{"id":18720,"date":"2022-01-05T20:27:18","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T20:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/?p=18720"},"modified":"2024-10-23T19:55:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T19:55:01","slug":"this-not-that-a-guide-to-better-ingredients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/live-cleaner\/this-not-that-a-guide-to-better-ingredients\/","title":{"rendered":"This, Not That: A Guide to Better Ingredients"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all been there. That moment you go to look at a bottle\u2019s ingredient label and find a list of words you can\u2019t pronounce, let alone identify. Sometimes it feels like you need a PhD in chemistry just to understand what\u2019s safe or unsafe for your home. While we can\u2019t offer you an advanced degree, we can promise to be as transparent and open as possible about what we put in our ECOS products. Unlike many conventional cleaners, we list all our ingredients. And if that\u2019s not enough, we also list all the ingredients we promise to never use, AKA \u201cThe Nasties.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s because they can cause skin irritation, produce carcinogens, or are bad for the environment, there\u2019s a big, bad world of cleaning chemicals that are best to avoid. But that\u2019s no cause for alarm, because there are also very easy, very effective alternatives for each and every one. And to prove it, we want to share our knowledge on three popular \u201cNasties\u201d and the alternative ingredient we use to achieve an equally effective clean. Get your goggles ready and let\u2019s talk chemistry!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SURFACTANTS:\u00a0
\n<\/b>Ethoxylated Surfactant vs. Non-Ethoxylated<\/b><\/h3>\n

First off, what is a surfactant? In cleaning, they\u2019re the chemical compound that does the heavy lifting of soil and stain removal. Surfactants bust through water\u2019s strong surface tension, ensuring that soils can be carried away, making them essential to things like laundry detergent. Surfactants come in many forms – good and bad. We consider ethoxylated surfactants \u201cnasty\u201d because the process in which they are made creates a harmful byproduct known as 1,4-dioxane. 1,4 dioxane is a known carcinogen and neurotoxin. And what\u2019s even sneakier? It\u2019s never listed on labels! Luckily, there are some easy tricks to avoid it. Ethoxylated surfactants usually end in \u201c-eth,\u201d such as laureth-6, sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), or ceteareth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s a good alternative? Plant-powered, non-ethoxylated surfactants such as sodium coco sulfate. Sodium coco sulfate uses coconut oil pressed from the inside meat to create a surfactant with excellent cleaning properties while remaining exceptionally gentle. You\u2019ll find it in many of our products, like our hypoallergenic laundry detergent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PRESERVATIVES:
\n<\/b>Parabens vs Safer Choice-Approved Preservatives<\/b><\/h3>\n

Preservatives are necessary for keeping cleaning formulas shelf-stable, but not all are created equal when it comes to safety. For example, parabens are a class of synthetic preservatives found in many commercial products. Studies have shown that parabens mimic estrogen in the body, which can have potentially harmful effects on fertility and increase cancer risks. To avoid them, keep in mind common paraben preservative names like methylparaben, butylparaben and polyparaben.\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

For our formulas, we do our best to use Safer Choice-Approved preservatives, like Potassium Sorbate. So what is Safer Choice? It\u2019s a seal of approval created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help consumers find cleaning products that are safer for their health and the environment without sacrificing performance. We have over 150 Safer Choice products (more than any other company!). You can read more about Safer Choice <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

EXTRA CLEAN:
\n<\/b>Optical Brighteners vs Oxobrite<\/b><\/h3>\n

Optical brighteners are an example of a product being \u201cover-engineered.\u201d They are equivalent to a fluorescent dye. And while they may make your clothes look \u201cfresher\u201d or brighter, they actually do nothing when it comes to cleaning your clothing. In fact, they often leave behind residue that can irritate skin in order to achieve a \u201cbrighter\u201d look, not to mention they\u2019re not biodegradable and will bioaccumulate. You can avoid optical brighteners by looking for laundry detergents that are clear and do not have any iridescence or fluorescence. And if you\u2019re still interested in giving your clothing a clean boost, we recommend our Oxobrite, made with stain-lifting minerals. It\u2019s an earth-friendly bleach-alternative that you can use around the house without worrying about nasty, hidden chemicals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alright, feel free to remove those goggles now. We\u2019re done talking chemistry. But if you want to do a little extra homework, you can always take a look at our clean chemistry page. That\u2019s where you\u2019ll find some of our favorite ingredients (both naturally-derived and lab-made) as well as our extensive list of \u201cNasties.\u201d And if you\u2019d like to know more about cleaning ingredients on a public policy level, take a look at our blog post,<\/span>\u00a0Legally speaking, what\u2019s the deal with cleaning?<\/span><\/a> Without further ado, class dismissed!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all been there. That moment you go to look at a bottle\u2019s ingredient label and find a list of words you can\u2019t pronounce, let alone identify. Sometimes it feels like you need a PhD in chemistry just to understand what\u2019s safe or unsafe for your home. While we can\u2019t offer you an advanced degree, we can promise to be as transparent and open as possible about what we put in our ECOS products. Unlike many conventional cleaners, we list all our ingredients. And if that\u2019s not enough, we also list all the ingredients we promise to never use, AKA \u201cThe Nasties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":21107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18720"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26033,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18720\/revisions\/26033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}