Last year while I was shopping at the local PW Market (in the bay area), I saw this bright yellow cleaning container that had a picture of a cute chick that read “Bon Ami”. The French name and the cute chick already caught my attention. So I picked it up and read more about it from the labels. To my surprise, it is one of the most environmentally safe cleaning product around.

Bon Ami could be considered less harmful to the environment than other cleaners because it does not use phosphates, chlorine, perfume or dyes in its formula. It also cleans surfaces without scratching. Notice the use of the little chicks. As chicks do not scartch for food during their first few days of hatching.

When I was growing up, my mom used only Ajax or Comet for cleaning. I suppose her friend introduced her to this brand and it worked well for her. So I was not familiar with Bon Ami. Plus those other brands were easy to find, usually at your grocery store or Target.

Photo from Bon Ami.

Bon Ami has been around for 120 years. The history behind Bon Ami is very interesting. The company starting manufacaturing the product around 1886. Here is a little excerpt from the company’s website,

Feldspar was discarded from a quartz mine, until someone suggested that this soft mineral might be combined with soap to create a less abrasive product to clean hard surfaces without scratching them. This appealed to Scotsman Robertson’s thriftiness. Robertson formed his venture and began operations in an unused grist mill located on property owned by Gurdon Hicks Childs. The feldspar was ground to a fine powder, mixed with liquid soap in wooden troughs, cured and cut into cakes, imprinted with the Bon Ami name, wrapped and packed in quarter-gross boxes for market.

The more I read about the history of the company, the more I am interested in supporting them. I am surprise to see that it only maintains 5% share of the cleanser business, ranking as #3 best-selling powdered cleanser in the United States. I guess being 3rd place is good, but it should be #1 choice.Maybe  Bon Ami should try to get their product on the shelves of Target and Kmart too.

At first you might think it won’t clean as well as Ajax or Comet, but it really does. It doesn’t have any bad smell of fumes coming from it. It’s even safe to use without cleaning gloves. This product has become a part of my cleaning routine ever since I picked up my first container. I think this is the choice people need to turn to when they think of an environmentally safe cleaning products (besides baking soda). Maybe next time you’re at the market, look for the little yellow chick. You won’t regret it.