We are so nearly done with this series on washing liquids. So far, we’ve looked at four washing alternatives – the Ecover, Method, and Greenscents washing liquids (all of which were a hit), and soap nuts (not so much a hit but you can read the review yourself). Now, the whole point of this series of reviews has been to test out common eco-alternatives to washing liquid and see how well they worked. But what kind of reviewer would I be if I didn’t also compare them to each other, and to their nefarious non-eco counterpart. A rubbish one that’s what. So lets get on with answering the truly scintillating question of whether all this eco-stuff can actually trump a hard hearted, planet killing cocktail of, low price pointed, pretty purply coloured, easy to use, and ordinary, washing capsules.
The way this is going to work is actually very dull. I’m going to do a normal review of a standard supermarket washing liquid, and then at the end I’ll include all of the reviewed washing methods in the scoring table so we can compare their scores to one another.
But before that! I want to let you know that this isn’t the end. I do have a post in the works going over clothes washing in general, why it can be harmful to the environment, and what to look out for in washing products claiming to be eco or environmentally friendly. If you have any thoughts or questions you think would add to it, let me know – I’d love to hear your feedback.
Now, onward. Introducing….
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drumroll please…
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“2in 1 Bio Lavender & Jasmine *insert generic supermarket name here* Liquid Laundry Capsules”
Aren’t they pretty?
They’re also harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effect. And you’re meant to wear gloves and eye protection to use them. What! Is anyone actually doing that? It’s washing liquid!
Anyway, lets get going. I’ll be reviewing these according to standard procedure so as ever – here’s the review criteria and there’ll be a 30 second summary at the bottom of the post.
Using it – does it work
You don’t need me to explain this, it’s a washing capsule. We all know how to use these (just don’t forget the hasmat suit).
Works really well, of course. Now I actually did an experiment of this compared with ecover using a couple of quite oily pillowcases. It didn’t manage to get it clean, I’m not sure how much you can see in the picture below but it didn’t clean to a point where it was visibly superior to ecover either. For everything else it was fine – as you’d expect. So I’d say it’s just as good as ecover/method/greenscents, but still those long lasting well developed stains need something stronger. All in all, 8 out of 10.
What damage does it do getting to my house?
Unfortunately I couldn’t find a huge amount of information on what exactly is in these. The ingredients list on the box and online list non-ionic and anionic surfactants, but they don’t list what’s actually been used to create the surfactants. This is so frustrating because, generally, the surfactant (which does the cleaning) is the most harmful part of the product. The reason the eco-laundry market exists is because surfactants are so often made in a way that creates a lot of harmful waste both during production and in the end product. My thinking is that if the surfactant wasn’t in some way harmful, the supermarket would be jumping all over themselves to promote the product as ‘natural’ or ‘eco-friendly’, so I’m going to assume by their silence/unforthcomingness that they’re using some pretty nasty methods to create their surfactants. As such, I’m giving them 4 out of 10 for harm getting to my door. If I knew for sure what was in their surfactants this could go lower.
What damage does it do leaving my house?
The packaging’s not recyclable and, as stated on the label, the product is harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects. This is probably because of the limonene, which is toxic to aquatic life, and the optical brighteners, which are mildly harmful to aquatic life (and just totally unnecessary). Could also be due to whatever they’ve used to make the surfactants too. Either way, anything harmful to aquatic life for a long time is not down in my book. We can’t afford to damage the environment for our aquatic life anymore because it’s already so depleted (read George Monbiots book ‘Feral’). As such, even though the damage stated is technically only long lasting and not irreversible, I think that the vulnerability of the aquatic ecosystem means long lasting damage could easily equate to or result in irreversible damage. I’m giving this a 1 out of 10 for that (and I hadn’t even started on the non-recyclable packaging).
Is it worth it?
It’s half the price. 15p a wash vs 26p a wash is hard to justify. But this product does significantly harm the environment, more so than greenscents or even Method do. Given that ecover, method, and greenscents are all effective alternatives, I’d argue it’s not worth using this product. However, I rate this section based on how well the product works and how much it costs and this performs well on both, so I’m going to give it an 8. I really don’t want to! But anyway.
I do also want to recognise that not everyone has the same budget or the same priorities. If shelling out twice the money for washing liquid isn’t on your to-do list at the moment please hear me when I say you’re not a planet killer or an awful person. In fact, there’s a major case to be made for focusing our energy on lobbying government and big business to enforce practices that lead to better eco-standards for everyone – and that is free for us all to do.
Before we go onto the summary, lets pop the table up and look at how all the various washing options we’ve looked at over the last few weeks compare to one another.
| Does it Work | Damage getting to house | Damage leaving house | Is it worth it | Total | |
| Ecover | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 27 |
| Method | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 25 |
| Greenscents | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 29 |
| Soap Nuts | 2 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 18 |
| Supermarket | 8 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 21 |
And there it is, two months of mucking around with clothes washing in one nice little table. As we can see, Greenscents come out on top closely followed by Ecover, then Method, with todays supermarket offering and soap nuts bringing up the rear. I definitely agree with this order. While Ecover, Method and the Supermarket capsules are a lot easier to get hold of, Greenscents is a less harmful product with more credentials (e.g. soil association) that still cleans well and so is able to make up for the fuss of having to order online. Greenscents real trump card however is being produced so close to home and so scoring 8 not 7 for ‘damage getting to house’. If getting it involved lots of air miles I’m not sure how much of that lead it would keep.
What do you think, having read the reviews on these products or maybe even used them, would you agree with this order?
Also, if anyones doubting my soap nuts review, look at this comparison between ecover and soap nuts on the same pillowcases you saw earlier.
Clearly, those soap nuts did not do a thing.
Summary
- In a mini test, supermarket capsules didn’t clean visibly better than ecover.
- They are much cheaper, 10p a wash vs 26p a wash for Greenscents (21p for Ecover).
- They are also harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- And making them likely involves a process that is harmful to the environment also.
- Ranking all washing liquids used so far puts Greenscents in the lead (scoring 29/40), followed by Ecover (27), Method (25), Supermarket Capsules (21), and Soap Nuts (18).
And that is this weeks post over. I will be back next time with a more generic post looking at what makes clothes washing an issue of significance when it comes to all things eco. And after that we will be off in the wonderful world of picnics! Stay tuned, it should be good.
Here’s the link to George Monbiot’s book for anyone interested https://www.bookdepository.com/Feral-George-Monbiot/9780141975580
Does it Have to Cost the Earth 