Ethical cleaning service, Spotless Organic, will make rivals green with envy
Published: 11 June, 2010
by PETER GRUNER
A MOTHER of three from Archway is about to launch a new, so-called “ethical” cleaning company which only uses organic products and aims to take hundreds of people off the dole queues.
Hannah Jackson-Matombe, 41, a council tenant who has a law degree and is completeing a masters in human rights, will start recruiting at an event on Tuesday at the Archway Job Centre Plus.
Ms Jackson-Matombe, whose children are all under seven, says she was inspired by Prime Minister David Cameron when he spoke about everyone “taking joint responsibility for issues like unemployment and the environment”.
She describes her company, Spotless Organic – which she admits is being set up on a shoestring – as more than just the usual cleaning firm.
Her cleaners will wear a uniform, including a baseball cap and emblazoned T-shirt, and will work on a small pilot scheme in Islington and with the hope of launching across London.
She hopes her workforce will include people with special needs who would not normally find work available. She said: “All our cleaners will be CRB checked [Criminal Records Bureau], but just as importantly they will be people of all ages who actually enjoy the work.”
Another reason for setting up the company, she said, was her own poor experience with cleaners.
“I’ve had strangers letting themselves into my house, with a key provided by the agency,” she added. “They may have poor communication skills and are often not security checked. Then they disappear and you never see them again.
“As a mum with three children I’m not comfortable with this.”
She said her cleaners will be matched with a household and remain with them, starting with a six week trial period. Cleaning agents will also be recruited to liaise with households and check work.
Only “green” domestic cleaning products will be used because Ms Jackson-Matombe suspects that her own child’s eczema could have been triggered by a chemical product used in the home.
With customers being charged £15 an hour and cleaners earning £7.50 an hour, she hopes the scheme will be competitive. However, customers will be expected to sign a year-long contract.
The cleaners’ tasks will include everything from ironing and sorting out a sock drawer to recycling, cleaning a car and walking the dog.
“My research has shown there is a massive market out there for cleaners,” she added.
The website is being launched next week
The company launch is on Tuesday from 11am-2.30pm at the Job Centre Plus on Elthorne Road, Archway.