JB writes: “ . . . [O]ver the past few years many of my fellow Catholic moms have started selling Norwex, like Tupperware, but more of a house cleaning thing. At first I was intrigued, but the products seem to lean towards 'chemicals are bad' (um not when my kids have gotten sick and I need bleach to clean my toilet, but ok), and after visiting their website something just smelled of population control, or the like. Any ideas?”I have looked into this company and from what I can find, there is no link between them and population controllers – however, this company is very much into “sustainability” which is a buzzword that often includes efforts to control the population.
For those who never heard of Norwex, this is a direct sales company that manufactures chemical-free products for the home and personal care.
The company was founded in 1994 in Norway by Bjorn Nicolaisen who was introduced to a “miraculous cloth” that cleaned his very dirty windshield with the use of microfiber and water. He was so impressed that he founded a company, Eidsvoll Miljoprodukter, to manufacture the cloths, thus beginning the “Cleaning Without Chemicals” movement.
As the website explains, their “miraculous cloth” contains microfibers that lift particles up into the cloth and away from the surface. “Once inside the cloth, the Norwex MicroSilver in the cloth goes to work with self-purification properties against mold, fungi and bacterial odor within 24 hours, so that it is ready to use again.”
In addition to selling cleaning cloths, the company eventually began to sell other products, such as mops and bathmats, chemical-free toilet cleaner, laundry detergent and dryer balls. They also sell a personal care line featuring products that are organic and chemical-free.
What may be disconcerting to JB is the way the company describes its ideological focus on ecology. “The ecological approach considers that all living species and nature are interdependent and that there are limitations to what nature can absorb in terms of human activities, such as pollution. Change something here and the consequences will pop up there. Radical change – man made or otherwise – may overwhelm the delicate balance in the environment, resulting in unintended and dramatic negative changes.”
An exaggerated focus on the interconnectivity of all creatures along with "sustainability" which entails controlling the number of people who are permitted to live on the planet, are hallmarks of the New Age which is why this language could be off-putting to some.
However, I found no indication that Norwex is involved in promoting any kind of New Age “green religion” or in promoting family planning programs based on increasing accessibility of birth control and abortion. They seem to be exclusively involved in reducing environmental toxins in the home, which they describe as their way of helping to rid the planet of pollution.
