But that bleaching effect can also impact marine vegetation. And you just have to spend some time in a chlorinated swimming pool without goggles to understand this effect. Chlorine BleachĬhlorine is toxic even in small amounts. But those optical brighteners also have a direct toxic impact on marine life. There’s a reason detergents with these ingredients say that you have to keep it away from your eyes. These are generally quite irritating and not just to people with sensitive skin. When they enter natural waterways, they cause eutrophication which is a form of poisoning that kills marine animals. Phosphates are very common in laundry detergent products, and they generally don't get filtered out in water treatment plants. So, when your laundry detergent ends up in nature it can actually kill off vegetation. But did you also know that it’s a common organic herbicide?
#Laundry detergent skin
Sodium Laureth Sulfateįirst of all, this difficult to pronounce chemical compound can be harmful to the skin and is often the main reason people with sensitive skin have reactions to certain laundry detergents. Unfortunately, common also means harmful to the environment, and these are things that you don’t want to find on an eco-friendly laundry detergent label.
But the first thing you should do is check your existing stock of powder and liquid detergents.Īnd I’ve gathered a list of some ingredients that are very common in a traditional detergent. I’ll recommend eco-friendly laundry detergent products shortly. Watch Out for These Harmful Detergent Ingredients That ensures that it’s fully recyclable or gives you the option of composting it as well.īottom line, if there’s any indication that parts of the packaging will end up at a landfill, then stay away from the product altogether. These types of bottles are becoming more common so look out for them.Īlternatively, make sure that the plastic bottle is fully recyclable so that it doesn’t end up in a landfill.Īnd for powder laundry detergent, make sure that the packaging is plastic-free. The Packagingįirst of all, if you prefer buying a liquid laundry detergent, then ideally, you want it to come in plastic-free and compostable bottles. That means there is less carbon tied up in transport. They have a lower carbon footprint because the weight to dosage ratio is lower. The other thing to consider is using concentrated or powder laundry detergents. The problem with such laundry detergent ingredients is that they can end up in lakes, rivers, and groundwater because they are mostly not filtered out in water treatment plants. There should also be no chlorine bleach or brighteners as these almost always introduce chemicals into places where they don't belong. Generally speaking, this shouldn’t be in any detergent or soap that is biodegradable. So, the first thing you want to check is whether there is any phosphate. And when you look past the misleading advertising, you’ll often find stuff that isn’t great for the environment or your skin, for that matter.
OK, the first thing to look at is the chemical ingredients on the label. Switching to an eco-friendly laundry detergent is just as important.īut what does it actually mean? The Ingredients
What Makes A Laundry Detergent Eco-Friendly? Is It Just a Hoax?Īs mentioned above, making sure that your machine doesn’t contribute too much to climate issues is just one part of its environmental impact.