‘Non-Toxic’ Detergent Brand Caused Bacterial Infections, Lawsuit Claims

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mattl

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<blockquote>
 A new class-action lawsuit against The Laundress’ parent company, Unilever, quietly filed over the Thanksgiving holiday, alleges serious harm to customers who used the luxury brand’s various fabric soaps and cleansers, according to documents obtained by Rolling Stone. The plaintiff, Margaret Murphy, filed on behalf of herself and “more than 100 class members” in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Neither Unilever nor The Laundress immediately returned Rolling Stone‘s requests for comment.

The 38-page suit compiles horror stories shared on Instagram and Reddit by people who now attribute illnesses ranging from skin rashes to life-threatening septic shock to bacteria in The Laundress’ line of soaps, which are sold at a premium as biodegradable, plant-based, and free of harsh chemical agents. As the document notes, one gallon of their “Signature Detergent” costs approximately $94.

 

</blockquote>
Wow, $94/gal and a chance to get an infection. That is why I have ZERO respect for "influencers", the latest internet scammers.

www.rollingstone.com

'Non-Toxic' Detergent Brand Caused Bacterial Infections, Lawsuit Claims

Unilever faces a lawsuit over The Laundress' 'non-toxic' detergents, allegedly contaminated with bacteria.
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com
 
I have used these products for years...

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">...and I am really disappointed by all this.  These products really work as well as they claim they do.  For years I have used either their products or the detergent via the AutoDos in my washer and I keep going back to these because they work.  What they do to whites with a minimum of detergent is like no other product I have used and they have a nice pleasant scent that is not overwhelming.  I buy the products when they have promotions so I have never paid $94 for a gallon of detergent.  I never would.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Anyway, I have been notified I will be reimbursed for any affected product I purchased in 2021 to date.  I have not had to inventory anything I have or anything to that affect they just said they will pull my purchases from their system because I bought all my product via their website.  I am really conflicted on what I will do next.  I have psoriasis and so many off the shelf products have one thing or another that bother my skin.  These products never did.  I guess we'll see what happens next......</span>
 
Wow

Jason and I outwork see the horrors of these eco-detergent products almost every week and what they do to peoples machines I am not a fan.

Give me chemicals and bleach and good hot water to wash clothing in any day.

Companies like Procter & Gamble are not going to sell products that people are allergic to or get harmed by. It’s mostly in their head when people say they can’t stand the scent etc. of detergents there’s simply not washing the clothing properly or rinsing it properly if it’s bothersome to them.

We see machines every week that are full of mold and they sit there and say I can’t use scented detergents because I’m allergic to them when in fact, they’re probably allergic to mold lol

If you have any of these products that are being recalled, I would imagine they would be safe as long as you bleach the items as well. To kill anything that might be harmful in them.

John
 
Looks like Unilever bought Laundress about 3 years ago---tbh I could see contamination in the older products (that were, probably, to be charitable, a bit artisan...) but Unilever (along with P&G, Henkel, ...) knows how to make sh@@ so it stays fresh and usable (or caveats it with best before dates up the wazoo).
 
This does not surprise me at all!! I don’t think it’s people looking for money either. Anyone who spends that kind of money on laundry detergent isn’t hurting financially. I would never use this detergent now due to the lawsuit.

For the most part, the whole process of laundry has changed for the average person. HE machines, concentrated detergents that are nothing like the detergents and machines of yesteryear.
I found this out after I had a horrible experience with Gain detergent about 4 years ago, it wasn’t funny and it frightened me. Very. Very lucky I didn’t end up in ER. I actually can see why many detergents can effect the reproduction system.

