When I first bought the Ecover Stain Remover, not wanting to use nasty, phthalate-ridden fragrance-containing commercial stain treaters on my children's clothing, I was pretty pleased with it. It doesn't have a strong smell (and is available, though more difficult to obtain in a fragrance-free variation). And it works - perhaps not equally well to something like Shout!, but pretty darn well. We've been using it for six months now. It removes grass and mud. It removes ketchup and difficult turmeric-containing mustard. It falters on grease and oil-based stains, but I've never met a truly effective agent for removing these things. When my daughter had her finger slammed in a door, she bled profusely on her shirt - and because that was the least of our concerns, we didn't stain treat or wash it for days. But after three stain treatings and washings, the shirt actually came clean. That's pretty impressive. So, if it's all natural, what makes it clean so well? This page lists the ingredients: Plant Based Non-ionic and Anionic Tensio-active Surfactants, Water, Salt, Enzymes (Guaranteed Non Gmo), Plant Based Ethanol, Natural Gum and Plant Based Fragrance. That's the same list that's on my Ecover bottle, the one I read that led me to go ahead and purchase it. Wow! That's a short list. It sounds like the real deal, if not a little... oversimplified. Actually, it is. The real ingredient list is a little more lengthy, and is available on the Ecover website: * Water * Alkyl Poly Glycoside C10-16 * Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate * Sodium Chloride * Ethanol * Perfume * Cellulase * Citric Acid * Subtilisin * 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol * Linalool So, they don't disclose either on the containers, or on the websites that sell their products, the actual ingredient list. So what? The one that immediately stands out to me is 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol. That's a nasty one. It's a preservative/disinfectant, and is commonly used in other products I've learned to avoid. According to the multiple sources used by the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database, this ingredient is considered to have the highest hazard score - a 10. Why? Well, here's a not-so-brief list of concerns regarding 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol: -Known human immune system toxicant, -Known human lung and skin toxicant, -One or more animal studies show brain and nervous system effects at low doses, -One or more animal studies show reproductive effects at high doses. -Gastrointestinal or liver toxicity hazards: suspected -According to European Union Classification & Labelling: Very toxic to aquatic organisms. -According to National Library of Medicine HazMap: Skin Sensitizer; An agent that can induce an allergic reaction in the skin or lungs -EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs classified this substance as toxic Okay, so they've got one highly toxic ingredient. And while this seems to go against their mission statement, is that enough to seal their fate? Then I learn that in the past the Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate in Ecover's products has been tested to have twice the amount of dioxane contamination of the standard junk you find at the grocery store. Er... that's not exactly good. I guess that makes me start to wonder about those plant-based fragrances that are listed, simply, as "perfume" on their website. Are they safe, or are they not? I don't know the answer, but I think I've concocted my own opinion on the matter: I'm not entirely convinced that their product, which claims minimum impact on the environment is actually 'good for the environment' nor am I convinced of its safety as a household product and I felt like that was what it was marketed as being on both counts. I guess the bottom line is, if you're considering buying this stuff there's more going on beneath the surface. This stuff works, and I know the company consistantly makes an effort to create greener products, and lobby against the greenwashing that is going on in a lot of mainstream companies. But each individual person must draw their own conclusions from the other information that is available. For me, it's just not good enough, and I think we'll be back to the drawing board on stain removers once our year's supply (ugh) of this stuff runs out.
