Clorox Courts Sierra Club, and a Product Is Endorsed

New York Times, March 26, 2008 — SHOPPERS in the household cleansers aisle of a Wal-Mart here one recent morning glanced at Clorox’s new Green Works products with disinterest, enthusiasm and skepticism. Their comments neatly summarized the pros and cons of Clorox’s bid to appeal to customers who buy with the environment in mind.

For Clorox, a company that built its name on chlorine bleach, the products are another foray into green marketing, after its purchases of Burt’s Bees, the cosmetics company, and Brita water filters. More important, the Green Works products are about to be paired with a name — the Sierra Club — normally associated with fighting toxic waste.