Barry
 
The Laundress brand is more or less a green washed livestyle brand that sells overpriced conventional products in handsome bottles to the rich.
They use stuff like synthetic musk compounds, polymeres (liquid microplastics) or the controversial preservative benzisothiazolinone, non of these a seriously green eco product could possibly contain.
For an American brand they offer a vast amount of detergents designed for delicates which makes them kind of unique.
If you wash your "dry clean only" clothes with "The Laundress" products you eliminate the chemicals of dry cleaning is about the only "non toxic" claim they make.
Their detergent for babies lists four known scent allergens. Go figure...but no one would spend that kind of money if a product wouldn`t smell nice.

It looks like Unilever doesn`t bother producing those small batches in their big factories so they probably kept a garage company they bought up and they don`t seem to work to the desired hygiene standards. Yuck!
 
One has very little patience with what are commonly referred to as "fraus" nowadays, but in this instance Unilever may have helped things along and left themselves wide open to legal action.

To wit:

"Luxury laundry and home cleaning company the Laundress has advised consumers to stop using all Laundress products, including its laundry detergents for delicates and for baby clothes, as well as its surface cleaner, because of “the potential presence of elevated levels of bacteria.” The company does not recommend throwing its products away, because consumers looking for reimbursement or replacement may need proof of purchase first. "

https://www.consumerreports.org/pro...umers-to-stop-using-its-products-a1227857835/

https://www.modernretail.co/operati...-detection-of-bacteria-in-laundress-products/

Something obviously went terribly wrong in manufacturing or distribution process, and result was bacterial contamination. Fact that it occurred across nearly entire product line speaks to something related to where Laundress products were produced.

All this being said liquid cleaning, personal care and so forth products are notoriously difficult to formulate, produce, distribute and keep (as in shelf life) due to issues of bacteria contamination and or spoilage.

One gets fed up to back teeth reading countless reviews from offended persons that purchased this or that "green" or whatever liquid product only to find it contains serious amounts of preservatives and antimicrobial chemicals. Well they would wouldn't they? Otherwise stuff would barely last several months in distribution or shop shelves.

As thing stand shelf life of liquid laundry products (detergents, fabric softeners, etc...) is only about two years. After that time period things can begin to break down resulting in poor performance. This and or microbes can begin to grow and other bad things.

Many have gone for a bottle of say fabric softener not often used only to find it has turned into a gloppy mess not unlike badly made Hollandaise sauce. No amount of shaking or other actions will restore product to previous state. Scent has gone away or doesn't last... so there you are.

Powder laundry and other cleaning products are far more shelf stable. Long as they are kept cool and dry contamination becomes less of a worry because they don't contain much or any water/moisture. [this post was last edited: 11/29/2022-18:36]
 
Furthermore...

There is no such thing as a "non-toxic" cleaner, laundry detergent and so forth.

Soap, vinegar, borax, sodium carbonate, sal soda, sodium metasilicate, soda ash, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide are all to some extent toxic.

One isn't quite sure what these people expect. They seem to want products that offer same level of performance as say Tide laundry detergent, but believe things should be made from pixie dust, moonbeams and unicorn horns, anything that won't cause "harm".

I say give them all a bar of soap and point them in direction of nearest body of water with a shoreline that has some rocks.
 
Ingredients

Show sodium lauryl sulfate as second to water on ingredient list?
So it’s a type of detergent..
What a mess!
You’d be better off with real soap and a little Borax
 
Well, it`s not like natural preservatives in liquid preparations didnt`t exist.
Ecover use huge amounts of alcohol in their liquid detergents which could be considered "non toxic" but of course it isn`t cheap.
Their FS`s contain a combination of p-anisic and lactic acid maybe not so "non toxic" but both occur naturally in foods we consume.
On the other hand plain water can be toxic too in the right amounts, so of course one could argue there is no such thing like non toxic cleaning products.

The scary thing is whatever preservative is used it must not only result in a shelf life of at least 2,5 years or a best before date, it is usually also tested how a product copes with some contamination from daily use.
So whatever pathogens they found in those products that survived preservation indicates that something extremely filthy was going on in the manufacturing process.
I think I won`t buy anything from Unilever for a while!
 

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