Laundry and Dish Products
What to look for
Cleaning your clothes and dishes with earth-friendly products is a lot easier than you may think. There are a few ingredients to avoid altogether and a few to look for to provide the most environmentally friendly products available.
Don’t buy products with phosphates. Used because they reduce water’s hardness and prevent dirt from being re-deposited, phosphates were eliminated from most products due to a knack for promoting eutrophication in water. They are still present in some dishwasher and laundry detergents. Algae feed on the nutrients that phosphates provide, causing a population explosion. The increase in algae depletes oxygen, and native fish species die off. While this is a natural process, usually taking thousands of years to complete, water pollution accelerates it. Eventually it can lead to water that can’t support life at all, first becoming a bog, and then disappearing altogether into land.
Non-renewable petroleum -based ingredients can be replaced with plant-based ingredients like coconut, soy or palm oil-based surfactants.
Many truly green products will come in recycled or recyclable containers. Ecover (whose dish detergent tablets were rated the number two overall detergent in a test by Consumer reports), Trader Joe’s, Seventh Generation and Method all make different variations of eco-friendly products.
Laundry
Steer clear of optical brighteners, also called optical bleaches or fluorescent whitening agents. They are chemicals that absorb invisible ultraviolet light and release it back as a visible blue-white light. Brighteners hide yellowing and increase the amount of light reflected to the eye, making fabric appear brighter and whiter. The big issue with brighteners is their environmental impact. These chemicals can endanger aquatic life including fish and cause bacteria to mutate. They are slow to biodegrade and can remain in waterways for some time. Optical brighteners will cause skin irritations in certain situations.
Chlorine bleach (often found in a range of household cleaning supplies) should also be avoided. It not only irritates the eyes and lungs, but also creates a deadly gas when mixed with ammonia or acid-containing cleaners. It can cause burns and breathing problems, progressing if exposure is prolonged.
Always look for products free of artificial dyes and fragrances; they’re not only better for you, but the air as well. The best detergents are biodegradable.
