- Product Swap: Aspen Clean will team up with Whole Foods Market for free green home cleaning product swaps, replacing conventional products with Aspen Clean alternatives, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2-6 p.m. at the chain's Village at Park Royal and Robson Street locations. Info: www.aspenclean.com.

A West Vancouver couple is committed to helping local families clean greener.

Alicia Sokolowski and Chris Solodko, founders of Aspen Clean, a natural product and house cleaning company, have set a goal of removing 2,010 bottles of chemical-based cleaning products from community member's homes, replacing them with their own sustainable alternative, by the end of the year. To do so, they've partnered with Whole Foods Market and are presenting free product swap events at the chain's Village at Park Royal and Robson Street locations on Wednesday.

Aspen Clean, which is based in West Vancouver, has experienced tremendous growth since its launch six years ago.

"When we first started, a lot of people were very skeptical as to whether the green products could do the job as well as the conventional ones," says Sokolowski, who serves as president and co-CEO. "The awareness has grown tremendously and so has our company. We find that once people try the green products, they don't want to go back. It's a lot more pleasant to use a green cleaning product and it actually does work if you of course try the right one. It has been really good, which make us really happy because this alternative is much better for everybody's health and the environment."

Having moved to the area with two small children seven years ago, she and her husband tried to seek out a local company that would provide chemical-free cleaning services. Unable to find one, they opted to launch their own and Aspen Clean was born.

Aspen Clean's product line includes all-purpose, glass, kitchen and bathroom cleaners, dish soap, as well as microfibre cloths. Manufactured in B.C., their products are: plant and mineral-based and contain pure essential oils known for their therapeutic properties; have no petroleum-based ingredients, fragrances or colours; and, are ECOCERT-certified. "We basically ensure that no ingredient that could be identified as hazardous to health or environment has been used in our product," says Sokolowski.

Their products are available at a number of Lower Mainland stores, including Whole Foods Market, and are used by Aspen Clean's house cleaning crews. Sokolowski and her husband currently have 35 employees and clean, on average, 50 homes per day. Most of their customers are residential, though they do clean a few businesses. "We're sort of the living proof that natural green cleaning products can work," says Sokolowski.

Clients opt to seek them out following recommendations from doctors, due to allergies, because they have small children or pets, or share the couple's interest in living green.

Sokolowski says they're excited about next week's free product swaps. Conventional household cleaning products that are brought in will be replaced with Aspen Clean alternatives. They've held a few swaps already this year and have more planned for the fall. Aspen Clean has sourced a company to help them with responsible disposal of swapped cleaners.

For more information on Aspen Clean, visit www.aspenclean.com.