Product Reviewed: Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent with non-chlorine bleach: “Free & Clear” of perfumes and dyes
Place of Purchase: Whole Foods and other stores
Purchase Price: About $11.00 (for 42 loads worth of laundry detergent)
Product replaced: Purex Liquid laundry detergent
Ingredients: “We disclose all ingredients: water softeners and alkalinity builders (sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, sodium silicate, and zeolites), Coconut and corn-derived cleaning agents (fatty alcohol ethoxylate and polyglucose), Performance enhancers (magnesium sulfate and sodium sulfate), Non-chlorine bleach (sodium percarbonate), antiredeposition agents (carboxymethyl inulin and carboxymethyl cellulose), Enzymes (protease, amylase, and cellulase), and Plant-derived anti-foaming agents (oleic acid and glycerol monooleate).
Use: Because this is laundry detergent, I use it on my laundry! Big surprise there!
Results: I love this detergent for a few reasons.
First, this detergent is both natural and biodegradable and its ingredients are all listed. The box is made from 100% recycled paper, too, which is great as is the scoop inside, made from recycled plastic and is recyclable.
Second, while Seventh Generation carries quite a reputation for delivering quality products with an emphasis on the environmental effects of its use, of course the skeptic in me has to try to find a problem. Searching for some of the ingredients online, despite my difficulty saying or spelling all of them, I was unable to find problems with the ingredients in the product. It seems Seventh Generation truly lives up to its often quoted, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven genrations,” From The Great Law of The Iroquois Confederacy.
This detergent is Certified Kosher, and while I’m not sure of whether or not that is difficult for people interested in such a certification to find, I’ll make note of it here in case anyone was wondering.
This product is effective in cold water, as it says so on the box, and I can vouch for that statement. I was most of my clothing using cold water and find this detergent to work well even in cold water. It says it works in temperatures between 45°F – 145°F.
From the back of the box, “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one box of 42 load petroleum-based powder laundry detergent with our plant-based product, we could save 238,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 13,600 U.S. homes for a year!
I love how Seventh Generation spells this out for the customer, showing how it would pan out and how changing to this product can actually save resources.
Also from the label:
- Biodegradable
- No phosphates
- No petroleum-based cleaners
- No chlorine bleach
- No optical brighteners
- No dyes or fragrances
- No NTA or EDTA
- Safe for spetic and greywater systems
- Not tested on animals
- No animal ingredients
Anytime a company can make such, “absolutely not,” or, “no,” statements, it’s a good sign of openness about the product. This list is quite encouraging for someone looking to green his or her approach to laundry.
Best of all: It really works! I wash my laundry with this detergent about 75% of the time, rotating with other “green” detergents I might be testing. I find that not only does it clean my laundry, but it also does not leave smelly deposits of frangrances, but instead leaves laundry smelling like nothing — as if it were plain water.
And that’s when you know that your laundry is clean: when there is no frangrance to cover any chance hint of uncleanliness that might remain — and it still smells clean! It’s also unlikely to irritate sensitive skins and noses. My girlfriend uses this product and she has both contact dermititis and eczema, both of which have not been at all irritated by this detergent, but Purex had previously caused some inflamation.
Why try it? It’s another greener cleaner to arm your household with and improve your envirohuman impact. And it works!
The drawback: This product is not great at removing the toughest stains, but come to think of it, neither was Purex. The key is to presoak or wet and apply a small amount of the detergent ahead ot time, directly to the fabric.
Also, the product is probably more expensive than Purex and other major, non-green, namebrand detergents. However, you can print coupons at a special section of Seventh Generation’s website and perhaps find a sale from time to time, as well. Beside savings potential, this is very much worth the comfort it brings regarding the lack of dyes and frangrances, as well as your improved envirohuman impact!
EHI There! What green products are you using that you love? What products are you trying to replace? Got an idea for a product you would like to be reviewed? We welcome guest columnists; just contact us!
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June 27th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Terrific to find this review! I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on two products that very affordable and are supposed to be “green,” but which also give me pause since they’re produced by mainstream corporations: the new Purex Naturals line of liquid laundry detergents, and the Clorox Greenworks toilet cleaner. Both appeal to me because of price, but I was wondering how green they really are, as well as how well they work.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I’m a medical student who is extremely interested in toxicology. I spend tons of time reading labels on anything I might buy because carcinogens are ubiquitous in all kinds of products, including food. I spend extra time reading labels for products that I use on my skin, as I have eczema, which of course requires extra gentle soaps, lotions, detergents, etc. My skin has improved so much since I switched from the cheap Purex crap to the more-expensive-but-totally-worth-it 7th Generation detergent. IT IS AMAZING. Let me tell you why:
1) The ingredients are listed on the box! Try to match that honesty with Purex or Tide, who shadily list things as “anionic surfactants” and “color brighteners” and “fragrance” which can be hiding all kinds of poisons. That is exactly what those companies are doing. They don’t list their ingredients because they are awful chemicals. By the way, the fragrances and the dyes are especially carcinogenic; specifically, they are strongly linked to urothelial carcinomas (bladder and kidney cancers).
2) It really cleans your clothes. You can tell this by taking a shirt that has a really smelly underarm. Wash it in Purex. Then, before putting it in the dryer, smell the armpit. I bet you can still smell B.O. and you can smell the perfume that attempts to cover it. Try the same thing with 7th generation. You will smell nothing. No B.O., no perfume, nada.
3) You could basically eat the ingredients and be fine — okay, not actually, so don’t eat it, but my point is that it’s so natural!
