WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez met with Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, CEO of Earth Friendly Products (ECOS), a Parsippany-based company that manufactures environmentally safe cleaning products. Ms. Vlahakis-Hanks showed the Senator some of the company’s products, and explained how the company not only sells environmentally-friendly products, but they also hold themselves to high environmental and labor standards.

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“At a time when many corporations are trying to roll back environmental regulations, Earth Friendly Products is an example of a successful New Jersey business that has held itself to very high environmental standards,” Senator Menendez said. “Their success disproves many claims of fossil fuel industries who yell and scream about regulations hurting their business. Yet this New Jersey company has gone above and beyond the minimum environmental standard and is still succeeding.”

Earth Friendly Products (ECOS) manufactures over 200 cleaning products at four facilities that are carbon neutral, water neutral, and Platinum Zero Waste certified. Earth Friendly Products (ECOS) products have been given the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Safer Choice” designation, which helps consumers identify products with safer chemicals without sacrificing performance. The company and Ms. Vlahakis-Hanks have also been the recipient of a number of recent awards, including recognition from the EPA and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Founded in 1967, Earth Friendly Products (ECOS) is a family-owned and run business started by Van Vlahakis, a Greek immigrant. The company also has a strong commitment to its workers, and in 2014 began paying their employees a $17 per hour minimum wage.

“Part of the reason we pay our employees so much is that they are our customers too,” Ms Vlahakis-Hanks said. “That’s what Henry Ford did, and it is a value we hold deeply.”

As a leading advocate for environmentally friendly policies, as well as high labor standards and the role of immigrants in the U.S. economy, Senator Menendez was proud to meet with a New Jersey company that embodies all of those values.

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