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I cannot stand those scent beed things in the form of Unstoppables or Fragrance Burst. I have a blog on eco and natural cleaning and as part of the research for it I have looked into a lot of the ingredients - you'd be horrified with some of the stuff in them. Some very questionable ingredients indeed.
 
:(

I really like them, but I do have a worry in the back of my mind, what are all the chemicals doing over time?

Have you got a link to your blog, if you wouldn't mind sharing?
 
I'm off...

To check the powder detergent boxes against the liquids :) Did not know that it is usually only the liquids that carry the "harmful to aquatic life".
 
Very interesting blog Chris! :)

On the eco side of things, I did make my own washing powder a few weeks ago, but I actually made my own soap to use in it rather than buy soap and I think it works better.
 
Not managed,

To look at all of it yet, but have you ever come across the AlmaWin range at all.

I can defo go eco on cleaning products, I have used a lot of them over the years (Method, Ecover etc).

However, Laundry wise, I find it really, really hard to make the switch, wasn't crazy on Ecover powder or liquid and whilst Method's Fresh Air detergent smelt nice, it just did not feel like doing laundry when using it.

Remember using Ecos and OxoBrite stuff too.

When I was using eco stuff, the website BigGreenSmile was a good go to for all stuff like that, as not only do they do cleaning, but personal care stuff too (Shampoos, soaps etc)

 
Liam, all of my cleaning products and cosmetic products come from BigGreenSmile. And like you, the only product I'm not completely eco on is the laundry detergent. Everything else, from shampoo to bin bags, is eco-friendly.
 
Ah right,

Will have to have a look on Big green - been years since I purchased anything from there.

As you may have seen on here, Tide have just come up with a "green" (well as green as p&g are gonna get) detergent. Wonder what it's like and if we will see anything of the same from Ariel. And as you say upthread, if we do, we may see something similar from Persil.
 
I definitely will Chris! I've made it before but I watched some soap making videos and made some soap and it worked much better! When I make my next batch I'll send you some soap :)

I mentioned upthread I bought some Almat Bio powder yesterday, whilst it is amazing at cleaning and it's overall brilliant, what I specifically love is how NONE of Aldi's own brand stuff is tested on animals. That is one factor that swayed me to buy a box of it, also the cheap price.
 
I've been using Eco cleaning and laundry products since October 2015, in fact I spent a good chunk of that time most of the different products available. Initially I wanted cruelty free products, P&G and Unilever both have an appalling record regarding animal testing. On my search for cruelty free products I started to look into the chemicals, particularly scent chemicals, in mainstream products and was horrified that I'd been exposing myself , my family and my pet to a cocktail of carcinogens, hormone disruptors, human immune system toxicants and substances that can make mood disorders worse.

Anyway, my favourite laundry product I tried was from a company from New Zealand ( sadly no longer in business ) . They did a concentrated washing powder in a self dosing bottle, it had 4 enzymes but no OBA's or oxy bleach. They sold a whitening powder and a liquid delicates wash too. I've found a lot of Eco laundry products just don't smell that nice . I think Ecover concentrated laundry liquid is one of the best you can get in the UK, I'm not super fond of the smell but it's bearable. Attitude do a great range of laundry, cleaning and personal care products but they're hard to come by here. They are available at Ocafo if they deliver to your area. It seems the USA have a far better selection of green laundry products and , unlike here, a few are biological. Ecos have just come out with two bio detergents in the US , hopefully they'll make it over here, the new packaging looks more "mainstream too. I love Method products, the added bonus is I can get them in the supermarket. The laundry liquid is very effective, a bit too effective as I've found it weakens cotton, I've had holes appear in t shirts , tea towels and buttons fallin off things. Hopefully they'll bring out their 4x concentrated detergent here, you can get it in the US and Australia, it comes in several scents too.
 
Animal testing...

This is the big clincher for me. I really don't want to use Animal tested products.

P&G historically had an horrific record of animal testing I am sure, but now, they commit to no animal testing on their non drug or food products, unless required by law. Even PETA recognise P&G for this.

