

SWIFFER SUSTAINABILITY: The swiffer designer speaks up

Posted By Jennifer van der Meer On June 9, 2007 @ 5:00 am In Green Products,Greenwashing | 43 Comments

PSFK conference, Swiffer, Proctor and Gamble, P&G, Greenwashing 101, Greenwash, Greenwash your floors [1]

Our story “Greenwash Your Floors with the Swiffer” [2] launched an interesting debate on our site about greenwashing and eco design [2]. A commenter named Kim called on us to move beyond criticism and contact the designers directly…

If we can educate the product producers about holistic sustainable design systems and principles and give them better solutions, we can effect much more change on a larger scale than we could by simply calling them out on their greenwashing. [2]

So we decided to contact the designer of the Swiffer, Gianfranco Zaccai of Continuum, directly to ask him to explain the Swiffer as an example of sustainability. The interview that came out of this was extremely interesting. Read on for the full debate > [3]

Jennifer Van Der Meer interviews Gianfranco Zaccai about his swiffer design and sustainability

Jennifer: In your argument about the Swiffer’s environmental impact, you cite the fact that your design uses less water, energy, and toxins than a conventional mop. How did you analyze these impacts?

Gianfranco: The development of the Swiffer was the result of our analysis of what average American households actually do to clean their floors. We discovered—by doing a lot of research and observation in people’s homes—that, on the average, kitchen floors are washed once a week and that it requires a lot of hot water and detergent for washing and then more hot water for rinsing. We further realized—just by watching a lot of people mop their floors—that people spend more time cleaning the mop than cleaning the floor.

We also discovered that most of the so-called dirt on the floor is not sticky, adhering dirt, it’s dust. And water turns out to be a particularly bad way to get rid of dust because the dust will just float to the surface and then settle down in the form of mud. Again, we found that out by observing and analyzing—in excruciating detail and many times over—exactly what happens when someone mops the kitchen floor. We also learned that almost no one enjoys washing the floor and touching a dirty mop. Probably anyone could have told you that, but we verified it and, instead of ignoring it because it was so obvious, we really paid attention to it because it was so universal. This is key to what I’m trying to say: Water and energy and chemicals and all that are essential to analyzing this activity for its environmental impact. But so are frustration and boredom and house-pride and resentment of spouses who never do the mopping. Because those are the keys to designing a solution that is profitably sustainable because it is something people will willingly—even joyfully—do.


By addressing both the technology and the users’ desires, we helped to create a sustainable solution, one which provided value to both the producer and the consumer while reducing the total impact on the environment. And we’re not kidding ourselves that replacing mops with Swiffers is what’s going to turn global warming around. We worked hard to come up with a profitably sustainable solution rather than a profitable but more harmful solution. If we can do that every time and if most other designers are doing that every time, whether they are designing jumbo jets or SpongeBob toys, that will help turn global warming around.

Swiffer, Proctor and Gamble, Greenwashing 101, Greenwashing [4]


Well, in that particular case, we were not involved in specifying the ingredients of the cleaning formula of the Swiffer WetJet. In general, though, it depends on how comprehensive the request for our services is. If we are asked to develop a concept which will then be developed through manufacturing by our client’s engineering staff, we will try to develop and propose ideas that are fundamentally less wasteful and will suggest particular materials and processes. On the other hand, when we are asked to fully develop an idea through engineering, both mechanical and electrical, we try to choose environmentally sustainable materials and manufacturing processes. Although we do not employ chemists on our teams, we have sometimes employed consultants from universities in the area; for example, to develop a chemical formula for a biomedical product which had to be benign with respect to the environment.

How would you define sustainability?


What does this mean for designers?



Unfortunately, the design community is very fragmented and, to a great extent, unprepared at this point. Some designers and some design firms are beginning to adopt cradle-to-cradle design practices and to be more conscious of the impact of design decisions dealing with energy consumption and material waste. But the idea of doing better with less is only beginning to take hold.

Swiffer, Proctor and Gamble, Greenwashing 101, Greenwashing, Gianfranco Zaccai


I am not at all bothered by constructive criticism. It provokes further thought on my part and it gives me the opportunity to communicate with greater detail what we are trying to do in this arena.

Do you think the consumer products industry needs a certification process—similar to LEED standards for buildings—in order to verify the authenticity of green claims and combat claims of greenwashing?

I think these things are inevitable. It will take some time to do it right and to have the general population adopt this mind shift, but, like all important progress, I believe it will eventually come about.


Our work is broad in scope, going beyond products to the design of environments and services. We are therefore looking into many different methods for evaluating sustainability and environmentally conscious design—everything from smarter materials and longer-lasting products that serve multiple functions to consumer environments, such as stores and restaurants, that use natural light or buy as much of their food as possible from local farms.

Right now we are working with solar energy, air purification, chemical-free bug and pest detection, shared high-end transportation in urban settings, and medical devices [5] with longer shelf lives and with less plastic, fewer wires, and lower electrical consumption (yet with far less error than previous versions of these products)—to name a few.

In the design process, who is most influential in pushing for “better” solutions: designers, clients, government, or consumers?

All of those constituencies have equal responsibility and, I believe, equal power. Nevertheless, the focus up until now has been on legislation—which is a “push” mindset. The power of the customer and of designers has been discounted. I think designers can create a “pull” effect whereby customers demand more sustainable solutions not only because they are environmentally sound, but because they give better value, provide more enjoyment, and make people feel better about their choices.



URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/swiffer-sustainability-the-swiffer-designer-speaks-up/

URLs in this post:


[2] “Greenwash Your Floors with the Swiffer”: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/03/06/greenwashing-101-the-swiffer-green-or-greenwash/

[3] Read on for the full debate >: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/09/swiffer-sustainability-the-swiffer-designer-speaks-up/

[4] Image: http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/swiffer.jpg

[5] medical devices: http://onlytests.com/
