The last few products we’ve reviewed have shown us that some good ‘eco-friendly’ alternatives to washing liquids do exist. But at twice the price of standard washing liquids, switching to an eco-friendly option is a serious consideration and it is worth asking the question – why? Is our current approach to clothes washing actually a problem? Do we really need to be using eco-friendly products? In this blog I’m going to spend a bit of time thinking about these questions. And I’m also going to put in a little ‘buying-guide’ for anyone thinking of switching to an eco-laundry product. Warning, it’ll be a wordy one. But as usual there’s a 30 second summary at the end.
The short answers to the above questions are, yes, and probably. To look at the full answer, we need to get some context by looking at water and how we use water in the UK.
If you’re already sold on the idea of eco-laundry and can’t be bothered to read the phaff below, skip along to the bottom and you’ll find our little ‘eco-laundry buying guide’ to help you find a product that suits you in amongst the chaos of the eco-laundry market. Otherwise stick around for a bit – water management isn’t the worlds most engaging topic I grant you, but it’s only a 2 minute read and you can pat yourself on the back for being a good sort afterwards.
So, to set the scene; water is a finite resource, believe it or not, that we all depend on. The amount of water available for us all to share is diminishing as global temperatures rise, meanwhile the global population is rising. At the moment modelling suggests we are looking at 2/3 of the worlds population not having enough water in 2025 (that’s right, 5 years time).
In the UK, we collect water from rain and rivers, and store water in places like reservoirs. It is distributed, collected, and treated by water companies following government guidelines. All the stuff that goes down our drains ends up at water treatment sites where it is filtered many times (if you have a septic tank, some of it will end up in the ground around you, and the rest will be taken off regularly to treatment sites). The end of the filtering process produces water that runs off into rivers and streams (relatively clean but, as we now know, not perfect because microplastics are still getting into our waterways). The water treatment process also produces something called sewage sludge, which is basically all the nasty stuff they didn’t want getting out into the water. This stuff is then dealt with in a variety of inventive, and sometimes energy intensive, ways to produce biogas, fertilisers, and some stuff that just gets burnt. I’m pretty chuffed with the way we handle water in the UK, it really is making the most out of a rubbish situation and we are all benefitting from it. However, the fact remains that this sewage sludge contains some nasty stuff that requires a lot of processing, and processing means energy which, sadly right now, often means burning fossil fuels – not good.
Now, with that over-simplified and probably not perfect scene-setting. Where does clothes washing come in?
Clothes washing impacts the environment in three ways.
- The sheer amount of clean water it uses. The average washing machine uses 50 litres of water per wash.
- The amount of energy used to actually wash and dry clothes. How much energy this is varies according to the type of washing machine, but using hot water and using tumble dryers massively increases energy use.
- The type of washing product you use. Both the impact of making it and getting it to your washer, and then what happens when it leaves your drain.
Now you can probably see where this is going. Of all the products reviewed so far, the non-eco one came out worst on damage to the environment for both getting to the house and leaving the house. Do I need to say more?
Possibly not but I want to. Because you might, quite rightly, be thinking that the whole point of wastewater treatment is to neutralise the damage to the environment and so really – we only need to worry about the impact making the washing liquid had. This is a fair point, in fact tests on water produced using ecover vs standard washing liquids found no difference in quality of water exiting wastewater treatment. This is great news, because it means the water treatment is doing it’s job. However, it doesn’t mean that the amount of processing needed during treatment was the same and it is very likely that standard washing liquids require more intensive processing because they tend to have longer-chain carbons in them that degrade much more slowly, aswell as other ingredients which are more resistant to being broken down including, sometimes, microbeads. So while the end result is the same, the amount of energy used is different.
So to summarise, clothes washing does impact the environment because it uses lots of water and lots of energy; and the product we use to wash clothes does matter because not all products are made equal when it comes to their impact on the environment both before and after they get to our houses.
Right then, with that out of the way lets get onto our…
Eco Laundry Buying Guide
To begin with, don’t be fooled by the supermarket bio laundry labels (you know the ones, you get the bio option or the non-bio options). I don’t know what they’re on about, but it’s nothing to do with being environmentally friendly, I think my latest review showed that pretty well. And remember, you’re trying to minimise the overall impact to the environment both of the product getting to your door, as well as when it’s in wastewater treatment.
First off, think about what it claims. Does it say it uses plant based ingredients, or does it say it uses 80% plant based ingredients? One is a much stronger claim than the other. Likewise if it says it’s organic, is it certified as organic by an external auditor like the soil association? It is very easy for companies to make claims that sound really eco-friendly by using sexy words, but often if you actually look at what they’re saying you realise they’re copping out of being as good as they initially appear.
Second, look out for these common nasties in the ingredients: optical brighteners, pthalates, limonene, sodium lauryl sulfate, dyes/colourant. You might not be able to avoid them all but optical brighteners and colourants are definitely unnecessary.
Thirdly, ask yourself is the product actually necessary? Marketing can be sneaky and make you think you need things you don’t. Whats your current washing routine, does it actually need switching up?
If you think that yes, maybe it does, then compare your current product to this one. Which has fewer nasty ingredients? Which travels least to get to your door? Which uses the most sustainable packaging? Is one option refillable and the other not?
A word on packaging. There’s a lot of innovation going on in the packaging world at the moment. Direct comparison is tough – how does compostable bamboo compare to recyclable plastic? Who knows! It doesn’t hugely matter either I feel. The most important thing is that that bottle, or box, or whatever, doesn’t end up in the rubbish bin. To do that, you need to know what type of material you’re dealing with, and where to recycle it. You can find out the type of plastic by looking for a little triangle made of arrows on the plastic (usually the bottom), that triangle has a number in which tells you the plastic type. You then need to find out where that plastic is recycled in your local area (i.e. kerbside or recycling centre).
If it cuts the mustard on all these points, then you have one last question to consider.
Do you want it?
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is your Jenny-approved buying guide to the eco-laundry market.
Let me know what you think down below, have I missed anything? Any questions, or anything to add?
30 Second Summary
- Washing clothes uses lots of heat and energy, both things which negatively impact the environment.
- The product we use to wash clothes also impacts the environment because it takes energy to make, and it takes energy to process when it leaves our houses in wastewater.
- Eco-friendly washing products generally use less damaging ingredients in production, and take less energy to process as wastewater.
- It’s worth buying an eco-friendly product then because they reduce the overall energy and environmental damage of clothes washing.
- Washing clothes on cold temperatures also helps.
- When buying eco-laundry products, don’t be fooled by marketing into buygin something you don’t need. And check for nasty ingredients like: optical brighteners, pthalates, limonene, sodium lauryl sulfate, dyes/colourant.
Does it Have to Cost the Earth 