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As with many other cleaning products, there is no legal requirement to include all ingredients on laundry detergent packaging. So you will rarely find them listed on any conventional laundry detergent. Here at Scene Green we feel uneasy about using any product if we don't know exactly what's in it.
Surfactants are the main active ingredients in laundry detergents. Plant based surfactants are usually more easily biodegradable than petroleum derived ones, so we would recommend you seek out laundry detergents that use these instead. However, since most conventional detergents don't list the exact chemicals included, we cannot know exactly which surfactants they contain and where they come from. Therefore, we would advise that it's probably a safe bet to stick to eco-brands which give a full product ingredient listing so that you can ensure that you are using a plant-based product.
Surfactants are less of a concern than other ingredients which may be contained in conventional laundry detergents. These include synthetic fragrances, which may contain phthalates or artificial musks. According to Friends of the Earth both phthalates and artificial musks should be avoided as they 'bio-accumulate” (ie build up in the body), so should be replaced by safer alternatives. Optical brighteners may also be included in conventional laundry detergents (examples include naphthotriazolylstibenes, benzoxazolyl, naphthylimide and diaminostilbene disulphonnates). According to recent research these biodegrade very slowly, have been shown to cause mutations in bacteria and can be potential skin irritants. Scene Green recommend eco brands as an alternative to the conventional laundry detergents - as well as avoiding synthetic extras such as fragrances and optical brighteners, they also tend to avoid other ingredients such as phosphates. Although phosphates are non-toxic, they can find their way into our waterways where they can clog them up by encouraging algal blooms, making life difficult for other aquatic species.
Biological laundry detergents contain enzymes and we realize that these are a cause of concern for some consumers. Arguments for their inclusion into laundry detergents include the fact that enzymes break down stains such as grease or blood, thereby providing effective cleaning at lower temperatures. Since most of the energy used by washing machines is due to their generating higher temperatures, this would appear to be a positive step. Enzymes are naturally occuring and present in all living organisms – they are even included in some eco brand detergents and we can find no firm evidence to suggest that they are damaging to the environment or consumers. However, they should be avoided in conventional brands as these often include GMO enzymes.
Alternatives to laundry detergents in the form of eco wash balls or discs are also available – these either contain mineral salts that produce ionized oxygen or they magnetize the laundry water – both methods claim to clean laundry without the use of detergents. Their use will certainly avoid contact with chemicals that may be found in regular detergents, and although the initial outlay may seem to be large, they can be used over and over again – and so work out to be very economical in the long run if used as directed.
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