I’m oddly obsessed with finding cleaning products that are ultra-concentrated. I’ve tried a ton and I’ll be honest, some sucked. They just didn’t perform as well as the traditional counterparts that came in giant plastic jugs.
Why TruEarth is the best
After years of doing this, I’ve lost my faith in the sustainability movement time and time again, only to gain it back again when I actually find something fantastic. TruEarth is one of those fantastic green products that keeps me going. Here’s why:
1.) It works better than all the other detergents (and I’ve tried a lot!) Clothes smell great, stains are gone, and there’s no weird residue that I’ve found with other laundry powders and pods.
2.) Those eco-strips really are tiny and ultra-concentrated. No unnecessary water or plastic jugs anywhere to be found. I used my handy little food scale to weigh one package (32 loads) and it weighs 76 grams. I ended up weighing a lot of packaging after that, and believe me when I say, 76 grams is not much 😉
3.) It works in cold water! This is important. A few hours after I wrote the first draft of this email a friend sent me a link to Laundry Done Right by Malcolm Gladwell on the Revisionist History podcast. The episode is a good reminder that the most environmentally friendly way to do your laundry is by running it in cold water and using energy-efficient appliances. Most of us eco-geeks already know this, but reminders are always good.
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Why is ultra-concentrated better for the environment?
“Removing water from products is a growing trend in reuse innovation. It reduces shipping costs and carbon emissions compared to heavy, diluted products and the compact concentrated products lend themselves well to e-commerce,” according to The solution to plastic pollution by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
This brings me back to that podcast episode by Gladwell. Gladwell said there’s not much of an environmental footprint associated with laundry detergents. It went on to talk about why Tide is so efficient. I’m sure it is. But maybe it will also be a concentrate in the future.
“We believe single unit dose pacs are the future of laundry, but we also have learned that it takes time for people to adapt to new forms,” according to Tide’s website.
Looks like times are indeed changing in the laundry business, but consumers aren’t ready yet. It’s always up to the early adopters like you to show the rest the way forward.