View this email in your browser

Quote of the day:

“Success comes from the inside out. In order to change what is on the outside, you must first change what is on the inside.”

– Idowu Koyenikan

Laundry Detergent

What do we need to know?

When removing toxic products from my home and swapping for cleaner alternatives, laundry detergent was one of the first places I started.

This is because laundry detergents pose many risks because manufacturers are not obligated to disclose all the ingredients used in their products. It is challenging to determine what is harmful because the listed ingredients are unclear (either not listed at all or chemicals are hidden behind technical terms or coded numbers). As a result, it’s difficult to keep track of the potential hazards when it comes to laundry detergents.

Typical laundry detergents consist of a blend of scents, endocrine-disrupting agents, neurotoxins, and highly carcinogenic substances. These detergents often contain distinct fragrances that are intended to penetrate and remain in fabrics. Even the unscented varieties contain chemicals that simply mask the odor with another chemical. When these chemicals are released into the air during the washing and drying of clothes, the laundry room can easily become the most hazardous room in your home.

Why does it matter?

Researchers are directly associating the surge of degenerative illnesses in America with the exposure to chemicals present in our homes and workplaces, including laundry detergent.

Two of many call outs as it relates to laundry detergent:

1. NYC just ban a bunch of popular laundry brands due to their toxic ingredients, the main one being 1,4 Dioxane. Those are Arm & Hammer Clean Burst, Tide Original, Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Free & ClearGain Original + Aroma Boost. But believe me the list of toxic brands is way longer than this list.

2. Greenwashing is big in laundry detergents, Seventh Generation may be one of the worst and settled from a lawsuit regarding their false “natural” claims even though they have synthetic ingredients. The main ingredient focused here is Methylisothiazolinone (“MIT”) or Benzisothiazolinone (“BIT”). Other greenwashing brands include Meyers, Method, and Ecos.

As a result of these harmful chemicals, regulatory bodies in different states and countries have chose to ban or restrict the use of certain detergents or ingredients.

One example of a chemical that has been banned or restricted in some countries is Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs). NPEs are surfactants that can break down into toxic compounds in the environment, and they have been linked to hormone disruption. Another example of a chemical that has been banned in laundry detergents in certain countries is phosphates. Other chemicals banned include optical brighteners, which can cause skin irritation, and certain fragrances that can trigger allergic reactions.

Those are just some, other harmful ingredients include Sodium Lauryl Sulfate & Sodium Laureth Sulfate/ Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLS/ SLES), Fragrance, Formaldehyde, Chlorine Bleach, Dioxane, Ammonium Sulfate, Parabens, Dyes, Benzyl Acetate, Propylene Glycol.

Don’t let this laundry list of chemicals overwhelm you, I listed out some better options that you can swap out that in my opinion actually work better than the harmful ones.

How to remove from your life?

The key to removing toxic laundry detergents from your house and swapping to better brands is:

1. Knowing the harmful ingredients

2. Knowing clean brands to swap to so you can avoid falling into the marketing trap of the greenwashed ones

My favorite two clean laundry detergents are TrulyFree (need to buy on their site) and Attitude (can get on Amazon - linked here on our website).

Here is a link to a blog post with more clean options and you can also always make your own (there are a bunch of videos on this if you’re DYI).

These chemicals are not just in laundry detergent but many other household items. As it relates to laundry, I would remove fabric softener completely (unless buying from a clean brand), the toxic ones are basically a scam, and completely stop using dryer sheets, and swap those out for the reusable wool dryer balls. The ones I use are linked here on our website.

Copyright (C) Want to change how you receive these emails?You can update your preferences or unsubscribe