Eco-friendly cleaning products are moving up to those deluxe apartments in the sky.

I got a kick out a feature article in the New York Times [1] about how some Park Avenue socialites are having upscale Tupperware-like parties to introduce their friends to green cleaning products [1].

Ladies who lunch -- the guest list included names like Rockefeller and Trump -- recently got together to talk about the merits of non-toxic detergent and reasons to switch to biodegradable countertop wipes.

Chances are that most of these women haven't ever touched a cleaning product. (Scrubbing a bathtub can be hard on manicures, after all.) But at least their housekeepers are now likely to stock their cleaning buckets [1]with eco-sensitive products.

Considering that members of this crowd have several houses (and private jets to get them there), you may have questions about what they're really doing to reduce their massive carbon footprints. But their laundry room -- make that laundry rooms -- are now likely to be contain products that are safer for the environment. And we all have to start somewhere, right?

I doubt that green cleaning products will ever attain the objects-of-desire status as the next must-have handbag or ultra-exclusive jeans label. But it is does mean that non-toxic cleaners just got a certain upmarket cachet.

After reading the article, I admit that I was looking for a silver lining to come from raising the consciousness of those born with silver spoons. What I came up with this: Non-toxic cleaners -- and green lifestyles -- just got a seal-of-approval from high-soceity matrons. If a green lifestyle is coveted by Park Avenue sophisticates, it stands to reason that they'll spread the word to their friends as well as fashion & lifestyle editors at major magazines. Ultimately, the ethos will trickle down to your average housewife (whoever that is, anymore).

Even if that average housewife isn't terribly influenced by the cleaning habits of the rich and famous, I'm willing to bet that Wall Street will certainly see a potential market to tap into. And, if she hasn't already made the switch, it's only a matter of time before Martha Stewart starts touting the reasons to upgrade to eco-friendly cleaning products.

In fact, I'm embarrased to admit that my own laundry cabinets are stocked mostly with the mass-marketed toxic stuff that I've used all my life. Now that it's the thing to do, maybe I ought to replace my detergents and countertop spray with eco-friendly alternatives [1].

After all, I want my laundry cupboards to be classy too.