Cleaning products that are not green at all, but really toxic

Many household cleaning products boasting natural compositions are now available on the shelves of supermarkets and shops. But are they really as "green" as they promise to be? A French analysis compared several products with each other and found a bitter surprise.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

There are now available on the shelves of supermarkets and shops, many products for the house cleaning which boast natural compositions. But are they really as “green” as they promise to be? A French analysis compared several products with each other and found a bitter surprise.





On the labels of some cleaning products we find in plain sight words such as "natural ingredients", "with essential oils", "floral atmosphere", "touch of freshness", etc. We are so convinced that we are buying something better, more natural and respectful of the environment. In this way, manufacturers grab potential buyers by trying to seduce them by making their detergents appear to be something they really aren't. But if we go to read the labels carefully of these products, we can wreck their marketing strategy.

However, there is no need to make a bundle of all the grass, some companies have really developed ecological household cleaning products, but most are satisfied only with captivating slogans and therefore appearance. This is how the so-called greenwashing blooms. This term indicates the positive, but deceptive image of themselves, which some companies give from the point of view of the environmental impact of their products.

In practice, on the packaging of detergents passed off as "green", terms and designs that evoke nature are often used and, in about half of the cases, the color green is used to better print a hypothetical commitment in the imaginary of potential buyers towards the environment.

A French analysis conducted by the magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs on many household cleaning products, it also paused to evaluate the components of some of those considered “greener”. You can imagine the results: not all that glitters is gold.

The results of the French analysis

I 12 "green" products analyzed all were evaluated, some more and some less, definitely not green. Within the compositions, in fact, harmful or toxic substances were found in different levels.


For example, the Cif which offers a whole range of home products inspired by nature and which has studied particularly captivating packaging made of transparent bottles, vegetable motifs and the presence of lemon. Unfortunately, however, the composition of the analyzed product (the degreaser with lemon extracts) actually reveals the presence of allergens (limonene and geraniol) and preservatives that are irritating to the skin as well as harmful to the environment.


Then there is the Ajax brand flower cleaner showing us a bouquet of lily of the valley on the package. Inside, however, a fragrance was found that is suspected to be an endocrine disruptor and a disinfectant that can cause burns and is toxic to the environment.

Cleaning products that are not green at all, but really toxic Cleaning products that are not green at all, but really toxic

The problem with most of the products analyzed is that they boast of being made with natural substances known to all as vinegar, sodium bicarbonate or lemon but in reality they contain only a very small part. This is the case, for example, of the St Marc multi-purpose cleaner with bicarbonate whose leading ingredient appears only in sixteenth position within the composition.

Cleaning products that are not green at all, but really toxic Cleaning products that are not green at all, but really toxic

One would expect a product that claims to be green to have a composition devoid of ingredients harmful to nature but, unfortunately, at least in the cases analyzed, this is not the case. In these cleaners no parabens were found but dangerous preservatives (also 2 or 3 together as in the case of Cif), optical brighteners and other substances with low biodegradability and highly polluting substances. Therefore, no one was saved by obtaining a good evaluation.



How can we defend ourselves? By learning to read the labels and informing us which are the truly ecological cleaning products. Another alternative is to try homemade detergent recipes with baking soda, vinegar, lemon or other natural ingredients. For example, you can experiment with that of the all-purpose lemon cleaner.

Read also:

  • 10 truly eco-friendly detergents and products that aren't actually green
  • Vinegar, baking soda and lemon pollute less than industrial detergents. Confirmation in a study

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