And upon checking the safety data sheets, none of their actual finished products do end up getting tested. The ingredients that have been tested (and not even necessarily by them) are ingredients found in drugs and even food (preservatives and the like). So it becomes impossible to avoid.

Yes they sell in China, but a lot of the testing for that country (as it is required by law for all products) is carried out by government regulated firms, not usually the manufacturer, whoever that may be.

Looking around the web, of course you can get very conflicting information. Unilever actually appear to be a little (well a lot from one source) worse for animal testing, but they deal with a lot more food products than P&G (Knorr, I can't believe it's not butter, PG Tips etc). They also say they will commit to animal testing if the ingredient is "novel". PG have made no such commitment.

Of course, I can't wait for the day when no animal testing is carried out.

PETA Link:

http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/...why-is-it-still-included-on-the-do-test-list/

Ariel MSDS, showing the product was only given a calculated LD50 (animal test) and the ingredients that have been tested (which could have been by PG or elsewhere, and done under a different product (drug, food etc):

 
It's the whole ethics of P&G and Unilever that I have a problem with, not just on the animal testing front.

The Ethical Consumer site is a great scourge of information.

www.ethicalconsumer.org

Laundry Detergents | Ethical Consumer

Find the best eco friendly and sustainable laundry detergents for your clothes. Includes brands of fabric softener. Ethical and environmental ratings of 34 brands of laundry cleaning products. In this guide we compare washing powders, liquids, sheets and capsules plus fabric softeners to find...
www.ethicalconsumer.org www.ethicalconsumer.org
 
I forgot to mention

The biggest problem I have with mainstream cleaning, laundry and cosmetic products is the toxic ingredients used. Air fresheners and " last for days" smelling fabric softeners are among the worst offenders. Manufacturers use these chemicals as they're cheap, thankfully EU regulations on labeling mean that hazzerdous or harmful chemical have to be listed ( with the exception of the loose term parfum). In the USA where labeling is less stringent P&G have got into trouble for using known carcinogens that were actually banned in some of their products.
 
Thanks

Yes I remember there being a big stink in the US over Tide as it contained 1.4 dioxine which is a known carcinogen. After a lot of press coverage and the like, they did remove it from the ingredients.

I do worry about the long term effects of some of the chemicals (as mentioned upthread). So do try to judiciously use products.
 
The reason why I'm loving using Aldi laundry products at the moment is because they're not tested on animals. There are some products that I love using made by P&G that are really hard to give up using, but I do like to thought of using less products tested on animals or full of horrible chemicals.

Oh and Chris, I'm going to be making another batch of laundry soap in the next few days hopefully. Send me a Facebook PM with your address and I'll send you a bar along with the recipe I use. :)
 
@paulc, we seem to be sharing very similar approach.
Recently found out Frosch started distributing their products here; only a limited number of items but they claim it will expand.
I have to admit to missing their laundry powders and dishwasher tablets, they were close to perfect back in Europe. Ordered a bottle of the Apple Color detergent, we'll see how it performs. Have you ever tried it?

So far Ecover powder proves itself to be a stellar performer for whites and colorfast clothing. Used to use OxoBrite to boost bleaching but Vaska Oxygen Bleach tablets are way ahead. According to ingredients they contain a bleach activator, which is ridiculously hard to find in the "natural" selection.
Also like Ecover liquid; doesn't fade, washes very well (except stubborn oil stains - but ring around the collar or mineral sunscreen is removed even in lukewarm water), also contains cellulase so no fuzzy cotton unmentionables syndrome.

Vaska is pretty good, but having had used it for so long I felt forced to switch things up.

Seventh Generation, on the other hand, just doesn't cut it. Found it to fade darks quite visibly and underperform in lower temperatures. Same with Ecos, sudsy mess with mediocre results.

Problem with 1.4 dioxane is that it isn't really an ingredient - in most cases it's formed during the process of manufacturing - hence no need to disclose it on the ingredients list, whether or not the manufacturer actually decided to provide one. Unless a product is tested and found to be dioxane free it's hard to judge from the bottle.
 

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