TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW CHLORIDE-FREE ICE MELT.
Entry® uses a potassium formate blend that spares homes, residential yards, campuses and corporate parks from the hazardous and corrosive effects of rock salt and other chloride-based deicing products. By breaking down the hydrogen bonds that form when water freezes, Entry removes thin layers of ice and snow and prevents new ones from accumulating up to a freezing point of minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, colder than any other product on the market.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
I knew we were entering a figurative lion’s den. The unregulated North American ice melt market is awash in inflated environmental claims and blatant greenwashing. Even if research and development panned out as hoped, our as-yet-unknown de-icer might not endure among louder, win-at-all-costs products and brands.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE GREEN SEAL?
Green Seal’s criteria, designed to protect our planet and health, emphasize performance. It’s widely said – and I agree – that a product shouldn’t qualify as “green” if it doesn’t work as well as, or better than, other commercially available alternatives. After all, if a product’s better for the environment but doesn’t perform, have we really made progress or solved anything? And because Green Seal uses verifiable research and sound practices their benchmark becomes the market’s standard.
HOW DOES BEING GREEN SEAL-CERTIFIED HELP DIFFERENTIATE ENTRY?
If another product wants to make environmental or performance-related claims, we encourage them to pursue a similar certification. If they don’t, we can point to Entry’s Green Seal certification, and what it stands for, instead of engaging in evidence-free debates about a product’s environmental and performance claims.
HOW IS THE ENTRY DE-ICER BETTER FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT?
Entry was designed from the molecular level to the final product packaging to reduce adverse environmental impacts, making it safer for families, pets, waterways, and floors. When rock salt and other calcium, sodium and magnesium granular chloride products seep into groundwater supplies or wash into lakes or streams, they reduce the available oxygen levels and threaten aquatic wildlife. Salt-based ice melters also can erode soil, kill plants, burn grasses, and burn the skin and eyes of people and pets.
HOW DOES THE GREEN SEAL STANDARD SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION?
The prospect of investing in a worthy product, only to have it get lost in a whirlwind of dishonesty, almost kept us from moving forward. The unchecked marketing claims in the ice melt market are particularly troublesome given the number of ice melts that claim to be high performance, pet safe, and/or environmentally sound without any independent verification. Consumers depend on these assurances. Much is at stake and much can be lost when they don’t deliver. People understandably have differing opinions about government regulation, but as a well-intentioned brand in an unregulated market, I crave the accountability that regulation provides.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
Green Seal verification of both environmental integrity and efficacy let Entry not only enter the market with a reputable ally behind it, but also let us introduce structure and accountability to the larger ice melt scene. Even with a Green Seal certification, Entry® chloride-free ice melt will face challenges. But carrying a highly regarded certification in a space that’s never had any standardization is, I think, a major step in the right direction – for our product and for us all.
