In 1967, a Greek immigrant from the island of Crete named Van Vlahakis started a cleaning products company at his garage in Chicago, IL. Fifty years later, that company is known as Friendly Products and the late Dr. Vlahakis is remembered as a pioneer of the Green movement in consumer products.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary the company held four events at all its manufacturing facilities in America last week. The events, that coincided with the week of Earth Day, were attended by governors, members of Congress and leaders of the Green movement.
Earth Friendly Products also gave back to numerous organizations as part of their celebration. The largest gift was a half-a-million dollar check towards a Chemistry lab at the Roosevelt University where Dr. Vlahakis graduated from and that it will bear his name.
After 2014 when Dr. Vlahakis passed away unexpectedly, his daughter Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks has lead Earth Friendly Products to unprecedented success but kept those same family values her father believed in.
The green giant has also been recognized as one of California’s best employers providing the highest in the nation min. wage of at least $17 an hour, among other benefits.
There have been many milestones for the innovative company that kept redefining green in cleaning products. They were the first to remove all the carcinogens from all their products, while conventional cleaning products have been linked to many cancers because of these substances. They are also the only company in the US that has achieved water neutrality, carbon neutrality, while being zero-waste certified as well as the EPA’s partner of the year.
Watch Earth Friendly Products President and CEO Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks talking about the secret of success for Earth Friendly Products:
Today, Earth Friendly Products is the manufacturer of the #1 selling ‘green’ laundry detergent in the world, ECOS. The company has won awards for progressive business practices, including its use of renewable energy and offering employees financial incentives for buying hybrid or other green vehicles.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
