Where supermarkets or home stores once carried only heavy chemical solvents for the bath and kitchen, a standard array of soaps and detergents and rows of plastic, disposable diapers, Earth-friendly products now abound.

But sometimes those environmentally compatible options can be confusing to a consumer or small business owner just starting to go “green.”

Where does one start? Which product is better? What’s the most important change to make?

Clover Green Supply Company, a retail store in Batavia devoted to products that are eco-friendly, is trying to answer those questions.

Open only since November, the new store carries soaps, shampoos and personal care, home cleaning products, pet products, office products, clothing and a huge line of baby products, from diapers to toys.

But perhaps more important that the one-stop shopping Clover offers is the skill-set the store teaches.

Manager Pam Kabureck, a former teacher, has helped structure the retail store to educate customers and aid their buying decisions.

“We have some customers who come in highly educated and who know exactly what they want,” she said. “But our other customers know they want to do better environmentally, but they aren’t sure how to begin.”

Throughout the store are informational posters that answer such consumer questions as “Why choose products made from soy?” or “What does sustainable really mean?” or “What is fair-trade certified?” The store also offers handouts on how to recycle products from the home and office, and defines what is considered “hazardous waste.”

“We try to answer they whys, so people understand the choices they are making,” Kabureck said. “The education also helps market the store, and aids in return customers.

“People are trying to understand who we are and what we do,” she said. “If we can help them understand why choosing greener products is important, they’ll come back for more.”

To help out customers, Kabureck and staff put together starter kits. Already designed and package-priced, the kits take the guesswork out of green shopping, and get the novice environmentalist on the path to a greener home or workplace.

In fact, there is an entire package set up for “greening up a small business, as well as a brochure of educational information designed with small business in mind.

“A lot of businesses want to start being more environmentally responsible,” she said. “It’s good for business. Employees like it, customers like it.”

The Clover Green business packages start under $50 and include such items as facial and bathroom tissue, hand sanitizer, soaps, all-purpose clearers, hand towels and garbage bags, all biodegradable, recycled and recyclable and non-toxic. There are even packs of flatware and drinking cups made from corn.

“A lot of companies are taking a personal inventory of their business practices, and asking what they can do to make their business a little greener?” Kabureck said. “These business packages are so easy to use, and a great way to start the process.”

The packages have become so popular, she said, that her staff has also they have also begun marketing them as gifts for housewarming, new baby, raffles and more.

When the store opened in November, Kabureck and the store’s five member staff were already under significant pressure. They wanted to make the store reflect their green philosophy, so they put in a new bamboo floor, and repainted with safe coat paint. But all the while they were repairing and renovating, there were knocks at the door.

“They kept asking us ‘Why aren’t you open yet? We can’t wait. I really need to find this product’”, she said.

So Clover did something they hadn’t planned on. The store was opened before it was stocked. About 50 percent of the shelves were full the day the doors opened, and the reception was more than warm, Kabureck said.

But having a store unfinished was actually a blessing in disguise, she said.

“We were able to see where the demand took us,” Kabureck said. “Customers came in asking for products we had never even thought of, and some have become our biggest sellers.”

One line that has really grown is baby products. Due to the demand by environmentally conscious mothers in the area, Clover’s line of baby products has grown by 80 percent since its opening in November.

“Our neighbors at Trader Joe’s (located right next door) suggested we carry organic baby food, something a lot of their customers had been looking for but that wasn’t carried there. We did, and the baby line has just taken off.”

And appeal is widening, Kabureck said, thanks not only to the store’s location near Trader Joe’s, which appeals to many of Clover’s customer base, but also thanks to the larger environmental causes that have become prominent over the past year.

“While we were pressured to open quickly, we really opened too late,” she said. “The demand was there from the moment we put up the sign.”

And now, word of mouth marketing and direct mail is keeping awareness of the store going strong.

“It’s amazing how far people come to shop here,” she said. “I have customers from Rock Island, from Sycamore. We just have products they can’t seem to find in any other stores.”

That led the Clover team to jump-start another project, originally slated for later this year, its Web site.

“We always had a Web page,” Kabureck said. “But now, customers can order our products online and have them shipped, delivered to their businesses free, or made ready for pickup.”

Additionally, the store offers dry cell battery recycling, yet another customer request, and is planning events for Earth Day in April, and a children’s summer camp for later this year. The store is planning a line of seasonal products for gardening and composting, and the owners are also discussing the possibility of expansion to other stores in the suburban market.

“As we grow, I am sure our expansion will continue to be led by our customers,” said Kabureck. “We have been so embraced by the community. People are really ready to do something good.”

“If things continue to go as well as they have so far,” she said, “who knows what’s in store for us?”