“Just thought you might like to know that regular Palmolive dish washing detergent also contains chlorine bleach. (I am looking at both labels right now) So at least with the “Eco” you are without the phosphates.From what I hear, 7th Gen does a horrible job at cleaning. Not sure about other alternatives.”

AND

“My friends have tried the no chlorine products (7th, Ecover, etc.) and they just don’t work. And Method also claims to be a natural brand, but they have plenty of non-natural stuff in their products (and people seem to love them). I don’t know, I’m going to try this eco+ stuff. It may not save the world, but it’s a lot closer than the rest of the mainstream products (and with any luck it will actually clean dishes).”

First off, I totally appreciate that people feel free to say what they want here. Believe me, the comments above are typical to what I hear from people out here in the real world. I always hear stuff like “Green cleaners don’t work – you can’t even smell them working” and “It seems too light too work.” Sigh. Green cleaners are in the minority for sure.

Here’s the deal though. A few select green friends of mine and me have been using green cleaners for years and years. They’ve worked just fine. Also, as you may have noticed, I haven’t been struck dead from germs that made it past my green cleaners. I seriously have to wonder why greener cleaners are working for some people and not others. What could possibly be on these people’s dishes that are creating this cleaning issue? One extremely simple solution is to quickly rinse your dishes after eating. Most dishwasher manuals say flat out, DO NOT load totally crusty gross dishes into the machine. (Ok, not in those words, but you get it).

Then there’s the whole issue brought up by both these comments above – a little eco is far better than no eco at all. Now, on one hand I agree. Small steps is what we push here at Tree Hugging Family. Small steps can make a difference. However, that said, I don’t agree with small greenwashing steps, not when there’s a much better green step available. Why use a product with bleach when there are products available without? Bleach is a big baddie. Bleach use is not a small step, better choice, or eco step at all for that matter. They don’t tell you to use arm length gloves and full ventilation when a product is safe.

Also, as I noted in the comments, I especially don’t agree when a major company like Palmolive promotes a product as green when it’s clearly not. This is a company who can really afford advertising, and might be able to persuade folks to go true green. They have the ability to make a huge difference, yet, here they come with their “eco” product that frankly, I wouldn’t even call light green. “At least” is pretty weak argument when their are companies who do “the most” they can each and every day.

What it comes down to.

All we can do here is tell you about the dangers of a product, tell you that they test on animals, or that the fumes may cause long term damage, it’s up to you how safe or ethically secure you feel with a certain product. We all make choices every day. Dish washing detergent is a small easy issue to deal with because there are better options already.

Here are some links:

To learn about eco cleaners that actually work visit Green Home Living Magazine – they tested a bunch of green cleaners and tell you which work and which don’t. Personally, I’ve tried a large majority of green cleaners including homemade, and most have worked well for me.

To learn about how safe a company is for your skin and health visit Skin Deep. You can enter a product and all the health hazards associated with a company or item from a company will pop up. Why not look up Palmolive and see their “green & healthy” score.

Toxic Nation – Pollution. Find out about common toxins and pollutions in your home and how they end up in your body.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Any manufacturer can paste the word “eco” on something. Palmolive’s new eco+ dishwashing detergent is the ultimate in greenwash. I’m a bit angry about it. I think my blood pressure may even be raised. Seriously.

The truth is that you have to read all the ingredients on a product, even when “eco” is plastered all over it. The problem with this detergent is that it doesn’t list the ingredients. (And those fragrances — naturally inspired doesn’t mean a thing. I’m guessing there’s nothing natural about their fragrance.)

If you look on the back of the bottle, near the bottom — in that boring font used for warnings — you’ll see that this “eco” product contains chlorine bleach.

How often do you read the warnings on your dishwasher detergent? These days it seems you really need to. Don’t let the word “eco” fool you.

Why is this detergent being marketed as eco? Well, it doesn’t have phosphates. Yeah, that’s good, but the word “eco” doesn’t belong on a product with chlorine bleach. That’s my take on it.

Chlorine is a known toxin. Chlorine bleach is dangerous to people with several health problems: heart problems, asthma and emphysema. And putting this stuff in your dishwasher could pollute the air in your home. You know what I’m talking about — all that steam that comes out of your dishwasher.

Why isn’t Palmolive coming right out and saying that the detergent contains chlorine bleach instead of hiding it on the back?

Please tell Target (that’s where I saw it) and any other retailer that you do not agree with dishwasher detergents that contain chlorine bleach. Plenty of alternatives exist. One is Seventh Generation’s dishwashing gel. It is phosphate free AND chlorine free. Also, you can check out Ecover dishwashing powder. See, it can be done. Shame on you Palmolive.

Please look for a review on Seventh Generation’s dishwasher powder in a few days.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family