by Catherine Haug, March 11, 2012
Are you concerned about the chemical dangers lurking in your cleaning supplies? Check out WomensVoices.org for their new report: Dirty Secrets (scroll down on that page to download the complete report); see also their article How Top Cleaning Supply Companies Rate. I’m totally disgusted by the deceits practiced by commercial cleaning product companies to hide/disguise their cancer-causing ingredients, and am committed to using locally made, full-disclosure products; how about you?
Last year we had a gathering on homemade soap (see Gathering Summary: Making Soap at Home), and this year we hope to have an event on making your own cleaning supplies. The latest issue of Back Porch View magazine has an article on making your own laundry soap.
And now, there’s a Montana-local laundry detergent (and another version for baby’s laundry) available at Bigfork Harvest Foods and Swan Valley Herbs. It’s called Keligreen (see their Facebook page), and comes in a returnable plastic jug (50¢ credit toward your next jug). I’ve added this product to my earlier post: Soap vs Detergents.
More about Keligreen:
From their label:
Keligreen: Healthy and Affordable Laundry Detergent
Ingredients: distilled water, tea tree and castile soap, plant-based solubilizer, plant-based surfactants, aluminum-free baking soda, citric acid and sea salt.
Contains NO: animal derived ingredients or testing; synthetic ingredients; parabens, fragrances or dyes; petroleum compounds; SLS, PEGS, PPG, MEA or DEA; glycols, alcohols or phthalates.
Caution: Keep out of reach of children and pets. While keligreen is a safe alternative to commercial detergents, it is NOT ingestible or intended to be used directly on skin. If ingested, call poison control. Eyes and skin: immediately flush with plenty of water. If irritation persists, seek medical attention.
Cat’s Notes:
- The tea tree and castile soap is true soap, not detergent. However, the solubilizer and surfactants may be detergents. I’d like to see this product list the actual chemicals used.
- The alphabet soup items (SLS, etc.) are detergents and other industrial chemicals.
- Most of the items in the “contains NO” list list are suspected or known to cause cancer and/or disrupt hormones.
- The caution applies to all detergents, not just Keligreen.
- A note posted near the product at Harvest Foods indicates this is a home-based product, which is a good thing for sustainability reasons. It means that less energy is used to make the product (industrial settings use a lot of energy). Energy is also saved by not trucking the product across the country, since the product is only sold in the local area.