Why This is Green

Even if you have a dishwasher, you probably have a bottle of dish soap in your kitchen. What do you know about it? Have you ever read the ingredient list? Does it even have an ingredient list—some don’t, as cleaning product formulas are currently government protected trade secrets.

While formulas vary brand to brand, here’s the skinny: most conventional dish soaps are made with petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Some contain phenoxyethanol, which has been linked to reproductive and developmental issues and is banned for use in Japan, as well as synthetic fragrances (possible hormone disrupters), and they do not biodegrade. Dish soaps can also contain the antibacterial agent triclosan, which is currently under review by the FDA because recent studies have linked it to endocrine disruption, and it has altered hormones in animals. It’s also highly toxic to aquatic life and the American Medical Association says it may encourage bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The CDC says it’s found in the urine of 75 percent of the population.

Natural dish soaps, on the other hand, are plant based. It has been said that if every household in the U.S. replaced one 25-ounce bottle of petroleum-based dish soap with a plant-derived one, that would save enough oil to heat and cool 7,400 homes for a year. These soaps are usually free of synthetic fragrances and toxic ingredients, and tend to biodegrade.

Learn More

• FDA.gov: Triclosan -- What Consumers Should Know
• The Washington Post: FDA Says Studies On Triclosan, Used In Sanitizers And Soaps, Raise Concerns
• GoodGuide.com: Phenoxyethanol
• eHow.com: How To Make Natural Dish Soap
• Practically Green: 10 Practically Green Steps To Improve Health
• About.com: Top 6 Eco-Friendly Dish Soaps