flaming red Tide bottles.

7+ Which one best describes you as a person? Pink Grapefruit, French Lavender, Cucumber, or Go Naked?
Even though I HEART the cucumber dish soap, I am totally a Go Naked person. I’ve been searching for a fragrance-free laundry soap for so long and can’t live without my Go Naked product. I like my clothes smelling like nothing at all.

Thanks so much, Danny! And be sure to check out his blog over at Daily Danny, for lots of great eco news and tips!

Oh and hey, method employees, would you like your very own method profile? Come on, you know you want one! If so, drop me an email and I'll let you know all about it!

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And don't think I've forgotten you method lust readers! How would you like to be the next method lust advocate spotlight? You can! It's easy! So freakin' easy! Like, chimpanzee easy! And you know you don't want a chimpanzee getting the better of you, now do you? No, you don't. Uh-uh. So here are all the details!

method's softer side

Check it, check it! Great new article from the San Francisco Business Times on some cleaning company we all lust! Hmm, who are they again? What's their name? Oh, darn. I know it'll come to me... just give me a moment or two... until then, read on!

"Method’s cleaners keep the environment tidy | by Sarah Duxbury

Method’s been green since before green became this season’s color.

The nine-year-old eco-friendly home cleaning product company blazed a shining trail across the staid and often toxic world of soaps and solvents. Method convinced industry leaders that cleansers can come in design-centric packages filled with pretty colors and nice smells that are at the same time good for you and the environment.

And the San Francisco company wants to continue to lead the sector through innovation.

To co-founder and “chief greenskeeper” Adam Lowry, allowing the green to steep through every aspect of the company goes well beyond the product level.

“I think it’s inadequate to have a green product come from a company that doesn’t operate in a sustainable way, or where it’s just one line and everything else is not green,” Lowry said.

While the packaging and soaps inside them are all green, Method is looking for other ways to go the color of envy.

At Method’s largest manufacturing facility, all water is recycled. At a distribution center in Chicago, it is piloting a fleet of electric lift trucks as opposed to the traditional propane ones.

“We still have a long way to go, but these are examples of us innovating within the supply chain,” Lowry said.

And since it must still purchase much of its energy from traditional, non-green sources, Method has created a carbon offset program with Native Energy that has Method actually paying vendors who reduce their carbon footprint, Lowry said. “That means I can walk into my vendors’ buildings and say ‘I want you to reduce your carbon footprint and I will write you a check,’” Lowry said. “We’re aligning our strategy with incentives.”

While Method works to green its supply chain, large, traditional consumer product companies try to green their products. Clorox introduced its Green Works line last year, and it has been a hit. Procter & Gamble has Tide Pure Essentials; Arm & Hammer has an eco-friendly laundry detergent, and last spring S.C. Johnson purchased Caldrea, owner of the green cleaning brands Caldrea and Mrs. Meyers, to name a few.

Lowry said the me-toos rushing into the green cleaning space have not hurt Method’s business; rather, they are taking share from toxic cleansers, and spreading the green.

The private company, which crossed the $100 million sales mark a couple of years ago, has a CEO search under way. Board member Dan Swander has acted as interim CEO since Alastair Dorward left Method in August.

“Being a green business is not the glamour you see on the front pages,” Lowry said. “It’s a blue collar job, and you have to roll up your sleeves and do the work.”

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I got it! No no, wait, I lost it... darn! Don't worry, it'll come to me... my mind is like a steel trap, I promise you! Nothing gets out... but then, nothing gets in, either. Oh oh, it's it's on the tip of my tongue... wait for it, wait for it...

method pride

How much more can I possibly lust method? This weekend they made an appearance at the 2009 LA Pride! Now that is just too cool! Bringing lots of goodies, and Sarah Stich, method's resident "Call girl!" It looks like a blast was had by all, and some method goodies were snatched up! (method knows what they're doing, we gay folk know a good thing when we see it!)

eco-parents

method wants you to pick up (or at least check it out!) the July issue of Parents magazine to learn from Eric Ryan (method co-founder) how to throw an eco-birthday party for your kids! The photo shoot not only includes Eric himself, but many method employee's kids as well!

method spree winner

One more, ok? Just one more! In case you were simply too lazy to click on this link, I'm posting the article right here on method lust for you! Enjoy! (Unless you're just plain sick of the whole thing, then move on. Simply move on. No hurt feelings here, ma'am. Sir.)

