GOING GREEN—CEO Michael Edell, left, and company founder Patricia Spencer, both of Westlake Village, began Camarillo-based GrabGreen in 2008. The ecologically friendly company makes nontoxic cleaning supplies. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers Patricia Spencer never thought much about the products she used to clean her home and wash her clothes until she became a mother.

After her two daughters were born, she wished there were healthy and natural alternatives to the toxic household cleaners commonly found in homes.

“ My kids would always come in looking like ragamuffins,” said Spencer, a Westlake resident. “I was shocked to see what I was putting on my kids’ clothes. I did research to find out what would take out stains that doesn’t have toxic chemicals.”

Spencer knew other moms probably felt the same way.

As her kids got older, she combined her motherly concerns with her background in product development to create a line of naturally derived cleaning products.

Through previous contacts and Internet research, she found biochemists nationwide with experience in formulating ecological cleaning products. She worked with them to create natural laundry cleaners.

Spencer said her product would need to be affordable, convenient, use essential oils for fragrances and use naturally derived ingredients.

In 2008, after a year of research, Spencer pitched her business plan to Westlake resident Michael Edell, her coworker at a business management consulting firm and the founder of eLabor.com.

Edell, a successful Internet entrepreneur and a father of two daughters, sold his labormanagement software company to New Jersey- based payroll firm ADP in 2003.

With Edell’s help, the pair founded GrabGreen and developed an entire line of household cleaning supplies.

Spencer wouldn’t disclose initial startup costs or the company’s current income but said it has grown steadily in less than four years.

GrabGreen’s first two products were a fragrance-free laundry detergent and wet dryer sheets.

They were so successful that the startup company was flooded with requests for more cleaning products from consumers and retailers.

Two stores sold GrabGreen products in 2009, then 400 in 2010. Now more than 900 stores in the U.S. and six other countries sell the household products. The company has 14 distribution centers and three warehouses in the U.S., one in Camarillo, another in Moorpark and another in Wisconsin.

The company now manufactures about 40 products, including laundry detergent, dryer sheets, degreaser, all-purpose cleaner, garbage disposal freshener, fabric fresheners, glass cleaners and dishwashing soap.

Most products range from $4.50 to $8.

“People have been focusing on what goes in your body, and we wanted to focus on what goes on your body,” Edell said.

GrabGreen initially released products only to organic health stores. Edell said the stores’ standards are high and the owners test every product before selling it.

All the products are manufactured in the U.S.

Spencer said the secret to the company’s successful expansion is excellent management.

“We’re automated and we have a great team with true passion,” she said. “We worked smart and fast. We’re a small company, so we’re able to adjust and be more agile than the big guys.”

The company has a full-time staff of six and frequently hires teams of specialists, such as organic chemists.

“ Our goal is to make ( it) simpler to have a healthy, happy home,” Spencer said.

But healthy doesn’t mean it has to break the bank, she said. The pair worked toward marketing a natural product the general population would adopt but recognized that in today’s slumped economy that meant offering a product that also came with a competitive price.

“We want to make sure it’s accessible to everyone, not just people who can spend the extra money,” she said.

The eco-friendly concept also extends to the packaging. Most of the household products are premeasured powder pods and contain no water. I t saves on transportation and fuel costs because it weighs less. The exterior packaging is also designed to weigh less. Instead of jugs, the company uses 98 percent less plastic with a pouch package.

The packaging for all products is recyclable or biodegradable.

Spencer and Edell also want their customers to trust the health benefits of the product, so they label each ingredient on the pouch in big lettering and use clear packaging so the customer can see what is inside.

“I want total transparency,” Spencer said. “In our industry, most of the companies don’t disclose what is in their product. They can make claims that something is healthy, but you don’t know if they’re hiding something. We wanted it to be clear and be different than everyone else in the industry even though there’s no requirement for it.” O ne of the signature traits of GrabGreen products is the fragrance line, which includes combinations such as tangerine with lemongrass, thyme with fig leaf and lavender with vanilla.

Edell pointed out the health benefits of eliminating the more common cleaners from a home, many of which use astringent chemicals.

“There is a reason why more people are having disabilities and allergies,” Edell said. “People are introducing chemicals to their environment and we’re sensitive to it. If you’re cleaning your bathroom and it says you have to open your windows or you’ll pass out, there’s something wrong with that.”

“You can smell the difference,” Spencer said.

GrabGreen products are available locally at Lassen’s Health Food in Ventura, the Traveling Mop in Agoura Hills, Ralphs in Newbury Park and Simi Valley, and Fred’s Home Store, Bristol Farms and Gelson’s Market in Westlake. Residents can also purchase the products at the company’s headquarters in Camarillo at 4620 Calle Quetzal.

“We’re in this for the long haul, and we ask customers just to try our product once to see if they like it,” Edell said. “This is a concept we’re very passionate about.”