Well I guess I’ve drawn a line in the sand now, and Fridays are now Product Review Fridays! (And just to put in a disclaimer, these are personal reviews, not the opinion of Greener One, and I’m not affiliated with the makers of anything I’ll review here.)
I’m kicking off this regular blog feature with a product that I’ve just started using recently, Trader Joe’s Liquid Laundry Detergent. This product isn’t in Greener One, but I did put in a request to have it added.
In terms of clothes-cleaning, I really like this product. The smell is very clean and light, with a hint of lavender (it contains lavender oil, but it is not overpowering in the least). I actually like the smell so much that I hold the wet clothes up to my face and breathe in before tossing them in the dryer. It also seems to clean as well as any other detergents I’ve used in the past: Tide, Arm & Hammer, some generic stuff that I found in my sister’s garage, and Persil.
On the environmental side, this is a product that a green neurotic like me can feel OK about bringing home, at least insofar as the packaging claims go. So, let’s drill down on that, now that I bought the stuff and have used it on a few loads:
Packaging and Recycling: The jug is made from #2 plastic, which means it is made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). While this is a petroleum-based plastic, it is one of the most commonly recycled types of plastic. Because I have to climb 85 steps to get to my apartment, I chose a small jug; however, you only need to use a little bit for a standard load, so this jug will still last me a good while.
Ingredients: Per the label, this product contains Plant Based Surfactants, Earth Salts, Soy Based Fabric Softener, Cellulose Optical Brightener, Lavender Oil, and Water. Of these, two things jump out at me: surfactants and optical brightener. (Actually, “water” jumps out at me too, since it probably would have been smarter to find a powder-based detergent, but that’s another topic entirely.)
Surfactants can cause a whole host of problems, though plant-based ones do have a lighter impact. Since the ingredient list is vague about exactly what plant-based surfactant is being used, I really can’t judge. However, I did dig this up on the Green Guide in the article Virtuous Cycles by senior editor Emily Main:
Still, detergent manufacturers have yet to find a perfectly healthy replacement for LAS, NPEs and other APE surfactants. Alcohol ethoxylates derived from plant and vegetable oils have a lighter impact but are created using a process called “ethoxylation,” which produces the probable human carcinogen 1,4-dioxane as a byproduct. Present in very small amounts in the final product, dioxane poses a serious cancer risk when inhaled at high levels in occupational settings.
Optical brighteners cause rashes and eye irritations, and are toxic to fish and other plant and animal life. But what is the impact if optical brightener is made from cellulose rather than petroleum or synthetics? I haven’t been able to find an answer to that specific question, but I can tell you that “cellulose optical brightener” is found in other “green” products, such as ECOS. Synthetic and petroleum optical brighteners also are not biodegradable, but Trader Joe’s Liquid Laundry Detergent claims to be 100% biodegradable. Since Trader Joe’s is using a cellulose optical brightener rather than a synthetic or petroleum-based, and since the product is biodegradable, I can only assume that the its brightener is OK.
A Few Other Claims: Cruelty Free – great! No Phosphates – good, but they have been phased out of laundry detergents already. I suppose it still makes sense to put it on the label since other household products still do contain phosphates. 100% Biodegradable – good, but is it 100% readily biodegradable?
So what is my overall assessment? I like the product and it seems to be pretty good environmentally, though like many things, there is probably an alternative that is greener still. What are your favorite detergents with a low environmental impact?
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Greener One
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April 18, 2008 at 11:44 am |
[...] only on occasion.) I also want to say that I like TJ’s products generally, such as their laundry detergent and honey oatmeal soap. The dish soap is just a miss for me. If anyone knows of a great green dish [...]
August 28, 2008 at 3:19 pm |
An optical brightener is a substance that fluoresces under
ultraviolet light, and hence makes the fabric appear brighter. Now if some
optical brighteners cause rashes or irritation, or are poisonous to fish, that
is an incidental property.
Cellulose is naturally fluorescent under ultraviolet light, and has none of
the side effects that you mention. The best choice, of course, would be to
leave it out of the laundry soap entirely, but optical brighteners have been
used for a very long time, and in a side-by-side comparison the soap without
the brighteners would probably lose.
I’m more bothered by “earth salts”. It sounds like ignorant greenwashing to
me, so I question the intent of the labelling.
August 28, 2008 at 5:02 pm |
Dan, thanks for the info on cellulose brighteners. I’m not sure of the intent behind “earth salts”, unless to distinguish for some reason from sea salts. Salt itself is widely recommended for natural cleaning around the house, so I admit it didn’t set off any alarm bells for me.
September 16, 2008 at 7:15 am |
Hi, I just came across your blog. I read the comment about the salts and I might have the answer to your question. I do formulary and have been doing so for the last 15 years. The reason why the salts are in the detergent is probably as a thickener to the formula. With certain surfactants, and being held in a liquid suspension if you add salt at a certain percentage it will thicken the solution. So, instead of the formula being thin like water, it has some body to it. Thickened product unfortunately is what consumers are used to. Salt is often used in most solutions including body washes and shampoo and of course laundry detergents.
I hope that answers why salt is in your laundry detergent.
September 16, 2008 at 9:54 am |
Charity, thank you for the information!
October 13, 2008 at 9:28 am |
Molly,
I thought you might be interested in two new energy saving products from Black and Decker: The Smart Scan and The Power Monitor. The SmartScan is a portable automotive diagnostic tool that tells you what is wrong with your car when your check engine light comes on.
The Power Monitor tells a homeowner, in real-time, how much electricity they use, in dollars and cents, and can help a consumer save up to 20% on their monthly electric bills.
If you would like, I can also send you some press releases. Email back if you’d like to test either of these products.
Best,
Terri Daly
Black & Decker
December 19, 2008 at 6:58 am |
Fantastic review. look at here on the website.
lots of new hypoallergic ones are there.
September 30, 2009 at 12:47 pm |
the most natural detergent is soap nuts. pure soapyness without any chemicals. maggies’s soap nuts among other brands make em. they don’t smell nice, so i create a soap solution and mix it with a little regular detergent but I suppose you could add some natural oils to the soap solution.