Comments on Jenn's review of Lavender Laundry Detergent
Lavender Laundry Detergent
Description: Lavender-scented liquid laundry detergent.
Biodegrades but really green?
I really like the way the liquid lavender detergent smells -- and it does a great job on my clothes. They smell fresh AND clean -- the soap is biodegradable.
The downside: liquid soap isn't as concentrated as most powdered soaps. It's mostly water -- think about the amount of fossil fuels being used to transport something that is mostly water.... not pretty.
And, of course, you're using a plastic (albeit recyclable) container. Powdered soap comes in cardboard. Powdered soap has it's own problems -- it can be difficult on septic systems.
Of course - you could easily make your own laundry detergent -- with ingredients common to most grocery stores. Here's a recipe:
Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha
1/2 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda
1/2 cup borax powder
You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size
Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it and it will gel. You use 1/2 cup per load.
The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel.
You should be able to find all these ingredients in the laundry isle of your local super market.
Make sure you get WASHING soda, NOT BAKING soda.
This recipe works well, and the only waste products are two cardboard boxes, and the paper wraper from the Fels Naptha soap bar.
More soap recipes: http://waltonfeed.com/old/soaphome.html
Jenn's keywords: soap laundry detergent DIY
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Lone M. says:
The company is in the process of developing a container that does not use fosil fuels but they are held to certain restrictions for liquid transport. The company uses only recycled Recyclable plastics
Jenn A. says:
Recyclable plastics are only down-cyclable - they never really get reused perfectly and eventually end up in the landfill anyway.
The only truly recyclable material is glass.
Ken O. says:
@Jenn, what about aluminum, steel and other metals?
Ken O. says:
Doh, realized this is for laundry packaging. I'd use cardboard paper--that can be downcycled to newsprint. Or glass as you say, although that becomes really heavy for shipping.
What do people do in slums?
wash clothes in the river.
Jenn A. says:
Well, it's a good thing we don't live in the "slums" where they do that. From what I understand, in developing nations where people do such things, they also bathe, defecate and collect cooking water from the same river. Not an ideal situation - but then, neither is buying laundry detergent packaged in plastic.
Kerri V. says:
Arm & Hammer does animal testing............