Domestic Cleaning Products: Over the last 50 years the drive to combat bacteria, mould, 
dirt, and to eradicate stains and blemishes within the home has driven the development of increasingly powerful cleaning products for the domestic market. Unfortunately, many of the synthetic chemicals that have made their way out of research laboratories into these products are potentially very harmful to both human health and to the environment.
Some of the chemicals commonly found in everyday household cleaners are not only toxic if ingested but contain VOC's (volatile organic compounds) which are released into the air within our homes, and which we can either breathe in or absorb through our skin. Equally damaging is the impact on the environment as many of these chemicals and components find their way through our sinks, loos and drains into watercourses, where they may accumulate and threaten bird, mammal, insect and plant life. Click here for our table summarising, by product type, some of the most commonly found hazardous chemicals and their potential consequences.
The good news is that there are now an increasing number of environmentally friendly cleaning products that do not rely on these potentially harmful chemicals, but instead use a combination of non-toxic, fully-biodegradeable compounds. Also incorporated are natural ingredients with traditionally acknowledged properties, like herbs and plant extracts. Most of these alternative manufacturers are also committed to a 'no animal testing' policy.
We offer a range of eco-friendly cleaning products here on the site, including the Ecover cleaning range, Ecozone laundry products and E-Cloth cleaners. Other manufacturers with more environmentally friendly cleaning products include:
If you are feeling adventurous you might like to try making your own eco-friendly cleaning products using traditional recipes based on vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda. Follow this link for a couple of receipes to try.
Packaging: Another aspect to consider is packaging and whilst increasingly the plastics used are recyclable their manufacture and reprocessing requires energy and can often create harmful by-products. Larger package sizes and buying refills tends to reduce the proportion of packaging and is therefore a more eco-friendly buying choice. Fortunately virtually all aerosols of cleaning products are now free of ozone damaging CFC's and use more environmentally friendly propellants, but the cans themselves are often difficult to recycle and usually represent a higher proportion of packaging to product than liquids or powders etc..
Whichever products you choose to purchase, here are a few tips for making a more environmentally friendly choice:
- Try to avoid products containing bleach, but where this is not possible look for chlorine-free bleach.
- Choose fragrance-free products, that way you'll avoid synthetic fragrances & artificial musks which can be irritants and build up in the body.
- Avoid anti-bacterial products which are of course important in hospitals etc, but can be unnecessarily over-cautious around the home. By using excessive chemical force to kill bacteria we may well be letting ourselves in for greater problems as bacteria become resistant and/or mutate.
- Consider the packaging and look for the recycling symbol. Try to buy larger sizes to reduce the packaging to product ratio.
- Try to avoid aerosols even if they are CFC free.