Company eager to fill green-cleaning niche

CLEAN LIVING: Alfred Renaud, owner of Green Pro Services, has been in the cleaning business for 35 years. After a health scare three years ago, he now uses only nontoxic products in his work. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
CLEAN LIVING: Alfred Renaud, owner of Green Pro Services, has been in the cleaning business for 35 years. After a health scare three years ago, he now uses only nontoxic products in his work. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Diversified Resources, a Warwick financial advisory firm, changed its cleaning company a couple of months ago to Green Pro Services, a new venture with a mission to be a completely green business.
The financial firm’s office manager, Maryann Magnan, made the switch based on a recommendation from her son, who used Green Pro for his business.
Magnan found the offices to be just as clean, with no odor of cleaning products. She also found the cost to be about the same as with the previous service. Magnan’s big surprise was the trickle-down effect that came with Lincoln-based Green Pro Services, which uses only nontoxic chemicals and micro-fiber clothes.
“It’s impacted what I use at home. I changed some of my products. I’m more conscious,” said Magnan.
Magnan’s heightened awareness of cleaning chemicals is just what Green Pro Services owner Alfred Renaud hoped for – a multilayered impact on clients.
“If I can save one person from getting sick, I feel I’m doing something right. I’m helping people,” said Renaud, who has worked in the cleaning business for 35 years.
Renaud is hoping to fill a niche in the industry that is very competitive locally on prices, says David Caldarella, owner of Liberty Commercial Cleaning in Cranston. And price is what most of his customers are concerned with, he says.
Using green products is not cost-competitive and is rarely requested by his clients, said Caldarella, who’s been in business for 20 years and has 17 employees.
“Unfortunately, in this competitive market, as much as I’d like to do green cleaning for everyone, there are a lot of cleaning businesses in Rhode Island and the bigger guys are hyper-competitive in terms of price,” said Caldarella.
“Companies are looking at their budgets. They consider three cleaning companies and pick the one with the lowest price,” he said. “Some of the companies aren’t familiar with green products. I have trash bags that decompose, for example, but if that’s a few dollars more and I put it into my price, I probably won’t get the job.” Liberty Commercial Cleaning’s website offers “products and chemicals that are safer for your building occupants,” but Caldarella said when those are requested, it’s generally because some employees have allergies bothered by some of the cleaning products. In those cases, he generally uses products with hydrogen peroxide, or in the case of ceramic floor tiles, where clients don’t want chemicals used, he has relatively inexpensive vinegar-based products.
“I haven’t had people calling and saying, ‘I want green products,’ but I do think it’s the wave of the future,” said Caldarella.
“At home I use biodegradable bags and green cleaning products. It feels safer and it makes you feel like you’re doing something good, even if you pay a little more,” Caldarella said. “If we all went green, the price would come down and it would be a better world, but in my business, it’s all about competition.”
Three years ago, Renaud got a wake-up call that led him on the path to green cleaning.
“The doctor found a spot on my lung. I had a bad case of bronchitis and they took chest X-rays,” said Renaud. “I never smoked. I stayed away from drugs and I don’t drink – not even beer or wine. So I figured it was from the harsh chemicals from cleaning.”
Being an expert at stripping and waxing floors probably didn’t help due to the chemicals used, he said.
The spot on his lung hasn’t changed since it was found and to keep any worrisome changes at bay, Renaud follows a simple health plan – stay clear of anything that might aggravate his lungs.
That requires very clear product requirements, especially because Renaud is doing all the cleaning himself right now, planning to add employees as the business grows.
Renaud, who lives in Lincoln, started cleaning as a part-time job in high school, worked in the family cleaning business, RenCo Maintenance, founded in Rhode Island in 1990 and sold 12 years ago, and then was sales manager for a large cleaning company. Green Pro Services was launched in February after Renaud completed the state’s Self Employment Assistance Program, run by the R.I. Department of Labor and Training to prepare unemployed Rhode Islanders to launch new business ventures.
A big chunk of a $30,000 loan for the business went to Renaud’s purchase of two pieces of equipment, totaling about $10,000 that can clean without chemicals – Square Scrub for stripping and waxing floors and a carpet cleaner that uses steam.
Renaud’s accountant is with Damiano, Burk and Nuttall in Lincoln and the firm became one of Green Pro Services’ first customers.
“I was interested in his service to cut down the chemical usage from a lot of cleaning supplies,” said the CPA firm’s owner, Jason Nuttall. “We just started a couple of months ago and we’re glad we made the switch to environmentally sensitive products,” which he claims have been less expensive than what the previous cleaner was using.
“Price is always paramount in our industry and cleaning services are very price-sensitive,” said Bill Balek, director of environmental services for ISSA, previously named the International Sanitary Supply Association, the trade association for the cleaning industry, which has 6,400 members worldwide and 4,000 in the U.S.
“Overall, green cleaning products are comparable in price today,” said Balek. “Ten years ago it was different, but now, for general purpose products like bathroom cleaners, glass cleaners and carpet cleaners, prices for green products are competitive.”
New England is in the forefront of the green-cleaning trend in the U.S, he said.
“Green cleaning has been well-entrenched for a number of years now in the commercial side of the industry,” said Balek. “From the most recent national survey we did of our distributors who sell a variety of cleaning products, it was estimated that 25 to 30 percent of the overall product mix is considered green or environmentally preferable.” •

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