Trying to Go GREEN - Melaleuca or Other Choices???

NO NO NO!!!... its really sad that they force people to buy their products each month... I was with them and quit because the product points end up costing about 50 bucks a month... and I just dont need that much stuff each month and if it is really econimical as they say you should not need to replace it monthly...

SO...
I switched to Shaklee I love the products even more and they dont pressure you to sell EVER and I bought my get clean starter kit about 6-7 months ago and still have not used it all yet... the only thing I go through is the laundry liquid because I have 3 boys and we do a ton of laundry...

But the Basic H2 lasts forever and to make the window cleaner you add 2 DROPS 2 16 oz of water!!! thats amazing and to make the daily all purpas cleaner you add 1/2-1 capful to 16 oz of water thats it!!! with melaleuca you add 1/4 cup

My 16 oz bottle of Basic H2 has lasted me about 6-7 months and I am just now fixing to open a new bottle AND I use it for cleaning my carpets... I put 1/2 cap of H2 and 1/2 cap of the shaklee fabric softner in my carpet cleaning hoover vaccume each time I fill the water container and it works sooo good to clean my carpets.

I also use the Shaklee dishwashing liquid concentrate to bathe my dogs... works great!
I dont sell shaklee I just signed up as a buyer...

The shaklee Basic H2 has NO ODOR AT ALL so Im not sure why some say that about the smell...
any way,
HTH
A. J

I'm a very satisfied Melaleuca customer!! The whole idea of switching stores (from W-mart, $$ stores, Walgreens, etc) to Melaleuca made perfect sense to me because I'm already purchasing all the products that Melaleuca offers anyway!! But from their company, I'm getting products that are SAFER and a lot more efficient.

What I LOVE about Melaleuca is that they have SO MUCH to choose from- over 300 products!! You don't have to buy just cleaning supplies. I'm a very frugal, penny-pinching mom and I've never had trouble keeping up with the 35 points a month. Considering what people usually spend A WEEK at Wal-mart (for the same products, only less healthy!), Melaleuca actually has a good thing going!

I'm not sure where you heard the "testing on dogs" part, but someone definitely misinformed you. Did you call the Melaleuca product information line and express your concerns to them? I've found them to be very honest and open about the products, what's in them, and how they're tested. Be sure you do some research before you slander any company.

K.

Hello, I've been a member and recently put it on hold due to leaving the country for a few months. I can't seem to just cancel it because of the product Sol-u-mel. It is the best stain remover ever. Esp. if you have a little one. It takes out most anything but is expensive but worth it.

Many people don't realize that Melaleuca, like J&J, P&G, Procter & Gamble, that Melaleuca manufactures over 350 products (I just heard it's closer to 390 now) and since they're also a pharmacuetical company, they have vitamins/supplements and other health products as well as beauty products... The 35pts equates to b/w $50-65/mo and it's not new money you spend, it's money you've already earmarked on your shopping needs when it comes to household, health, beauty, and much more... For the preferred membership, you're also getting other perks, $100 free products (mo 2-6), other discounts and online benefits. I used to spend a lot more (over $200/mo on products when shopping at Target, SamsClub, and everywhere else I used to shop.. Not Melaleuca actually saves me money and it helps me stick to my budget. Call me with questions... I'm here to help... And another wonderful benefit. Melaleuca is all about enhancing lives, including helping those who need to make ends meet. J&J and the Tide brands aren't going to pay you to use their products, but Melaleuca offers you revenue sharing just by referring customers.... and if you run into others who need a little extra help every month, you'll be rewarded by helping them earn... but it's all up to you.... Be a pref customer and/or help others do the same. You'll be rewarded in many ways.
C. ###-###-#### www.Melaleuca.info
www.SaferForYourHome.com

You can easily make your own products (and save a ton of money) that are green yourself. There are tons of articles on teh web regarding this. You can make all sorts of cleaners including washing detergent for clothes. Most involve just vinegar and baking soda with some essential oils thrown in for a nice scent. Sprouts and Whole Foods carry some good brands if you don't want to do this. I love Mrs Meyers (smells really great) and 7th Generation is good too. Costco carries a laundry detergent that smells of lavender.

