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An investigation into green laundry products

University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office

The UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) is looking for a more environmentally friendly laundry option for the students in residence. Using a triple bottom analysis, the problem is to find a product that fits in with UBC’s Water Acton Plan and Sustainability Plan. Looking at the environmental, social and economic aspects, which the stakeholder wanted weighted evenly, a detergent is to be recommended for use on the UBC campus. The methods used for conducting the triple bottom analysis included student surveys, detergent testing, environmental assessment and economic analysis of four different detergents that varied from local to brand name. To cover the social aspect the detergents were rated from one to four on their effectiveness of cleaning as well as how well they fit into what students wanted. The economic analysis was done by calculating the price per load for each detergent and the environmental assessment was completed by researching certifications as well as contents of each detergent. While doing our analysis the conclusions found fit in approximately with our hypothesis. To make a final recommendation the rankings from the three categories were added up and totalled with no scaling between them to keep them evenly weighted. After testing Tide Coldwater, Echoclean, Bio-Vert and Vancouver Only, a conclusion was reached through the final analysis. Bio-Vert, a Canadian made, EcoLogo certified laundry detergent with competitive pricing and effective cleaning abilities, is the final recommendation made to UCB Student Housing and Hospitality Services for use in UBC residences. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. APSC 261; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108780

Applied Science, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/