Best Natural Laundry Detergent: Our Top Picks for You to Choose From

While organic foods and other products are made without the use of artificial additives or chemicals, organic laundry detergent is basically the same. Organic laundry detergent does not use any chlorine, phosphates, or other artificial additives that are potentially dangerous to your health. In addition, they are also free of any and all synthetic dyes and fragrances, both of which have the potential to cause allergic reactions as well as skin outbreaks. 

So what exactly is it about these detergents that make them so bad? Well, the chemicals found in commercial detergents can emit fumes that are constantly inhaled throughout the day. Breathing in these fumes, even at small amounts, can have very damaging consequences on various parts of your health including endocrinological and neurological. One of these chemicals in specific, Phosphate, has been a common chemical ingredient that has been added to regular laundry detergents over the years. In the past 40 years, phosphate has greatly damaged the environment. The use of this ingredient has been heavily scrutinized, most in response to their effect on the environment and the impact it has on water pollution. 

In direct response to many of these complaints and studies that have been conducted over the years, many manufacturers have started attempting to "go green". An effort to reduce the environmental impact their products have and to satisfy their customers. In addition, many laundry detergents are also being sold in smaller, more concentrated forms, which some say can reduce waste. While all of this is all well and good, the best choice is still to choose products that do not contain any chemical additives whatsoever. Not only are these products better for the environment, they may very well be even better for your clothes and your bodies than the commercial ones you are currently using. 

Laundry Detergent Ingredients to Avoid

When it comes to regular laundry detergents, you are going to find a lot of chemicals that make up those products. These chemicals and other artificial ingredients can lead to a whole lot of bad stuff including respiratory problems, eye irritation, cancer, and disruptions of the endocrine system, and whole lot more. For this reason, finding the best natural laundry detergent is probably a good idea. However, there are a lot of brands that will claim to be "All-natural" but really are still filled with these chemicals. So, a good way of knowing which is truly natural and which are just marketing schemes is to look at the ingredients. The 4 worst offenders that you can find in detergents are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), 1,4-dioxane, NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylate), and Phosphates. Not only are these chemicals potentially damaging to your health, but they are also contaminating waterways and harming the environment. According to an article in the Journal of Oleo Science, a laundry detergent concentration of only 2 ppm can cause fish to absorb double the amount of chemicals they normally would. The build up of these chemicals in the environment through waterways has a terrible impact on the aquatic wildlife. So, let me explain why you should care about these ingredients. 

SLS

Okay, so SLS is not the only one you have to worry about. There are a handful of these chemicals that are called sulfates. They are used as a surfactant, detergents, and emulsifier in thousands of industrial cleaners and cosmetic products. Nearly every commercial shampoo and other hair products have these sulfates as an ingredient. I am not going to go over the scientific makeup of this chemical, but I will tell you all of the different variations and why you should stay away.

The three main sulfates that you will find are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), and ammonium laurel sulfate (ALS). However, there are other variations that you should look out for as well. 

• Sodium dodecyl sulfate
• Sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, sodium salt (and any combination of those)
• A13-00356
• Akyposal SDS
• Aquarex ME
• Aquarex methyl

These sulfates can cause a lot of serious health issues, regardless of whether or not they are FDA approved. In fact, there are over 16,000 studies that document the hazards of SLS. Some of the health risks include irritation of the skin and eyes, organ toxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, ecotoxicology, biochemical or cellular changes, and possible mutations and cancer. The EWG website lists all of the potential health risks that SLS has. 

1,4 Dioxane

During an effort by David Steinman and the Organic Consumers Association, it was found that 1,4 Dioxane is present in two thirds of laundry detergents. In case you do not know, 1,4 Dioxane which is also just called dioxane, is a by-product of SLS. This means that it is not added intentionally, which is a good thing because dioxane is actually a known carcinogen, considered so by the State of California. It has also been found to be potentially toxic to your brain and central nervous system, kidneys, liver, and respiratory system, according to the CDC. During the study conducted by the OCA and Steinman, this is what they found out about 1,4 Dioxane.

• The cumulative effects of dioxane, even at low levels, resulted in laboratory animals developing cancer.
• It is readily absorbed through the lungs, skin, and gastrointestinal tract of mammals. 
• The US federal regulation systems consider dioxane's potency to be the equal to or even greater than many pesticides considered dangerous to humans. 
• Cosmetics, and detergents, contaminated with dioxane may also have traces of other contaminants, including formaldehyde, nitrosamines, and phthalates. 
• There are many inexpensive and effective alternatives to ethoxylation in the manufacturing of your personal care and cleaning products.

Dioxane can be contained in many different ingredients. While it is hard to determine exactly which ones, there is a way to tell which ingredients you really want to avoid. Ingredients that have the following suffixes are ones you want to steer clear of. Myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, or any other eth, PEG, polyethylene, polyethelene glycol, polyexyethylene, or oxynol, and of course the sulfates as well. 

NPE

This chemical is a known disruptor of the endocrine system and an estrogen mimicker that can potentially cause hormonal problems, or even cancer. It is often used in laundry detergents and other personal care products, like SLS and the like. Organisms exposed to NPE show kidney and liver damage, decreased testicular growth and sperm count, disrupted growth and metabolism, and increased mortality. NPE has actually been banned in Canada and Europe, and even Walmart has listed NPEs as one of 3 chemicals they're asking suppliers to phase out. This chemical affects the wildlife the same as it does humans. And unfortunately, even the best water treatment plants are unable to remove NPEs and their metabolites from the water. 

Phosphates

These chemicals are more damaging to the environment, than they are to humans. However, that does not mean that they are harmless to humans. In fact, some of the health issues that can arise because of phosphates include nausea, diarrhea, and skin irritations. But the biggest concern with phosphates are the environmental impacts the chemical has. These are extremely difficult to remove from wastewater and often end up in rivers and lakes, where they encourage algae growth. This is because phosphates act as a fertilizer in waterways, and when the overabundant algae die, they release toxins that deplete the waterways of oxygen. As a result, many of the fish that live in that region end up suffocating. 

Types of Laundry Detergent

When looking for the best natural laundry detergent, you will likely find a few different kinds to choose from. All of these have their good and bad, and it will come to you to choose which is best for you. Now of course, these will all be natural variations of their regular counterparts, which mean that they will be free of toxic chemicals and hopefully free of any environmental impacts as well. 

The three major types of the best natural laundry detergent are liquid detergent, powder detergent, and detergent pods. Liquid detergent is the most common type that you will find. These work great with water, especially in cold water. Not to mention you can also use these to pre-treat stains on clothing. However, the limitation with liquid detergents is that they can be easily overused, not to mention that their packaging creates more waste.

The second type is powder detergents. These are not as popular as liquid, even though they were the original detergent method. This is because they do not really dissolve well into the liquid and can leave deposits on your clothes. However, they do have a longer shelf life than liquids, which makes it easy to buy in bulk. Not to mention they are a lot cheaper.

Lastly, you have the laundry detergent pods. While the regular laundry pods have come under fire for their environmental impact, typically the best natural laundry detergent pods are more green and biodegradable. The greatest thing about these pods is that they are the most convenient option and very easy to use. Just toss them in with your laundry and you are good to go. However, the only thing you have to worry about is, like I said, the environmental impact of the pods. Oh, and don't be an idiot and eat them.