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7 least toxic laundry detergents
Of the 271 general purpose laundry detergents the Environmental Working Group evaluated, only 7 scored a rating of A.
Tue, Nov 20 2012 at 12:08 PM
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Photo: Sweeter Lemon/Flickr
Of all the cleaning supplies we sprinkle, splash, and spray in our homes, laundry detergent may be one of the more insidious. It’s subtle. It acts like it’s playing nicely, cleans your clothes and leaves them smelling fresh and fragrant, but more often than not it’s imbuing your clothes and linens with synthetic chemicals and flooding the wastewater with chemical residues that do nothing but harm to the environment. It’s such a backstabber.
United States law allows makers of cleaning products to use almost any ingredient they want to, including known carcinogens and substances that can harm fetal and infant development. According to the well-respected consumer watchdog group, Environmental Working Group (EWG), government agencies and independent research institutions do not adequately evaluate the safety of numerous substances found in cleaning products. Although government scientific and regulatory agencies are starting to focus somewhat on chemicals suspected of causing cancer, they still lack in paying attention to substances that may be toxic to the brain and nervous system, the hormone system and other organs.
Which is where EWG steps in. The organization’s scientists have exhaustively analyzed 2,109 products, 197 brands and more than 1,000 ingredients and compared them with the information available in the top government, industry and academic toxicity databases and the scientific literature on health and environmental problems tied to cleaning products. The result is a comprehensive guide, EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which rates these products on a scale of A to F. Scoring factors are determined by low concern for general ecotoxicity; biodegradation; and general systemic/organ effects.
Of the 271 general purpose laundry detergents they evaluated, only seven scored a rating of A. Here they are:
1. Seventh Generation Natural Powder Laundry Detergent, Real Citrus & Wild Lavender
2. Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Pure-Castile Soap, Peppermint
3. Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Pure-Castile Soap Baby Mild
4. Seventh Generation Natural Powder Laundry Detergent, White Flower & Bergamot Citrus
5. Martha Stewart Clean Laundry Detergent
6. Green Shield Organic Laundry Detergent, Free & Clear
7. Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent Powder, Free & Clear
2. Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Pure-Castile Soap, Peppermint
3. Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Pure-Castile Soap Baby Mild
4. Seventh Generation Natural Powder Laundry Detergent, White Flower & Bergamot Citrus
5. Martha Stewart Clean Laundry Detergent
6. Green Shield Organic Laundry Detergent, Free & Clear
7. Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent Powder, Free & Clear
For the complete list, see the laundry section of the guide. You can also make your own, like the batch pictured above, try Sweeter Lemon's homemade formula.
This story was originally written for Treehugger. Copyright 2012.
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Dr. Bronner's peppermint is my ultimate favorite cleaning soap. It smells great and wakes me up while I clean! I use it for all my cleaning purposes.
I'm with Doug. Cannot believe Shaklee Fresh Laundry did not make the list. Totally non-toxic and a POWERFUL clean unlike the others.
Yes. Soapnuts are wonderful and I have been using them for a while now without any problems. Here is a link about my experience with soapnuts.
http://thegreenminimalist.blogspot.com/2012/09/easy-laundry.html
Pity you didn't include soapnuts on that list.
Umm I don't understand how this is an article about laundry soap with low toxicity with a link to " make your own" being that the make your own contains a highly dangerous ingredient that scores an "F" in toxicity. I had to double check when I saw the ingredients list BORAX? Highly toxic. This doesn't make sense...
Also, Borax is only poisonous if consumed and is not the same as Boric Acid as the two have different molecular formulae.
something about borax and fertility of males?
Borax isn't that bad, it is the Fels Naptha that many people use, that I would avoid.
love ... love Dr.Bronner's .. and all their messages*! a true artist & visionary, a company now directed by his son who refuses to sell out to larger companies who would only fill their products with toxic synthetic chemicals and greed. So many good reasons to feel clean about these pure soaps.
I pretty much only use Dr. Bronners, Vinegar, and Baking Soda. I use the castile soap's for myself, and the sal suds for cleaning, washing, etc. Love that stuff.
OK, I don't understand why Shaklee Get Clean wasn't listed. There is noting toxic about it and it works just as well if not better then the regular toxic detergents one finds in the supermarkets.
Why are you using A&H washing powder when you're trying to make your own? And OxyClean is only washing soda with sodium percarbonate to make it fizz (and grossly overpriced).
All you need to make a really good washing powder (or liquid) is Borax, Washing Soda and grated household soap