By the way, the winner of the method spree contest was recently announced! Michael Sileno of Greensboro, NC won the gogreentriad.com contest, and method shipped him EVERYTHING I snatched up on my shopping spree! So cool! He was really excited, saying "Thanks! I got the stuff yesterday and it's all amazing. I really appreciate it all!" That had to be SOME shipping charge, let me tell you! Enjoy!

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"Green cleaning company rewards local fan with shopping spree | By Morgan Josey Glover

Method Products Inc. has thousands of fans throughout the country and Danny Seo figured Greensboro resident Nathan Aaron had to be the biggest.

“We decided to surprise him and meet with him,” said Seo, a national environmental lifestyle expert who helps promote the San Francisco company’s non-toxic household products. “Rarely do you find someone who is such a fan of green cleaning products that it becomes an obsession.”

Seo made a pit stop in Greensboro on Thursday to take Aaron on a shopping spree. His rule: Aaron could take home as many method® products that he could carry by himself.

Aaron started on the path toward an environmentally-friendly lifestyle after stumbling upon method® products several years ago. He fell in love with a blue bottle of mint-scented dishwashing liquid and its triangular shape.

“I think the design and all pushed me to go green,” said Aaron, a graphic artist and self-described mint addict. “I’m not sure I would have gone green without method® products being out there.”

Aaron started a blog in 2008 called “method lust,” where he writes everything one could ever want to know about the 9-year-old company. He racked up more than 600 posts last year -- an average 1.5 posts per day -- and features profiles of method® employees he interviewed, and listings of product scents, from citrus cilantro to ginger yuzu.

Aaron has made other lifestyle changes, including giving up paper towels and plastic shopping bags. He’s mulling whether to switch his Mercury Mountaineer to a more fuel-efficient vehicle, but said he’s not ready to start backyard composting.

Aaron admits his method® fixation, though, is a little scary. He has cabinets full of the company’s old product lines and he purchased a lemongrass-scented air freshener refill two hours before his shopping spree at a Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Battleground Avenue.

Once there, he loaded up on $173 worth of products, piled high in his arms and hanging from his fingers and belt loops. A big enough stash to feed his green cleaning appetite for months to come."

and so it begins again...

So, this starts again today! I'm so very excited (goodies, trinkets, retro Christmas records!) But if you've read my previous post on the subject, it wasn't without its downfalls. BUT, this year, I have a new (less evasive, but hopefully not wuss-out) plan in mind. I'll let you know how it goes. Pray for me (OR rather, pray for the old ladies running the thing!...)

dilutable danny

Danny Seo has a new post up over on his blog, Daily Danny, praising method's wonderful new dilutable cleaner!

"Lately I’ve been obsessed—of all things—Kool-Aid. Yes, the sugary powdered drink you just add water to make pitchers and pitchers of fruity punch. And why not? It’s Summer and it’s something I remember growing up drinking but haven’t had in least 20 years. So, cheers to Kool-Aid and my red-stained lips and tongue.

So, it’s no surprise that I’m equally as enthusiastic for Method’s new Dilutable Cleaner, a super-concentrated all-purpose cleaner that you—wait for it—just add water to to clean all over the house. With thousands of square feet of floors in my house—faux bois stamped ceramic, recycled wood floors, hand poured stone—-I need a big bucket and a handy mop once in a while to clean-up all the built up dirt and debris that has collected. This sounds like the perfect eco solution to use on a rainy day when I’m stuck inside with nothing to but clean and enjoy a cool glass of Kool-Aid. Spiked. But with organic vodka."

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Yay! You know, I find this product interesting. method used to carry another similar dilutable product (since most people seem to be using this for floor care), and it came in a big bottle scented in french lavender and rosemary mint. I still have a couple bottles! Then they discontinued that item, and brought out the prediluted version for wood and all-surface floor care. And now the dilutable is back (sorta!)

Honestly, I'm a tad too lazy for the whole bucket and omop thing. That's why I lust me some squeeze and go. AND I think I've found a solution to my bucket problem (if I haven't, let's all just pretend I have, and keep me happy and oblivious, ok?) I take an old lemon ginger "all-floor-one" bottle that I've used up, and I wash it out; then I refill it with half dilutable cleaner, half water. Are those the exact measures? Eh, I'm not sure. But hey, it works for me. Then I have the ease of a squeeze and go bottle, and the inexpensive price of a dilutable cleaner! Win, win!

Ok... maybe I'll go read those exact measurements now... Oh bottle? Where are you bottle? There you are, my little bottle! Ohh, who's so limey and green! Oh yes, you are! Yes yes, you are. You little limey green thing you!