Natural cleaning products are not only favoured by consumers who are keen to save the environment.

This is the view of Richard Seireeni, author of The Gort Crowd, a book which looked at the reasons that people buy certain goods from sustainable and socially-conscious companies.

Writing for the Huffington Post, he claimed that while householders often choose to buy natural cleaning products for their eco-friendly credentials, this is not the main driver behind their sales.

In fact, the author stated that the majority of people purchase these goods because they are free from potentially harmful ingredients.

"For a majority of their most loyal customers … the primary driver of consumer choice turns out to be safety," he said.

Mr Seireeni added that most shoppers "simply want fewer toxic chemicals in their homes".

His comments come after market research firm Mintel predicted that environmentally-friendly goods such as natural cleaning products will see a surge in popularity in 2010.