Clean manufacturing, pollution reduction, and waste minimization, have been in the limelight for the past decade as the best way to achieve industrial environmental. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory survey conducted of seven companies in the Central Massachusetts Region that have made the decision to approach the Surface Cleaning Lab (SCL or SCLab) of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) seeking a substitute for toxic chemicals they currently use. We examine the factors associated with the decision to approach the SCL, and the factors associated with the decision to implement the recommendation of the SCL. The strongest factors in their final decision to seek a substitute are regulatory in nature, as reported by the six companies. Only one of the seven companies report implementation of the recommendations made by the SCLab. The main determining factors for not implementing the recommendation were those associated with the quality of the substitute recommended, and employee satisfaction. This is one of the few studies that investigates motivational factors for substitutability for environmentally sensitive purposes.
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