Hey fellow earth dwellers! Can you believe it?? Two blog posts two weeks in a row? What is this unusual productivity??? Let’s be honest, I would love to build a community here and on my corresponding social medias but that is just not going to happen if I leave you hanging for weeks at a time. So, I know you have heard this before, but I am trying to do better. This weekend we will be taking a quick getaway to the mountains for our 5 year wedding anniversary and I cannot wait! We are staying in the cutest little canvas bell tent at a sustainable resort. We plan to hike and kayak and then do some local touristy things. I could not need this quick little get away more. Fingers crossed the weather stays gorgeous 😊
Last week I told you about how I do my laundry and the products I have been excited to share. This week I wanted to break down a little bit of why I decided to quit using popular laundry products. Prior to my switch I was a hardcore Tide and Downey fan. I have sensitive skin and this combo worked well for me. I thought that meant that it was a good product. But as I have learned more I have realized that that is not necessarily the case. Before I get into this let me say that if you think Tide and products like that are the best option for you- Great! I thought they were for me too. This is just a post to offer some reasons why I decided otherwise and maybe an alternative you may not have thought about.
Okay, first thing first, what are most laundry detergents made up of? The number one ingredient is water, which is honestly unnecessary. I switched to powders and pods to eliminate contributing to unnecessary water usage. Really though, water is not that bad, it’s natural- so why else should you consider the switch. Phosphates, dyes, sulfates, artificial fragrance, and a laundry list (haha, do you see what I did there?) of other chemical and artificial ingredients that can be harmful to you and the earth. Check out the ingredient list of your laundry detergent. I was shocked when I took the time to do this. In an effort to be transparent Tide lists their ingredients for each product on their website with an explanation of the ingredient. Some of these things make no sense. For instance, I noticed that Tide used sudsing agents and then added a chemical later on as a sud depressant. How does that make sense? Things like phosphates are terrible for our waters and can cause harm to marine life. Dyes and artificial fragrance do nothing to help clean and can often cause allergies. And then there is the packaging. So. Much. Plastic! In case you are not completely sure of why plastic packaging should be undesirable consider this. Plastic will never break down. We may recycle it, but just because we do our part to take it to the recycling center does not mean it will be used. Plastics require crude oil for production and create so much pollution in their birth and post use. Here is a great article about plastics and why we need to work to move away from them.
Okay okay, so conventional laundry detergent isn’t great. But bleach isn’t all that bad- right? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but bleach has it’s own set of issues. Now, let me preface this by saying that I do keep a bottle of bleach in the house mostly for disinfecting purposes, but I hardly reach for it anymore. Instead I find myself using oxi-boost tablets to help my white towels stay white. If you cannot part with your liquid bleach try to opt for a chlorine free bleach. Chlorine is a known carcinogen so it’s best to avoid it when you can. In addition, the compounds that make up bleach can take years to break down. Once in the water, it lingers and can be harmful to the ecosystem. It’s really best to just avoid this product where you can.
Fabric softener. Glorious, wonderful smelling, soft and cozy fabric softener! This one was hard for me to give up. Here’s some reasons to consider finding a switch though. First of all, just like liquid detergent, the first ingredient is water. When I looked at the ingredient list for my Downey and started researching each one, that soft cozy feeling went away. Diethylester Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride. This is a chemical that is used to make your clothing soft. It is also an allergy irritant and can cause reproductive issues. Dyes and artificial fragrances are also troubling. Formic acid is used as a stabilizer that can also cause allergic reactions including headaches and vomiting. Really, I just decided that the benefits of using conventional fabric softener were not worth it. I have read that you can add a bit of vinegar to your laundry to replace your fabric softener, which may be worth a shot. If you have done this, let me know how you like it. Personally, I use Dropps fabric softener pods (a natural mineral based softener) and wool balls in the dryer to help reduce static and cut down on dry time.
So, what have we learned? Conventional laundry products are full of chemicals and unnecessary ingredients that you really don’t want to expose yourself or the earth to. Bulky plastic packaging is not all that great and could be replaced with something more sustainable (like cardboard). Oh, and you are mostly paying for water. There are a plethora of sustainable swaps to play with and figure out what works best for your household needs. Laundry is such a large part of most weekly cleaning routines. It’s definitely worth finding more sustainable ways to go about this part of life.
The Sustainable Belle 