Providing healthy, sustainable cleaning products

1 of 2Cinderella's Organic Housekeeping markets three scents in their general cleaner. — Photo courtesy Mark Cochrane

2 of 2Mark Cochrane and Yvonne Schoff own Cinderella's Organic Housekeeping. — Photo courtesy Mark Cochrane

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It’s said that necessity is the mother of all invention. A safe and effective cleaner may not be a brand-new idea, but Cinderella’s Organic Housekeeping has implemented plenty of innovative ideas in its general household cleaning product.

For Yvonne Schoff, necessity came out of her experiences cleaning hotels in the Nelson area. Many of her co-workers developed rashes on their hands and arms, while one developed lung cancer. Schoff saw a connection with these ailments and the chemicals they were using daily. She left her job, but opened a cleaning company along with her husband, Mark Cochrane. With a skepticism for traditional cleaning products, the couple developed their own general cleaner out of gentle, safe ingredients that they used within their business. After several different clients asked to purchase the cleaner for Christmas gifts, the couple started marketing their alternative product in 2008.

Schoff and Cochrane wanted to make sure they could be proud of providing an ethical cleaner. Almost all of the ingredients are certified organic. Not only do the cleaners smell great, but they’re perfectly safe, even with pets or children—a fact that takes a little getting used to after a lifetime of training ourselves to avoid the chemicals that are usually in cleaners.

Schoff and Cochrane have gone the extra mile in several ways, making sure their conscience lets them sleep easily at night. Besides being organic, some of the main components of their cleaners are sourced from fair-trade producers. They also package their product in glass despite the associated challenges, and claim to offer the only cleaning product that is packaged in glass.

“The whole shipping thing has been a bit of an issue and it is a bit more expensive for us to package in glass,” said Cochrane, “but the way we look at it is we don’t need to be millionaires—we just need to make a living and we want to provide a really good product. If it costs us a little bit more to bring that product to market then we’re totally OK with that.”

Cinderella’s organic cleaner can be found at a number of locations throughout B.C. and Alberta in addition to being available online. It’s a great option for anyone who’s trying to reduce harsh chemicals and plastics in their household. Schoff suggested also looking for substitutes wherever possible and checking out local health food stores, which are far more likely to carry healthy, green products.

“Right now we’re coming to the end of paying a business loan that we got with Community Futures without whom we would never have made it, so we’re really thankful to them,” said Schoff. “When that’s done we’re looking into investing more money into our company with a few more products—maybe a dish detergent, a laundry detergent and a few other surprises. It’s really been great starting our business in Nelson and in the area. The Kootenays have been  the greatest support . . . we’ve just been so filled with joy on our journey so we just want to appreciate everyone.”