Unwanted substances in laundry detergent

But why do we always demonize standard industrial detergents?

Why is it a good idea to switch to eco-friendly laundry?

Why are we always talking about homemade washing powder?

Because in supermarket detergents, you can sometimes find just about anything!

Because every ingredient has an impact on the environment and/or our health.

Andall too often, they contain pollutants and/or irritants, sometimes harmful to health, or even useless!

So we sort through it all, check our labels, and next time we’ll make informed purchases, or better still, try making our own washing powder! Yes?

Absolutely avoid :

• Anionic surfactants: the role of a surfactant is to increase fabric wetting, coat dirt and detach it from the linen. Derived from petroleum, they are polluting and often irritating to the skin.
• Phosphates (= cationic surfactants): anti-limescale, they cause algae proliferation and thus impoverish aquatic ecosystems.
• Phosphonates: anti-scale, poorly biodegradable, help dissolve heavy metals in water.
• EDTA (= ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid): bleaching agent, poorly biodegradable, contaminates drinking water and the food chain with heavy metals. Endocrine disruptor.
• NTA ( = nitrilotriacetic acid): anti-scale, poorly biodegradable. Classified as potentially carcinogenic.
• Polyacrylates & polycarboxylates: anti-scale compounds that often replace phosphates, they are not very biodegradable.
• Optical brighteners: they deposit a UV-reflective film on textiles, making linen appear whiter than it really is. Derived from petroleum, they are not readily biodegradable and can leave residues on linen.
• Oxygenated bleaching agents(= sodium perborate): often combined with EDTA, this bleaching agent is harmful to the environment and to health. Recognized as a reprotoxic substance.
• Preservatives: biocidal compounds active against the proliferation of micro-organisms, but highly allergenic(methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone and benzisothiasolinone in particular).
• Perfumes & dyes: useless and hardly biodegradable, these molecules, often derived from petroleum, are irritating or allergenic.

So what qualifies as “GOOD” in laundry detergent?

Ecological and artisanal detergents generally feature “clean” formulas, with natural ingredients derived from plants or renewable resources, easily biodegradable and with low impact on health and the environment.

How to choose the right detergent:

• the fewer ingredients in the composition, the better
• eco-labelled products
• amphoteric surfactants
• non-GMO enzymes
• soap-based products (Marseille soap, black soap, etc.)
• no perfumes or colorants
• little or no packaging