mrs meyer's laundry detergent?

[krissy]

i got half a bottle of mrs meyers laundry soap from someone who was throwing it away. i used it and really liked it so i did a search on it and it is about $15 a half gallon bottle!
it is supposed to be a green product and looks like it is a "homemade" type product. the ingredients say
Ingredients:
• Deionized Water
• Plant Derived Surfactants
• Borax
• Solubolizing Agents
• Cotton Extract
• Enzymes (from biofermentation, non-animal)
• Essential Oils of Basil, Parsley, Black Pepper
• Essential Oils of Eucalyptus Golbus Leaf & Cedarwood Bark
• Fragrance*
• Preservative*
• Polymeric Thickener
• Citric Acid

i don't see any oils listed other than the scenting oils. is this really a handmade type soap or is it detergents? anybody??

 

[soapbuddy]

Surfactants are usually synthetic. It doesn't look like a handmade product to me.

 

[kittywings]

Snowdrift Farm carries plant derived surfactants... so it COULD be handmade.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[kittywings]

My lotion has a lot of stuff that SOUND complicated and it's handmade (I researched all the ingredients so I wouldn't be using anything that I want to stay away from). Which is how I recognized that this could be handmade... I've seen those "ingredients" listed on websites where I get supplies.

Personally, I would think they should be listing exactly what "solubilizing agents" they use.... that would be like me saying "emulisifiers" or "oils" in lotion, which also leads me to think that it's handmade... because they obviously don't have some big legal dept. making sure their labels are listing ingredients properly. 8)

 

[soapbuddy]

I thought most were derived from Coconut ..

Anyhoo, it's the:
• Solubolizing Agents
• Cotton Extract
• Enzymes (from biofermentation, non-animal)
• Polymeric Thickener

that sounds way too complicated to be home-made .. And with no Lye or Oil I don't see how it can be soap ..

Most of the labels that use derived from coconut are pushing the envelope.

 

[kittywings]

In fairness, she said she thinks it's "handmade," not "natural." (just sayin')

Also, being "green" doesn't mean everything has to be picked from a meadow somewhere, it means that it's not harmful to the environment. The only thing I'm hesitant about is the polymeric thickener... but I'm researching right now.

 

[kittywings]

I can't find anything that bad about polymeric thickeners aside from a site talking about putting them into soil/ livestock feed, etc. and how it's basically filling up the soil with packing peanuts... the same site says that they're promoted as being environmentally friendly, but that's not necessarily the case.

In my searching I did find this interesting page: http://www.cateringsupplies.com/modules ... _nav_id/89

I hope more of this stuff gets out and about because I think sustainable materials/products are so important!

 

[gekko62]

It's detergent not soap,but you could make similar at home.There are many 'green' plant based surfactants available these days,some even certified for use in 'organic' formulations.Not sure which ones are suitable &/or cost effective enough for household cleaning tho...
Solublisers: polysorbates?
Borax boosts cleaning power.It works as a thickener in liquid soap but don't know how it reacts/combines in a surfactant base.
I don't think you'd have much luck with the enzymes tho,& whilst they're good for stain shifting some recent research claims they don't do much good for our waterways.Some EO's are supposedly good for shifting stains & grease ie: eucalyptus,orange 5x
A thickener would be aesthetic only(?)
Cotton extract has something to do with soil suspension I think(trying to remember from my last box of soap powder!!)

I personally don't think liquids clean as well as powder in the laundry,& I get horrid brown greasy floaties after running it in my machine for a while.(as opposed to shitloads more lint with the powder!) Ive been using the no shred cp laundry soap from here

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... eed609b25f

but Im not 100% happy with it. So it's a tossup for me between the commercial powders(which clean but are full of ickies) & homemade(which is more 'natural' but a so-so cleaner)