50 Acts of Green: Day Four - Laundry Detergent

 Naturally in my quest for environment-friendly laundry, I had to look into laundry detergent. I will get to soap and other hygiene products, but let's just say, I have spent a good amount of time with this kind of research. With the number of immune and allergy type issues I have, having natural products on my skin and in my clothing is important. Many normal laundry detergents are full of chemicals, which simulate different smells, softness, and so on, but doesn't actually clean or help your clothing. Some of the chemicals actually kill your clothing faster. I'm all for keeping my clothing viable and usable for longer, another way to help the environment!

There are lots of natural based laundry detergents out there. If you do some research online, there are plenty of environmentally friendly companies that offer laundry detergent, but you have to order them online and get them shipped. While I am not against ordering online, it can be problematic when things get back-ordered or delayed and you don't have any clean clothes... I wanted to find some environmentally friendly options that I could regularly pick up at the store in Western Pennsylvania, that way there are no lack of clothing emergencies.

Before I went to the store and bought six different kinds of laundry detergent at the same time, I looked at some company rankings. Then I went to the store and see what I could actually buy. Turns out, Western Pennsylvanian stores don't always prioritize environmentally friendly products. Nowhere to be found was the Method Laundry detergent (which made me sad, because I have really enjoyed some of their other products, more about that later) or BioKleen's natural detergent. I found Tide's new Purclean detergent and Dr. Bronner's.

Tide's Purclean is not as naturally based as some of the others, but most of the researchers say that it gets clothing the most clean. Dr. Bronner's is completely naturally based, but doesn't clean quite as well. And you have to add vinegar halfway through the wash cycle, which is not always something I was good about remembering. The real problem for a small town gal trying to pay off student debt is the cost of these environmentally friendly detergents. Going green is not always the most cost effective.  Thankfully, some of the other green changes I have made has saved me money, which has helped with paying for the extra cost of laundry detergent.

For now, I am going to stick with the Tide Purclean. I may be ordering some Method laundry detergent in the future. In this way, money is purchasing power, because I am voicing my opinion to companies about what I want to see prioritized, the environment!

One small act of green, another act of care for creation!