How to Find an Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergent

There are several other places you can look for information.

Green-cleaner guides offered by the Environmental Working Group: That nonprofit group’s label decoder explains potentially confusing terms like surfactant, enzymes, non-toxic, organic, fragrance, scent, and free/clear. And its Guide to Healthy Cleaning highlights ingredients of concern in detergents and other products and scores them for safety. 

SmartLabel: Created by the 75-member Consumer Brands Association, which represents about 2,000 brands, the SmartLabel digital app offers more ingredient and product information than you’ll see on your laundry detergent label, including potential allergens. Consumers can scan product barcodes with their smartphones to get information, including ingredients lists, third-party certifications, and directions for proper use, and safety data sheets, features and benefits, and recycling information. While some consumers complain the app is glitchy, it’s more convenient than searching individual websites, says Eric Boring, PhD, a CR chemist who led our recent tests of laundry detergents. 

SmartLabel information comes directly from manufacturers, including Procter & Gamble, makers of Tide, Gain, Dreft, Era, Downy, and Bounce.

“In North America, we list the ingredients for our formulated products in SmartLabel, including sharing the ingredients in our fragrances down to 0.01 percent, further helping consumers with sensitivities and diagnosed allergies to make a well-informed decision,” says Jennifer Ahoni, P&G’s director of Scientific Communications.

Manufacturers’ websites: You can also mine company websites for more detailed information about the ingredients in a company’s products. Seventh Generation, for example, provides detailed product safety sheets (PDF) listing potential allergens and other chemicals. 

The American Cleaning Institute’s glossary of cleaning product terms: This organization, which represents cleaning product manufacturers, offers an online resource that explains how some detergent ingredients work.