![]() Instead, a niche market of biodegradable laundry sheets (also known as detergent strips) are greening up laundry aisles as an eco-friendly choice. ![]() How about powders? Sales have dissolved, and you’ll find very few brands on store shelves. Some pods are more expensive per load, too. (See our cautions about detergent pods, below.) Also, even the best pods, also known as packs, can’t match the cleaning power of CR’s top-rated liquid detergents. Although pods, also called laundry packs, are convenient to use, they present very real dangers if you have children in the house. Liquid detergents remain the most widely sold type. Henkel follows and is best known for Persil, and Church & Dwight sells Arm & Hammer and Xtra detergents. Procter & Gamble leads the pack, and its lineup includes Cheer, Gain, and Tide. In terms of sales, three manufacturers clean up, tallying up almost three-quarters of the money consumers spend on getting their laundry clean, according to IRI, a market research firm. A vast range of products come with promises that they’ll fight stains, keep colors vibrant, brighten whites, eliminate odors, or be gentle on your skin and the environment. When you’re shopping the detergent aisle, though, there’s no easy way to tell which formulas deliver. ![]() (But still, don’t eat them!).Our tests of dozens of laundry detergents show that there are real differences from one formula to the next-and that some detergents barely clean better than running a cycle with water alone. Below are some of our very favorite safe laundry soaps and detergents. Gimme the Good Stuff is far from the first to bring awareness to these problems, but we do offer alternatives to toxic laundry detergents. The fact is that there is very little meaningful regulation around cleaning and laundry products, so it’s up to each of us to stay informed. Alternatives to Tide’s Toxic Laundry Detergent So when we use these products we are being exposed to these chemicals essentially all the time, even when we sleep. In addition, ingredients in these toxic laundry products are intentionally made to stick to fabrics, mostly to keep our clothes smelling “clean.” This means that as we wear our clothes and sweat, these chemicals break down and are being absorbed through our skin. It would be easy to think that these toxins simply wash down the drain (and into lakes, rivers, and oceans), and yes they do wind up in the environment and cause all sorts of problems there. So my question is why would we wash our clothes with known toxins? Phthalates in Laundry DetergentĪnother toxin is something as benign sounding as “fragrance.” Fragrance, as you’ve probably heard us mention, is almost always packed with a group of chemicals known as phthalates, which cannegatively affect reproductive systems, endocrine systems, and infant development. ![]() EPA has classified 1,4-dioxane as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen.”ġ,4-dioxane is commonly found in Tide and many other major brands of laundry detergent, whether or not you see it listed as an ingredient. Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure to high levels of 1,4-dioxane has caused vertigo, drowsiness, headache, anorexia, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs in humans…Damage to the liver and kidneys has been observed in rats chronically (long-term) exposed in their drinking water… Tumors have been observed in orally exposed animals. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, exposure to this compound can cause eye and nose irritation, kidney problems, and possible long-term lung damage. We call Good Stuff!), but we’ve known for years that most major brands contain a wide array of toxic ingredients.Ĭhief among these concerns is a chemical known as 1,4-dioxane. Obviously, nobody should eat any laundry product (even the ones That’s right, “TOXIC.” Those are also the words of the U.S. ![]() It has caused scientists, doctors, politicians, newscasters and even Tide itself to publicly announce what our readers have known for a long time, which is that these laundry products contain “highly concentrated, toxic detergent.” This might be hard to believe, but there is an upside to the Tide Pod Challenge phenomenon that you’ve probably seen in the news lately. ![]()
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