We all want clean and fresh smelling clothes. But many contain a mix of chemicals. This begs the question, is laundry detergent toxic for us and the planet?
Laundry detergents, like cleaning products, use a whole host of harsh chemicals to get our clothes clean and looking bright and white.
Given that we use them to clean our clothes, which we wear on our skin, we want to be sure that they aren’t harmful.
So in this article, I will answer the question: is laundry detergent toxic for us and the environment?
Find Your Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergent Quiz:
Get a personal recommendation by answering 5 simple questions.
What’s In Conventional Laundry Detergent?
In order to answer the question “is laundry detergent toxic?” we have to know what ingredients it contains.
While different products contain different ingredients, there are some that most, if not all conventional brands use. Let’s look at them in more detail.
Perfume And Fragrances
We all like fresh smelling laundry, right? We have been conditioned, through advertising, that only nice smelling washing is clean.
As a result, perfumes and fragrances are a staple ingredient in conventional laundry detergents.
What exact ingredients are used in each product is difficult to know though, because the ingredient lists tend to just say perfume or fragrance.
However, one of the most used chemicals added to make scent last longer are phthalates.
Surfactants
This is a group of chemicals that have certain properties to help clean your clothes. They reduce the surface tension of water, which means it can spread further and help make your clothes wetter quicker.
But surfactants also help to lift and trap the dirt from the clothes, so it can be washed away.
Surfactants are also foaming agents that will ensure that your laundry detergents lathers up well in your washing machine during the wash cycle.
PFSAs Or “Forever Chemicals”
Another group of chemicals that are found in many laundry detergents are Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFSAs).
These are used in a wide range of products, including cleaning products, cookware and clothes. They are also called “forever chemicals” because they don’t degrade and stay in our environment forever.
The chemicals that belong to this group are not natural occurring and are therefore synthetic.
PFSAs are used as surfactants in laundry detergents, because they help different liquids to mix and spread. This means they help other substances to clean your clothes.
Plastic
There are two types of plastics that are used in laundry detergents. One of them is microplastics, which are tiny plastic particles.
But there are also liquid polymers, which are not technically plastic due to their liquid state. However, they don’t tend to be biodegradable.
This means that these substances will remain in our environment for a very long time.
The infuriating thing is that these liquid polymers aren’t needed. They don’t help to clean your clothes.
They make the liquid detergent look milkier. Sometimes liquid polymers are used to bulk up the product so that it looks more than it actually is.
Formaldehyde
This is a naturally occurring chemical that is highly antibacterial and is used to preserve dead bodies.
But it is also added to laundry detergent in small quantities as a preservative. Because it kills bacteria, it helps to increase the shelf-life of the product.
Even if a product doesn’t contain this chemical itself, it might contain chemicals that release formaldehyde. One such ingredient is Quaternium-15.
Maybe you can already guess the answer to our question “is laundry detergent toxic?”.
Top-Rated Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergents That Aren’t Toxic
| Laundry Products | Value For Money | Effectiveness | Sustainability | My Rating | Review | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Excellent | Excellent | Outstanding | 4.90 | Review | Visit |
 | Outstanding | Excellent | Excellent | 4.90 | Review | Visit |
 | Great | Outstanding | Excellent | 4.85 | Review | Visit |
Dyes
Ever wondered why your liquid laundry detergents have different colours? That’s because they contain coal tar dyes.
There is no reason to add these dyes other than giving the detergent a nice colour. They don’t help clean your clothes.
To know if your detergent contains coal tar, check the label for: P-phenylenediamine, coal tar solutions, naphtha, estar or benzin B70.
Chlorine Bleach
This is a very nasty chemical that is highly toxic. It is mainly used in laundry products that whiten your clothes.
Bleach is well known for its ability to keep white clothes white, as well as for its antibacterial properties.
Is Laundry Detergent Toxic For Humans And Pets?
Now that we know what kind of ingredients are in conventional laundry detergents, let’s get down to it and answer the question: is laundry detergent toxic for us?
We come in contact with these laundry detergents through our clothes we wash with it. This means we are exposed to the chemicals used through contact with our skin.
There are studies that show that many of the chemicals used in laundry detergents are harmful for humans.
Fragrances
As we have learned, it is difficult to know exactly what chemicals are used to make laundry detergent smell nice.
Most conventional laundry detergents contain synthetic chemicals, mostly petroleum-derived, that are designed to cling to your clothes.
While it is impossible to know which chemicals are used in each detergent, we do know that many of these fragrance chemicals are bad for humans.
