Please read the following post for important information on how I’ve chosen my recommendations:
TLDR: Regular laundry detergent has components that are harmful to the environment and to your skin. Plus, there’s a ton of waste and you’re mostly paying for water, which is a waste of money.
Why you should care: These are getting harder to write. I feel like you should just care because your body and the environment are important! But check out the reasons below…
What you should buy: https://www.shopetee.com/products/concentrated-laundry-detergent
I really liked this Consumer Reports roundup of eco-friendly detergents, but they didn’t really look at sustainability. It was mostly health related. Still good to know: https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/laundry-detergents/how-to-find-an-eco-friendly-laundry-detergent-a8349611828/
This is a good roundup of what I’ve found to be the environmental impact of regular detergents. It’s more succinct than I could make it:
https://www.greenmatters.com/p/detergent-environmental-effects
“Non-concentrated liquid laundry detergents contain 60 to 90 percent water, and a concentrated one could have 15 to 50 percent water, according to He.”
“A horrifying 1 billion laundry jugs are discarded in the United States annually.” https://www.treehugger.com/ditch-laundry-jugs-and-go-plastic-free-4858737
For the most environmentally friendly load, wash in cold water! https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/partner-content-laundry-lightening-the-load
I’ve also used laundry detergent sheets from different brands, which come in compostable bags. I think that’s great, but I tried composting the bags for two years and they didn’t break down even a little. Most packaging that says it’s biodegradable is actually only biodegradable in professional facilities. But this is the packaging that Etee uses, and I’m impressed because it looks like a solid choice: https://tekpaksolutions.com/
Additional Info:
https://apnews.com/article/climate-solutions-greenwashing-laundry-detergent-plastic-7c91d2981783d9c9e0b6e5b62caded9e
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2021/08/08/study-says-up-to-75-of-plastics-from-detergent-pods-enter-the-environment-industry-says-they-safely-biodegrade
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45711230
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/cleaning-and-organizing/using-too-much-laundry-detergent-causes-more-problems-than-you-think/ar-AA1wD2DV https://www.rd.com/article/laundry-pods-bad-environment/
Photo Credit: Averie Woodard