Just released this past week, this new guide rates more than 2000 cleaning products on an A-F scale for toxic exposures.
I really appreciate all this research and it’s a great tool for researching whatever products an average person may be using so they can see how toxic their products are, however, it’s not an easy guide to finding nontoxic products.
To find the least toxic products, go to the menu on the left that says “Products” at the top and click on the type of cleaning product. It then gives you the choice to choose the lists from A through F. A vast majority of the products rate D and F.
Many of the smaller companies making the best nontoxic products that I’ve put on Debra’s List are not even included.
But if you want to know how toxic the cleaning products sold in most stores are, this is a great resource!
I know this is an older post, but has anyone received any info regarding EWG’s “surfactant” decision regarding Charlie’s Soap? Just curious.
Debra,
Thanks for posting this. I’m disappointed to see that the Seventh Generation bathroom clearner I’ve been using received a low rating. It makes me sick, really, because I don’t want to expose my baby to anything that’s toxic and I thought I was safe using those products. I’m also surprised to see Charlie’s Soap received such a low rating. Do you agree with the low rating for Charlie’s Soap? I thought it was as pure as I could get without making my own laundry soap.
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
I don’t rely on EWG’s rating scores. I do look to see what ingredients are listed and what they say about them. They gave Charlie’s Soap an “F” for “surfactants”.
What it says on the label is “Washing soda, Sodium Silicate, Coconut Oil Based Detergents.” But they translated “Coconut Oil Based Detergents” to “surfactants” and then used their health effects for “surfactants.”
A “surfactant” is a condensed form of the term “surface-active agent.” It’s something that reduces the surface tension of liquids. There are many different surfactants—we even have surfactants in our lungs. Surfactants in products are made from many different substances. A surfactant made from coconut oil acts in the body and environment very differently than a surfactant made from petroleum.
Certainly the petroleum surfactants may be toxic, but “coconut oil based detergents?”
This doesn’t make sense to me.
Why don’t you ask them and see what they say? Ask EWG and ask Charlie’s Soap. And let us know.