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Eric Ryan autographing copies of "Squeaky Green" designed to change your cleaning habits

Eric Ryan, co founder of Method and leader of "People Against Dirty" was on the stage this morning sharing the history of Method. "At our first meeting with Target's buyers they said we had a snowball's chance in hell, " Eric remarked, "so we made it look like a sex toy, and it worked." He went on to offer a more serious recommendation for the group to "Be authentic - share a culture, share a voice."

Method's lack of advertising dollars has led them to innovative ways to fuel media. "We create advocates not customers." Showing fan blogs and handmade thank-you cards made from used dryer sheets as examples, Eric explained that loyal users receive surprise kits of new Method products. Lately they've been creating pop-up stores that take toxic cleaning products from people and replace them with Method products. "When we threw things out at the pop-up store in PA the hazmat waste team showed up to pick up what we'd collected...why do we have these things in our house?"

Method's commitment to branding from the inside out starts with a Monday morning huddle that asks its employees "why are we here and what are we doing today?" Located in a high design, LEED certified workspace with a penchant for cool titles ("Head Plastic Surgeon" instead of "Materials Specialist"), they also seem to encourage dressing up. "We have a lot of wigs."