They can be absorbed by your skin into your blood stream. Many of these chemicals are known to be carcinogens, which means they can cause cancer.
Others are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). This means they cause havoc with the hormones in our bodies, which can cause illnesses such as breast cancer.
Some can impact on our nervous system, so are neurotoxins. Others can cause skin irritations or cause respiratory issues.
Because all these chemicals are just called perfume or fragrance on the label, it can be difficult to avoid these.
Look out for products that are fragrance-free, not just unscented. Or look for products that use natural essential oils as fragrances rather than synthetic fragrances.
Many eco brands avoid using any harmful chemicals, which includes what they use as fragrances for their products.
One chemical group that is often associated with perfume or fragrance is phthalates. These are used to bind the fragrance chemicals together to make the smell last longer.
Phthalates are endocrine disruptors and are therefore not desirable in laundry detergents. Look for products that clearly state they don’t contain these nasty chemicals.
Surfactants
As we have already explained, surfactants are the chemicals that do the actual cleaning of the washing. There are two main types of surfactants used in laundry detergent: anionic and non-ionic surfactants.
Anionic surfactants break down grease and bind it to themselves so that it can be washed away. The most commonly used chemicals in this group are Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) and Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS).
Both of these chemicals have been shown to be harmful to our health. They can cause irritation to your skin, eyes or lungs when used over a long period of time.
There are surfactants that perform the same functionality, but are milder and less harmful for us. Look for products that are SLS- and SLES-free.
Non-ionic surfactants don’t have a charge, which means they work better with hard water, because they don’t interact with the minerals.
While these surfactants tend to be less irritating for skin and eyes, some people still find they cause them issues.
Non-ionic surfactants used in laundry detergents include: Cocamide Monoethanolamine (MEA), Cocamide Diethanolamine (DEA), Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylates and Amine Oxides.
MEA is known to cause irritation to the nose, throat and lungs, which is especially a problem for people with asthma or breathing difficulties.
One non-ionic surfactant you definitely don’t want in your laundry detergent is 2-Butoxyethanol. It’s a solvent that helps lift stains off your clothes.
This harmful ingredient, also known as 2-BE, can be harmful to your eyes, skin, kidneys and blood. It might also be called Butyl Cellosolve or Ethylene Glycol on the label of your laundry detergent.
Given that surfactants are the most important ingredients in any cleaning product, it’s not difficult to see that the answer to our question “is laundry detergent toxic?” is yes.
Forever Chemicals
PFSAs are surfactants, which don’t break down and therefore stay in our environment and bodies forever, hence why they are also called forever chemicals.
They are man-made and don’t occur naturally in nature. There are over 4,000 chemicals that belong to the group of PFSAs. They are used in all kinds of products, including clothes, laundry detergents, cleaning products, make-up and non-stick pans.
Studies have shown that they can impact on human health. The health issues they can cause include liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, cancer and fertility issues.
To avoid these forever chemicals, look for products that clearly state that they don’t use any toxic chemicals.
Formaldehyde
This toxic chemical is very harmful, as it is associated with cancer, skin irritation and organ toxicity. Regulations set limits for the amount of formaldehyde that can be used in products.
But that doesn’t mean that it is banned to be used in laundry detergents or cleaning products.
Again, look for products that don’t contain any toxic chemicals to avoid this ingredient.
Dyes
Coal tar dyes are synthetically made from coal tar and consist of hundreds of different chemicals.
These dyes have been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity and making ADHD in children worse.
It is best to avoid any products with these types of dyes. Look instead for products that use none or naturally derived dyes.
Chlorine Bleach
You probably know that bleach is not a harmless substance, on the contrary: it’s one of the most toxic substances used for cleaning.
It can cause irritation on your skin and eyes, so you don’t really want it anywhere near your clothes.
Avoid products that aim to whiten your whites, as these are the ones containing bleach.
Accumulative Effect
As you can see, the answer to our question “is laundry detergent toxic to us” is yes. But why are all these nasty chemicals allowed in laundry detergents, I hear you ask.
Well, there are regulations and laws, which limit the amounts that can be added. These are safe limits, which means the amounts used aren’t harmful.
However, the problem is the accumulative effect. The majority of these chemicals aren’t just present in your laundry detergent, but also in other products you use regularly. This includes cleaning products, which are also toxic for us and the environment.
Many personal care products, such as shampoos and shower gels, also contain many of the same ingredients.
So while each of these products use a safe amount of these chemicals, if you use several products containing them, it might not be safe any more.