4) If you have eczema, psoriasis, or any type of atopic or hypersensitivity issue (even asthma), you have to use 7th Generation Detergent. Don’t waste your time with Arm & Hammer’s sensitive skin stuff…all they did was take out the dye and perfume, but they left in all the other crap. It didn’t help my skin, and it’s expensive.
5) 7th Generation is the GOLD STANDARD that should be the example for other companies to follow. In response to Jen’s mention of Purex naturals and Clorox Greenworks, I bet those products are not much different from their regular stuff. They can throw around words like “green” and “natural” without having anything to show for it. It’s kind of like when you find a loaf of bread that says in big letters on the front “WHEAT” but when you look at the ingredients, it’s only white bread + caramel color. This is why ingredient labels must be read, and if not everything is listed, the company is hiding something.
I <3 7th Generation.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
[...] Product Review: Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent Powder [...]
July 7th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
First, thanks to Kristen for her response and extra information.
Second, to answer Jen, thank you for the ideas of products you would like for us to review. We always welcome ideas from readers for posts or product reviews you would like to hear from us on, so keep them coming! Expect a product review on these products (Clorox and Purex) and more, coming up soon!
July 9th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I prefer soap nuts for laundry detergent, myself. So natural that they grow on trees.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Interesting stuff. I had never heard of soap nuts, and I just did some reading on your website and on Wikipedia. I would be interested to try soap nuts and even write a review for the product, here on EnviroHumanImpact. Let me know if you would be interested in sending a sample for my review. Thanks for sharing!
July 12th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Yes. We will gladly give you a sample. Please send your shipping address to buysoapnuts@yahoo.com
July 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
[...] usually, Wikipedia can help. Concentrate on finding one quality “green” dishsoap, laundry detergent, and all-purpose cleaner, looking for natural, petroleum-free, plant-based, biodegradable products, [...]
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:53 am
[...] Try a Greener Laundry Detergent [...]
August 24th, 2008 at 9:18 am
[...] the powdered version of this product, I was unable to find any problems with the ingredients, which are all clearly listed and explained [...]
September 13th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Have you really read the ingrediants to seventh generation?
Check into it more thoroughly
sadly enough I’ve discovered a main ingrediant being Sodium laureth sulfate-
wikipedia has an interesting take on this- being cancer urban legend or not
Do you think Sweden embraces this ingrediant?
I think not
take a look at Sweden and their feelings on Paraben
Look again at SLS and if you’d like to be using it?
September 13th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Misha,
Thanks for writing! I have recently come across such articles and am looking into these matters. We want to recommend to readers not only green, but also, safe products for their everyday use. For my own reference and others, can you provide us with any specific links? Thanks again!
November 12th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Any progress in the reviews on soap nuts?
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Still doing the review on soap nuts?
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Well, I must say that this detergent doesn’t SCARE me as the Seventh Generation’s LIQUID detergents do. On their liquid side (even the baby detergent) they are literally chemical soups – and many of the ingredients are ranked VERY high as potential health hazardous. This is not to mention that they are anything but “green”. I have reviewed many of their different liquids and determined they would be better labeled as bio-hazards (at least by all skin care and cosmetics standards).
There is a very important point about Seventh Generation. This is marketing at it absolute finest. Even how they line extend is brilliant in how it can confuse the consumer. Albeit a firm believer and one who follows a company policy of “full disclosure”, full disclosure should be MEANINGFUL to the average consumer. It’s my bet that not 1 in 1000 readers of the full ingredient list of this product can REALLY tell you much at all about it – and what potential effects it could have on you. And let’s remember that in chemistry it is not ONE ingredient that tells the tale. In chemistry the end result is the sum of its parts – and the numerous interactions of those parts. The full list is as follows:
“Sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, sodium silicate and zeolites (water softeners and alkalinity builders), fatty alcohol ethoxylate and polyglucose (coconut and corn-derived cleaning agents), magnesium sulfate, sodium sulfate and sodium chloride (performance enhancers), sodium percarbonate (non-chlorine bleach), carboxymethyl inulin and carboxymethyl cellulose (antiredeposition agents), protease and cellulase (non-animal derived enzymes), oleic acid (plant-derived anti-foaming agents), essential oils and botanical extracts* (citrus aurantium amara (petitgrain bigarade sur fleurs), citrus aurantium dulcis (blood orange), citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot), myristica fragrans (nutmeg)). *D-limonene is a naturally occurring component of these ingredients. Trace materials are commonly present in cleaning product ingredients.”
I had to look up a number of the ingredients and I work with this type of thing everyday. SG utilizes some very clever ways of disguising ingredients. These guys are very GOOD at their jobs. It should also be noted that just because you practice full disclosure does not mean that everything MUST be okay. That’s the totally normal human assumption that SG’s marketing team capitalizes on. Think about THAT one for minute. It’s an interesting ploy.
Please don’t take me wrong here. Of all SG’s detergents that I’ve studied, this one seems better – even though there are some data gaps that make me curious, but surely only their chemists would be able to fill for me. At least there is nothing that blatantly calls out for the skull and crossbones. So, as a professional, if you are happy with it, go for it. It’s better than most. Just don’t think you are “going green” by using it. Baloney. Such hype.
I really wish that SG would tone down how “green” EVERYTHING of theirs is. It’s so deceptive. I’d like to see much more honesty and much less game playing in their marketing. Why not just tell it the way it really is? You might even gain a little more respect for doing so.
BTW: Geeez…FOUR out of 14 posts from the same person asking about when your are reviewing soap nuts? Give it a rest…please.
I am the founder of NaturOli, a natural products formulator. We are currently doing many things with sapindus mukorossi soap berries (aka soap nuts) in our formulations. If I can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
[...] Product replaced: Long ago, I had used Purex… I switched to using a series of different more ecological options such as Seventh Generation Powder. [...]