“Green” Hand Sanitizer?

Flickr/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/" target="_blank">aussiegal</a>





Purell certainly deserves props for producing a biodegradable product and greening its packaging. But as Mother Jones reported in “Germ Warfare,” our national obsession with cleanliness has reached a fever pitch, and some scientists think being too clean has actually made us sicker. Proponents of the “hygiene hypothesis” blame allergies and other autoimmune diseases on a lack of certain germs: In the developing world, where gut parasites are much more common, autoimmune disorders are much less common.


As Triple Pundit’s BC Upham points out, Purell isn’t to blame for antibiotic-resistant superbugs—it’s not made with antimicrobial agents, just alcohol. But it’s still an awfully effective germ killer. So what do you think, Blue Marble readers? Should Purell be allowed to call a hand sanitizer green?