In my quest for replacing products in my house with eco-friendlier options, I recently bought a bottle of Trader Joe’s Next to Godliness Liquid Dish Soap in Mandarin Orange. This replaces a bottle of Joy dish soap that had been left in my cupboard by the previous tenant in the apartment that I am renting.
Now, I don’t mind using extra elbow grease to reduce my impact on the planet, but I just don’t find this product to be all that effective, and it is important that eco-friendly products work in order to be viable alternatives for most people. Case in point: I use a lot of olive oil in my cooking and to make my own salad dressings. The Next to Godliness dish soap does very little to clean oil off my plates and bowls, so I have to use extra soap and also use a clean towel to wipe off leftover oily residue. I have used other “green” brands in the past (Caldera, and, I think, Mrs. Meyers), and I don’t remember having this problem with them (though I can’t promise that, not having used them in over a year). I also find myself washing things like coffee cups and wineglasses twice, because one wash doesn’t get everything out. The bottle claims that the soap is concentrated, and that a little goes a long way. This was not the case in my experience; I often would use twice the amount that I would with the Joy that was left in the cupboard. On the positive side, the scent is very mild (derived from mandarin oil), and my hands are not overly dried out after doing dishes.
Ecologically speaking, Next to Godliness dish soap does have some strong advantages. First, it natural and naturally-derived ingredients, other than trace amounts of color. It is also biodegradable, cruelty-free, and comes in a recyclable bottle made from #1 plastic.
Bottom line: While this product strikes the right notes on an environmental front, it’s not a great product for someone like me who washes all her dishes by hand. (I think it would be fine for someone who normally uses a dishwasher and hand washes 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 soap — especially at a comparable price — please let me know in the Comments. At this rate of double-washing my dishes, I’ll need a new bottle soon!
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Greener One
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May 18, 2008 at 10:53 pm |
[...] Product Review: Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid Last month, I reviewed Trader Joe’s Next to Godliness Liquid Dish Soap. A number of things pleased me about the [...]
December 13, 2008 at 5:04 pm |
dish soap is crazy, I love how different brands bubble and how putting a dirty plate in the water and the dirt just lifts away…maybe thats weird. I just do.
February 19, 2009 at 12:54 am |
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/sdsi.htm
epa third party certified label
http://www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/label.cfm?LabelID=296&searchType=ProductArea&searchValue=Laundry%20Cleaners&refpage=productArea&refqstr=ProductCategoryID%3D328%26ProductAreaID%3D348
Certified biodegradable third party verified certified label
http://www.ecologo.org/en/seeourcriteria/details.asp?ccd_id=330
Canadian Ecologo, third party certified label
if’s it’s not third party… how would you know its not greenwashing?
-Chris