You may not look forward to laundry day, but sooner or later, it arrives. The detergent you use can impact your health and the watersheds where you live.
What follows are some resources for selecting products that are better for people and the planet. But a word of caution is in order. There is no standard definition for an “eco-friendly laundry detergent.” With the many chemical-sounding ingredients in laundry products, there is disagreement about which products are truly safe and the impacts of specific substances.
What is eco-friendly laundry detergent?
One place to start when looking for an eco-friendly laundry detergent is the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Safer Choice” label. The agency uses this label for products that say, “perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment.”
However, research has found that some products with this label may be contributing to plastic pollution. Safer Choice products can be searched for by type of product name.
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that researches toxic chemicals and pollutants, also provides an extensive list of laundry products that it rates on an A to F scale. Products that receive an A were found to have “Few/no known or suspected hazards to health or the environment. Good ingredient disclosure.” There are also EWG Verified products that meet “EWG’s strictest standards for health and transparency.”
Consumer Reports tested a handful of laundry detergents. They found they were all free of harmful chemicals like 1,4-dioxane, a possible carcinogen, and phthalates, which have been linked to health problems like asthma, breast cancer, and type II diabetes, and heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, and lead.
Consumer Reports said two detergents, All Stainlifters Free & Clear and Seventh Generation Free & Clear Sensitive Skin, not only lacked the harmful chemicals they tested for but also provided a list of all ingredients. Companies sometimes hide ingredients with the word “fragrances”, which can be problematic for those with allergies who need to avoid specific triggers.
It’s recommended to use concentrated forms of laundry detergent to cut down on waste from packaging.
Why use eco-friendly laundry detergent?
Some detergents contain chemicals potentially harmful to humans, like those Consumer Reports listed. Some products contain substances that can persist in the environment, harming plants and wildlife and affecting drinking water.
USA Today recommends looking for eco-friendly laundry detergents with plant-based surfactants, the ingredients that loosen dirt from clothing. These include coconut oil, palm and palm kernel oil and olive oil. These substances are biodegradable and less likely to harm plants and wildlife, whereas products with petroleum-based surfactants can contain microplastics, which have been associated with health problems like reproductive problems, tissue inflammation and liver damage in humans and digestive tract damage in fish and invertebrates
“Environmental persistence of harmful chemicals is a major concern,” said David Ellerby, a scientist with USA Today. “It’s essential that ingredients are biodegradable, so at minimum they shouldn’t survive passage through a wastewater treatment plant or septic system, and if they do they should rapidly break down.”
Experts also recommend avoiding pods and dissolvable laundry sheets. Some of these can send dissolvable polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or microplastics into waterways, threatening wildlife. A study found that only around 25% of PVA is actually broken down at a wastewater treatment plant. However, the EPA has included some products with PVA on their Safer Choices list. Some experts say more studies are needed on PVA’s environmental and health effects, although it has generally been considered safe.
Consumer Reports advises avoiding products with common allergens, which can cause skin irritation. This includes ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), ethyl linalool, sodium and MEA alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium borate (tetraborate), and benzisothiazolinone.
Previously, many laundry detergents contained phosphates, which were low in toxicity, but contributed to harmful algal blooms. However, many states banned phosphate use in laundry detergent beginning in the 1970s. As a result, many companies stopped using phosphate in their products.
Does eco-friendly laundry detergent work?
USA Today found some eco-friendly laundry detergents worked about as well as other products. Their list includes Seventh Generation Concentrated Laundry Detergent (Free and Clear). However, several products on the list may contain PVA and one uses petroleum-derived ingredients.
The Australian consumer advocacy group Choice found there was a minimal difference between using hot and cold to wash clothes, while fabric softener was basically useless. So not only will washing in cold water without softener save you money, it will also achieve the same result.
How can I make eco-friendly laundry detergent?
Some advocate embracing the Little House on the Prairie vibe and making laundry detergent. One recipe advises using washing soda (different from baking soda, but similar), borax, and a bar of natural soap like Dr. Bronner’s. There are some health concerns around Borax and the Environmental Working Group does not approve. But washing soda and Dr. Bronner’s largely meet with EWG approval, and the recipe says borax can be replaced by using double the washing soda.
Where can I find eco-friendly laundry detergent and green dry cleaners?
Some of the products mentioned here can be found at chain drug stores, grocery stores, and health food stores. There are also growing options for those interested in “zero-waste” products, with some stores allowing customers to refill their own containers. These include Walking Lightly in Ferndale, which offers PVA-free laundry products.
Dry cleaners have often used harmful solvents to clean clothes, including perchloroethylene or perc, a likely human carcinogen. The San Francisco Environment Department recommends “professional wet cleaning” as an alternative to dry cleaning that uses harmful solvents. H20 Cleaners in Grosse Pointe Woods, Dubin Cleaners in Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield, Janet Davis Cleaners in Royal Oak and Martinizing Cleaners in numerous locations are among those who say they offer wet cleaning.