An accumulative effect can also occur by using the same laundry detergents with the same ingredients over and over again for long periods.
Some of the chemicals, such as phthalates and fragrance chemicals, will cling to your laundry. The more often you wash them, the more of these chemicals will stick to your clothes.
There might also be a build up of these chemicals in your washing machine over time. And how often do you use it? Every day? Maybe more than once a day?
So the best thing really is to avoid these laundry detergents that use these chemicals, by swapping to eco-friendly laundry products that won’t harm your health or the planet.
How Laundry Detergent Is Toxic For The Planet
Now that we know the answer to the question “is laundry detergent toxic for us?” is yes. Let’s see if the same is true for the environment.
As a rule of thumb we can say that if chemicals are bad for us, they are bad for the environment. If they can cause cancer or disrupt our hormones, they are likely to do the same for animals.
How These Chemicals Get Into Our Environment
Even though the waste water from our washing machines goes through a cleaning process in the water treatment plants, not all chemicals are removed.
Small amounts of these chemicals are reaching our waterways every day. And most of these chemicals can cause harm to our environment even in small quantities.
But even those that won’t are still harmful, due to the accumulative effect. Every day more and more of these chemicals are released into our environment.
There they can cause all sorts of issues for aquatic life, even kill it. Some of these chemicals can increase the growth rate of algae, which will then absorb all the nutrients and oxygen from the water, making it uninhabitable for other life.
For example, optical brighteners contain chemicals called Stilbenes, which reflects light so that white clothes look whiter. These chemicals are known to be toxic to fish.
Many of these chemicals aren’t biodegradable, which means they will stay in the environment for a long time and cause havoc. Forever chemicals are the worst for that, because they don’t break down at all.
Look for products that use biodegradable ingredients, as these will be much better for our environment.
Most of the synthetic chemicals used in conventional laundry detergents are made from petroleum, which means fossil fuels. This is not sustainable.
We only have a limited amount of crude oil available and getting it produces lots of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
Look for brands that clearly state that they don’t use any petrochemicals in their products.
Plastic in laundry detergents is also a big issue for the environment. The plastic used, either microplastic or liquid polymers, will take ages to degrade, which means they stay in our ecosystem for ages.
Several studies have shown that marine life ingests microplastics, which can cause great harm in their bodies.
When looking for an eco-friendly laundry detergent, look for ones that clearly state their products are plastic free.
Palm Oil
You might know that palm oil is a very versatile ingredient that is used in all sorts of products, including food. And of course, it’s also used in laundry detergents.
Palm oil plantations are responsible for huge areas of deforestation, which contributes to climate change. So the use of this ingredient is not seen as eco-friendly.
When choosing an eco-friendly product, look for palm oil-free or make sure that palm oil or palm oil derivatives used have been RSPO certified, as grown sustainably.
Packaging
We now know that due to the ingredients used we have to answer our question of “is laundry detergent toxic for the planet?” with yes. But there is more bad news for the environment.
Most conventional laundry detergents come in plastic bottles. While these tend to be recyclable, they still have to be produced in the first place, which means plastic has to be produced.
Plastic can also not be recycled indefinitely, because its quality deteriorates quickly. This means it will end up in landfill.
Some companies use plastic bottles that were made using some recycled plastic. But most still use so-called virgin plastic, which means it’s newly made.
Given that 90% of all plastic is made from fossil fuels, this is not good news for our planet.
While some big brands are now selling their laundry pods in cardboard boxes, rather than plastic ones, this doesn’t mean they have become eco-friendly.
They still sell many of their products in plastic bottles and the ingredients they use are still harmful.
Most eco-friendly brands will sell all their products in recyclable packaging and/or will have policies in place that put the planet first. Such as refill systems.
Such eco-friendly brands include Homethings, Miniml, Faith In Nature and Bower Collective.
Conclusion
Let’s conclude this guide: is laundry detergent toxic for us and the environment? The answer is yes.
Conventional laundry detergent contains a mix of toxic and harmful chemicals that can cause problems for our health and the planet.
While the amounts used in a laundry detergent are safe, it’s the accumulative effect that is the problem. The same toxic chemicals are used in many products we use regularly.
Even if the amounts used are safe for us, the smallest amounts that make it in our waterways can cause serious harm to our environment.
The packaging is another big environmental issue when it comes to laundry detergents. Plastic is still the most likely packaging used.
The good news is, there are UK-based companies that produce eco-friendly laundry detergents without the harmful chemicals and the plastic packaging.
