About Sierra Natural Cleaners
Sierra Natural Cleaners was established to meet the cleaning needs of commercial and individual users who want healthy products that are environmentally appropriate, effective, and economic. This approach reflects our mission to help make the world healthier and cleaner.
Our company was founded by Marie-Angele Wilkinson, a holistic health practitioner and environmentalist who has been working in the natural chemical arena for more than five years. She first became interested in the concept of natural cleaners during a 25-year career in the hotel industry. Now, she continues to encourage the use of environmentally friendly, effective alternatives through her own company, Sierra Natural Cleaners.
“Green cleaning” became Marie-Angele’s passion eight years ago, when she worked for a major hotel chain. “I was seeing first-hand the waste that was generated by hotels – energy, water, chemicals, you name it,” she said. “So in 2000 I put together an environmental impact committee.”
While examining her company’s environmental footprint, she discovered the impact of “traditional” chemicals on health and the environment. Ultimately, the hotel chain opted not to pursue a “green program” (the concept was a few years ahead of its time). But Marie-Angele became even more eager to make a difference. She resigned her management position, walked away from a career, and joined Sierra Environmental Technologies, then a distributor of natural cleaning products.
In September 2007, Sierra Environmental Technologies decided to focus its resources on a growing environmental engineering and consulting business. Wanting to continue with the work begun at Sierra Environmental Technologies, Marie-Angele launched Sierra Natural Cleaners.
“There’s a story to be told,” she says. “No one really understands the impact synthetic chemicals have on our health. We all think there’s a government agency out there regulating what chemicals are being used. We assume that someone has checked these chemicals, and deemed them safe for the public. But that’s not so. Out of 75,000 products registered with the EPA, less than 2 percent have been tested for toxicity. So who then is actually testing the products? You are. Your employees are. Your children are!”
Over the years Marie-Angele has met with janitorial workers and hotel room attendants to discuss their experiences with the products they use all day, every day. Their stories have strengthened her commitment to eliminate toxic and hazardous chemicals from workplace and home. “We had one janitorial worker tell us that when he switched to our natural products, he no longer went home with nosebleeds,” she says.
In addition to providing natural cleaning alternatives to businesses and households, Marie-Angele is dedicated to education and outreach. Contact Marie-Angele for consultations and presentations about green cleaning products.
You can also learn more about environmental concerns, green cleaning products and how you can help with our monthly eco-friendly newsletter.