Raising Awareness Around Safer Cleaning Products in Central Washington

I’m Sebastian Genge, an Environmental Planner at CHA!

I’m leading a grant-funded project from the Department of Ecology to raise awareness about safer cleaning options in overburdened Latino communities in Central Washington. While I present at each session, this work wouldn’t be possible without my colleagues Cynthia Tamayo and Nancy Rocha Aguilar. Cynthia manages stipends, contracts, and policy coordination for the project, and Nancy leads the marketing and visual design efforts that help promote our events.

We’ve partnered with Nuestra Casa, a trusted community-based nonprofit in Sunnyside, to host a series of Spanish-language outreach events known as charlas. So far, we’ve held four sessions, reaching more than 130 community members from across the I-82 corridor—a region with a large Latino population that often faces barriers to accessing health and household safety information. Our goal is to reach at least 400 individuals by the end of our outreach efforts this summer.

Each charla is designed to be interactive and culturally relevant. I walk participants through the potential health risks linked to long-term exposure to chemicals commonly found in cleaning products, explain the differences between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting, and explore concepts like hazard versus risk. I also discuss chemical classes to avoid, how to read product labels, and how to recognize the Safer Choice label—a certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that helps consumers choose safer cleaning products. We also talk about other trusted certifications, caution against greenwashing, and share resources for making safe, homemade cleaning products.

To close each session, I lead a hands-on demonstration using a Safer Choice-certified dish soap to clean a plate. Afterwards, participants enjoy a lively round of lotería with safer product prizes and complete an EPA commitment card reflecting on how they plan to use the sample product they take home. As a token of appreciation for their time and engagement, every participant receives a $50 gift card stipend.

Community feedback has been incredibly positive. Participants have shared personal experiences with adverse reactions to cleaning products, asked thoughtful questions, and expressed gratitude for having a space to learn about these important topics in a culturally meaningful way.

We have four more charlas scheduled for May—on May 6, 14, 15, and 28—and I look forward to continuing this important work. If you have any questions about the project or would like more information, feel free to reach out to me at seb.genge@cha.wa.gov.