I don't think you need to buy any of these products unless you want to. I've heard that Clorox is not disclosing all their ingredients in the Green collection thus making them potentially not so green after all. Re the antibacterial stuff... there's a lot of debate on that right now. The argument is, we're making ourselves sicker by using the antibacterial products and creating anti-biotic and otherwise more resilient strains of bacteria. Good old soap will do just as an effective job as any antibacterial product. Just something else ot consider.

Trish,

I used it a few years ago and unless it has changed it isn't organic, just safer? It may have changed because it was about 4 years ago. But my husband is allergic to the Melaleuca plant so that made things very hard for me to use. And the amount of money it cost me was a lot. And they don't like it when you decide to quit, I had a hard time with that. They charged my card even after I quit and then I refused the shippment. They would not refund my money but keep sending me stuff saying that I have a credit, do I want to reactivate now. No, I don't.they are still sending me those notices every quarter. Anyway, I am not saying it is bad product. But I have found that Seventh Generation (you can get it at Whole Foods and some other regular grocery stores) is a great product for laundry and dishes. My husband isn't allergic to that. He couldn't use the deorderant or anything.

I understand the frustration you are going through trying to do the right things for your family. It is an ongoing process. It is one that I have been trying to do for many years now. But little by little I am succeeding.

T.

Melaleuca does not test on animals, I have been a customer for 4 years and have completely switched stores to convert my home to their products. I will never need to use anything else.
My family is so much healthier. Melaleuca provides high quality at cost effective prices. The products do not require MSDS sheets or child safety caps and they do not smell, now I can clean without opening the windows and putting my family at greater risk for cancer.
Melaleuca oil is a natural antiseptic, fungicide, and kills germs on contact so you are actually getting the job done. I worry about brands that are "all Natural" and those just using baking soda and vinegar not actually killing the germs.
Visit www.saferforyourhome.com to learn more.
Be sure you are well informed and not just taking a post for the truth on any product or service, unfortunately many people are actually paid to tarnish a companies reputation by posting wrong information. What a world we live in :)

Trish,

I have a skin care, health and wellness company. We have a lot of healthy products that are botanically based. Every ingredient in every product is pure, safe and beneficial.

We have everything from a detox spa line to skin care to cosmetics to weight loss to an excellent line of baby products.

If you'd like more information please let me know.

Thanks!

M.

I have been using Melaleuca products for 2 years and go way over my points every month. In the end - I do not think they are the least expensive but I absolutely believe I am receiving a very "clean" product better than what I would receive at Walmart,Tom Thomb, etc- I now realize that there are new "green" products but I am not going to switch.
Why? Because on the other scale I believe that the bigger conglomorate companies could care less about our environment and our health whereas every message I read from Melaleuca is good, positive , clean messages.
Finally- with Melaleuca if I refer 8 people to them, then they guarantee me 120.00 a month ( it may be more) but at least 120.00 month- this pays for my products - and that is huge for me. Walmart, Tom Thumb etc do not do that. Yes it took a little work but by the end of two months I had refer 8- so now literally I make at least 120.00 every month.
Yes I believe Shacklee is excellent as well as there are others but for me- Melaleuca was just right.
I suggest stick with it for 6 months, refer 8 people and then if it is not working for you, then cancel it.
Good luck
C.

Hi, Trish. I was a Melaleuca customer for about 2 years, and I still order products through a neighbor who needed help meeting her points each month. I LOVE their Sol-U-Guard and used to use it on all surfaces. I still use Pre-Spot and Renew lotion. However, they have reformulated their SunShades and I hate the new stuff. So, to make a long story short, I loved a few of the products but not enough to continue paying $65 per month for other things I didn't like as much.

