My guest today is Mary Allen, co-owner of Savvy Green LLC with Rita Knorr. Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, their new brand of fragrance-free household cleaning products are also designed with the environment in mind. We’ll be talking about toxic chemicals in cleaning products and how simple cleaning products can work just as well. Mary and Rita started their company at home, using a simple recipe to create a dry laundry detergent to give to friends and family. The thought was that if all of their friends used the powder detergent “gifts,” that alone could account for a significant reduction of detergents in large plastic containers and their associated carbon footprint. Of course, their friends loved the powder and a new cleaning products brand was born. Mary grew up in a family of grocers. From a young age working in the store, she loved to understand what brought people into the store. After college started working retail specialty and department stores as a buyer and manager in many areas of the store. She has worked in product development, merchandising, testing, packaging, marketing and sales. She has traveled the world to bring the best products to her customers. most recently for 21 years with Bealls Department Stores and Bealls Outlet Stores. www.savvygreen.net