Have you ever done your laundry with soapnuts or been curious to find out how they work? Soapnuts grow on a tree called Sapindus mukorossi (Chinese Soapberry) and contain saponin, a natural surfactant which foams just like soap. I've wanted to try soapnuts since I first spotted them in a natural grocery store a couple of years ago but have always been deterred by the plastic in the packaging. Although they are imported, the idea of using a laundry soap that contains only one, minimally-processed natural ingredient (the soapnuts are harvested, de-seeded, and sun-dried) appealed to me.
So last month, when the bloggers at Tiny Choices announced a LaundryTree soapnuts giveaway, I was pretty excited. Excited, that is, until I clicked on the site and saw the soapnuts packaging. Looked like plastic bags to me.
Not one to give up so easily, I left a comment asking what the packaging was made from. I wanted to be sure. Jenn at Tiny Choices forwarded my comment to Lisa at LaundryTree, who responded to me right away and asked for helping de-plasticking her packaging.
Less than one month later, LaundryTree has already switched to recycled paper bags! Check out the sample I received in the mail:
The natural kraft paper bags contain 40% recycled content and are lined with a minimal amount of PLA (to keep the soapnuts fresh) which makes the bags fully compostable or recyclable. But don't take my word for it. Read the article Lisa wrote tonight about the new packaging and the story behind it.
I am so impressed with a business owner that listens to her customers and responds so quickly. Isn't this the kind of business we'd all like to support?
Of course, the packaging would be irrelevant if the soapnuts themselves didn't work. So before writing this post, I of course tried them out. And actually, I could just send you over to the Tiny Choices review of soapnuts because their review is very similar to what I'm about to write here. They even linked to the same Wikipedia page. But to spare you the extra clicks, I'll go ahead and write my own glowing review.
Soapnuts only release their saponin in warm or hot water. I wash in cold to save energy. But never fear, there is an easy solution. Mix up a batch of Soapnuts Soak by bringing a pot of water to a boil, removing it from the heat, tossing in 6-8 soapnuts, and letting them sit covered over night. In the morning, strain into a couple of glass jars. The used soapnuts can go in the compost. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per laundry load.
Beth Terry is a Premier Partner of SustainLane. She writes about finding alternatives to plastic and tracks her own plastic consumption and plastic waste at www.fakeplasticfish.com. Why Fake Plastic Fish? "Because if we don't solve our plastic problem, they could be the only kind of fish we have left." Please stop by and leave a comment!