My brother is a chemist and liked the ingredient list on the new Clorox "Green" products. I love that those new Clorox cleaners don't irritate my asthma, and I prefer Seventh Generation dish soap and laundry detergent.

My mother used Shaklee for years (she was a distributor) but I can't handle the smell of their products. I also like to use baking soda and/or vinegar when I can.

I just thought you might appreciate this letter from Melaleuca's CEO that sheds light on more of the picture other than what you may have read on the peta website. I have shopped with Melaleuca monthly for over 4 years and love their products... Here is the letter written by The CEO will suffice. Here it is:

" I am writing in response to your questions regarding Melaleuca's position on animal testing. Let me begin by telling you how much we appreciate having you as a Melaleuca customer and by reassuring you that Melaleuca has never tested its personal care or home care products on animals, nor will we ever do so!

" Melaleuca is absolutely against cruelty to animals! We have never allowed nor will we ever tolerate the cruel treatment of any animal in the forwarding of our business. I grew up on a farm and throughout my childhood I had several animal friends whom I affection for and who I feel returned that loyalty and affection, including several dogs, cats, cows, a horse, and a baby pet hawk that I raised after it had fallen from its nest. I nurtured that hawk until it was old enough to turn loose. Animals have played an important role in my life, and today my wife and I (and our kids) own two dogs, a cat, and several cows and horses.
" I have a confession to make: While I will usually carry a spider outside and turn it loose rather than smash it, as I write this letter, I am wearing a leather belt and leather shoes, and yesterday I had a hamburger for lunch and fish for dinner. I am not a vegetarian, nor do I put animals on the same plane as humans. If I had to make a choice between animals and people, in my book, people come first.
" Our first run-in with PETA occurred in 1993. That year we were preparing to bring out a new dog shampoo. In its annual questionnaire, PETA asked us once again to commit to not test any of our products on animals. We told them that we would not, except, of course, we planned to test our new dog shampoo on dogs; i.e. wash a few dogs to make sure it performed properly. PETA insisted that any testing was prohibited--even shampooing dogs! We argued at length that we were not hurting the dog, only shampooing it. They argued back that rules were rules and if we could not fill out their form with an absolute statement that "we will never test any product on animals," then we would not qualify to be on their cruelty free list. We found that absurd! And we were eventually removed from their list in 1997.
" Since then, PETA has found us in violation of their policies in two other instances. One instance occurred when a company called Natural World was advertising that its cleaning products were safe for children to play with and even drink. Melaleuca had concerns that at least one of these products appeared to be potentially harmful, and that children may be harmed by drinking it.
" Melaleuca commissioned a laboratory to test the safety of one of Natural World's products on ten rats. The rats died a horrible death. The test proved that the "safe for children" product was deadly poison. Natural World was forced to cease its "safe for children" claim. In retaliation, Natural World turned over the results of the tests to PETA. Our position is that we potentiall saved several children from serious injury, and perhaps even death. PETA's position is that a rat's life is as valuable as a child's life, and that no child is worth sacrificing an animal. That sounds preposterous to me, but it is the absolute position of PETA.
" In Melaleuca's quest to enhance and prolong life, we have been devoloping a product called Provex CV, a product that will greatly increase cardiovascular health. Our research and progress to date indicate that we may have found a natural product that will greatly reduce the risk of heart disease, the number one killer in America.
" The University researching the merits of this product has now done several human tests to prove Provex CV's effects on platelet activity and LDL cholesterol oxidation in the blood. The Ethics Committee at this University, along with most other universities, will not allow human tests to be done on a product until the product has been proven safe and effective on animals. Prior to performing human studies to prove Provex CV's effectiveness, Melaleuca commissioned that the product be tested on dogs first. All of these tests proved very successful, and the testing that was required to be performed on dogs stopped.
" The result is that we now are able to test on humans and we feel that mankind has been greatly helped with a product that will prolong human life and ultimately vastly lower the risk of heart disease. PETA's position is much different than ours. Again, their position is "Absolutely no testing on animals!" and, "No human life is worth risking an animal's life."
" Let me refer back to my leather belt and the hamburger I may have had yesterday for lunch.
" The animals from which my belt and the hamburger came are no longer living. I do not feel any guilt at all for using their products as long as they were killed humanely and did not suffer. In our opinion, whoever would put human life and animal life on the same level, or state that a rat is equal to a child, are just plain overdoing it.
" In our quest to save life, we refuse to tell PETA that we will never again test our cardiovascular products on animals. Therefore, believe it or not, PETA has denied Melaleuca's request is that it be listed as cruelty free. Melaleuca has never tested its hair care, skin care, cosmetic or home cleaning products on animals. To do so would be unnecessary and senseless. We would never knowingly allow any animal to suffer. Melaleuca is definitely cruelty free, even though we do not appear on PETA's list.
" This has been a rather long answer to a pretty short question as to our stand on animal testing. I hope you will find our answer satisfactory and that we will have earned your continued loyalty as we continue with our mission to "Enhance the Lives of Those We Touch."

