YOUR GUIDE TO Shopping for Laundry Detergents

Most of us think almost nothing about the laundry detergents we buy. Yet consider this: laundry detergents are the second-most important human-made source of inorganic nutrient pollution in the United States and other developed countries.

Although the state of California has acted against companies with chemical carcinogens in their products, companies hawking laundry detergents have gotten away with selling products with much higher levels of the same chemical carcinogens, passing under the radar largely through regulatory oversight of their products’ damage to the environment and human health. Moreover, we use millions of barrels of oil to manufacture detergents, perpetuating oil dependency.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by a single load of laundry with detergent ranges from 1.3 to 1.9 pounds. With high levels of phosphates, sodium salts, and soap suds polluting streams, rivers and lakes—at the foot of Niagara Falls, discolored detergent foam has reached eight-foot levels—it is clear that the loss of water quality and natural-habitat potential from laundry detergent is significant. In fact, according to ecofx.org, the loss of natural-habitat potential associated with an average load of laundry ranges from 5 to 6.8 square feet. Consider how many loads of laundry are done each day—that’s a lot of lost habitat!

All of this means that our laundry choices are critical. And you thought you were just buying a bottle of Tide!

WASHING CLOTHES IN XENOESTROGENS

Detergents are one of the most troubling ingredients in products. Many detergents are made from the chemical alkylphenol ethoxylate (AE). These AEs harbor a cancer-causing impurity found in high amounts and have estrogenic properties when released into the environment or your body.

According to the Washington Toxics Coalition, 450 million pounds of AEs are produced annually in the United States—and more than half go “down the drain.” Unfortunately, AEs persist in the environment unless treated in wastewater plants. In experimental studies, AE metabolites “induced growth of human estrogen-sensitive breast-cancer cells” and “produced decreases in testicular size and sperm production in rats when administered during gestation for the first 21 days of postnatal life.” The AEs’ metabolites have “stimulated estrogen-dependent uterine growth in prepubertal rats.” The effects of such reproductive toxins now extend to the human-health realm, according to leading environmental researchers.

Throughout the United States, researchers have found evidence of the estrogenic effects of AEs in the blurred sexual organs of Missouri River sturgeons, Florida panthers, amphibians and many other species. Effected fish were found in greatest numbers around sewer outfalls and in other polluted rivers and lakes. Over the last few decades, these findings have culminated in human reproductive and behavioral studies reporting evidence of similar reproductive impacts in newborns and children.

Unfortunately, manufacturers don’t disclose this ingredient or its health effects. Thanks to loose regulatory requirements, companies need not even list their specific ingredients on product labels. So the average consumer has no idea whether the detergent contains AEs. This needs to be cleaned up, of course. Only informed consumers can make smart choices that are good for the individual and the environment, so it is important to keep the information flowing.

The problem becomes acute when we realize millions of people use laundry water as gray water for gardens or to avoid emptying it into underground systems. Thus, these same AEs flow completely untreated into local streams and waterways. What’s more, during their manufacture with the known human carcinogen ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical called 1,4-dioxane is formed. When found in laundry detergents, dioxane not only is released into groundwater and surface waters used for human drinking water but also is inhaled by homemakers and children via the volatile organic chemicals released from washing machines and dishwashers; it also contaminates clothing. Besides these chemicals, the artificial fragrances used in products and formaldehyde make them highly allergenic and irritating. Moreover, high levels of causticity and pH in laundry detergents wear out fine sheets, towels and clothing more quickly. (The same detergents used in dishwashers etch and nick dishes and serving ware.)

Finally, the added burden of sodium salts in powder products makes treating wastewater, so it can be recycled for agricultural use, very difficult and expensive, according to soil and water experts.

But how can you find a really safe brand? Not to mention one that performs better and saves money and the environment?

BEST CHOICE

Look for detergents that are truly non-caustic and pH neutral. Detergents that are both more alkaline and caustic are not only harder on the environment and waste-treatment facilities but on your clothes and dishes, wearing them out faster. In addition, detergents should be free of dyes, formaldehyde, artificial fragrances, synthetic fabric softener or cellulose optical brighteners. Natural laundry products are better for people with strong sensitivities to fragrance, fabric softeners or cellulose optical brighteners.

Also, use detergents that are free from phosphates. This is important both for the retailer and the consumer, since in the past year there has been a flurry of activity throughout the United States banning detergents with phosphates. Six states have passed such legislation to go into effect in July 2010. And Canada is following on the same path.

Another factor to consider: most companies that offer laundry and dishwashing detergents and soaps actually contract out for their manufacture, leaving them vulnerable to loss of control over raw materials and the ability to quickly change or improve their products as new scientific and health information comes out.

Purchasing products from companies that have local manufacturing plants cuts down on transportation miles, saves money and the environment while being smart about reducing fuel use. Plus, these plants help local economies.