"Sincerely,....Frank L. VanderSloot...CEO
2/26/08

Trish-
I was SUPER antibacterial (esp. when my three year old twins were born), but now that all the new research about the superbugs being created by the overwhelming amount of antibac. stuff we're using, I've eased up on it. It's also hard to find a combo of green and antibac. TOTALLY your call, obviously, but from what I have found it is difficult to find quality products that do both.
Anywho, that being said, I am a huge fan of Mrs. Meyers, Ecover, Seventh Generation, etc. that you can get at Sprouts. Target is even starting to carry a lot of it, and I have heard Walmart is adding a lot of it as well. Target also has Method brand, but I am hit or miss on finding things in their product line I love. A friend swears by their counter spray, though. If you decide to go with any green toiletries I love the Avalon/Alba brands (more than say, Burt's Bees) and the JASON brand has great great great kid's shampoo/conditioner/body wash. Target is also starting to carry a lot of that but Sprouts has the full lines.
Good luck!

To a previous poster (incase you come back and read this) Melaleuca does not charge you if you quit properly. You cant just call and cancel, but need to fax or send a letter so they have that on file. I have been with them for 6 years and referred hundreds of customers, none of which had a problem if wanting to quit.

Ok Trish, I dont know about other products out there because I have been extremly happy with Mela for a long time. But my question to you is (regardless of where you buy your future products) why JUST cleaning products?

These same chemicals are in your toothpaste, soap, deoderant, make-up, body wash, shampoo, lotion, etc. If you understand that these chemicals are dangerous and you want to find something safer, why are you stopping with what you clean with? In reality your body absorbs some of EVERYTHING it comes into contact with, so you are still putting yourself at risk using other products. That is why there are so many organic and non-toxic lines out there now.

Just some food for thought for whichever path you decide to take! http://www.ewg.org/health Good Luck!

Trish
I am so very happy with my products. I called the company and asked about animal testing. They assured me they do not do animal testing.
Our products are safer, naturally derived and cost effective.
If the company is not for you...I wish you luck in finding something that works for your family. Personally, the 35 points are not an issue with most people. My family goes above that minimum every month with over 100 points.
Mela oil is naturally antifungal and anti-bacterial it also naturally kills HIV, strep, ecoli, TB and mold. Yet it is safe enough to swallow.
I am totally happy with Mela and I recommend it to anyone!
I am happy knowing that I am no longer using laundry detergent that causes cancer or Lysol that has a nerotoxin in it. I am also saving money every month.
Good luck on your search in finding something better!

So i see from the reading you choice Shaklee? do you still like it or still use it? I have been doing some research myself and find your finding interesting.. but wondering if you are also looking for a company that you can also benefit financially? since Maleluca and Shaklee are both run that way. I found a company called http://biokleenhome.com and trying to compare it with Shaklee and 7thGeneration did you find this companies in your research if so, why didnt you pick them? or what were your findings if any?
I await your response. Thank you!