Lavender Liquid Dish Soap – A Tale of Two Labels

Those with a “green” state of mind know the drill. We walk down the grocery aisle, looking for products that appear healthy for the environment.

Sometimes we look for green colors or leaves. Maybe it’s earthy browns or the purity of white. Other times, it’s catchy buzzwords, like eco or ethical or environmental.

The reality is, we need to read carefully, or we risk disappointment. Despite good intentions, we can inadvertently contribute to pollution and form less-than-healthy habits.

How To Spot The Difference

We’ve all been duped at some point. We peel back the layers on a new favorite “green” product only to become disappointed in the truth we find. It doesn’t feel great.

There’s no trick to finding out what’s real and what’s not. Just effort and time.

It also doesn’t have to be a labor-intensive ordeal. Make Wikipedia your friend. Familiarize yourself with a few key ingredients and some chemicals to avoid.

Let’s unpack the contents of a very common label: an everyday dish soap...and its alternative.

A Side-By-Side

We’ll review the ingredients of two lavender-scented dish soaps in the order they appear on their respective labels.

Many of Dawn’s ingredients are not commonly known, at least for most people. To help, we linked many of them to external sources for more information.

Dawn Ultra Botanicals	AspenClean
Dishwashing Liquid Dish Soap, Lavender Scent	Natural Dish Soap Lavender & Lemongrass
Alcohol denat. (denatured, stabilizes formula) C10-16 Alkyldimethylamine Oxide (surfactant, boosts cleaning) Colorants (adds color to product) Fragrances (adds scent to product) Methylisothiazolinone (preservative) PEI-14 PEG-24/PPG-16 Copolymer (boosts cleaning) Phenoxyethanol (stabilizes formula) PPG-26 (stabilizes formula) Sodium Chloride (salt, thickener) Sodium Hydroxide (balances formula PH) Sodium Laureth Sulfate (provides cleaning) Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (provides cleaning)	Water Sodium Chloride (salt) Lauryl Glucoside (derived from coconut and palm kernel oil) Coco Glucoside (derived from coconut, palm, and palm kernel oil) Organic Glycerine (derived from vegetables) Citric Acid Populus Tremuloide Bark Extract (aspen tree bark) Organic Lavandula Angustifolia Oil (lavender) Organic Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil (lemongrass, which includes the oil component Citral+)

A Closer Look at Dawn - $4.79
Dawn explains each ingredient on its backside label, but these don’t tell the full story.

Its label boasts “botanicals,” which are missing, specifically, from the ingredients list. Presumably, this is what is listed as Fragrances...

Its label also calls attention to how the “International Bird Rescue uses Dawn Original” to save wildlife affected by oil spills and other unnatural disasters.

On its website, parent company Procter & Gamble notes that it “has donated more than $4 million to its wildlife partners.” In other words, P&G “donates” in product and money for the right to add ducklings on their labels.

Dawn’s newer alternative, its Free & Clear dishwashing liquid, has a nearly identical label. It similarly lists “lemon essence” on its label, which we also presume translates to Fragrances in the ingredient list.

There are only two differences on the Fresh & Clear product: it’s missing Colorants and Sodium Hydroxide. (So they knock off a couple bucks from the price tag.)

 

A Closer Look at AspenClean - $9.99
AspenClean provides context for its ingredients too.

Simply put, they provide either the Latin genus and species of an ingredient, or they describe how the ingredient is derived.

The ingredients are that straightforward. They're natural.

AspenClean’s label contains two seals of certification.

The green EWG seal verifies that cleaning products are free from chemicals of concern. 

 

The black EcoCert seal at the top of the bottle certifies natural or organic cleaning products, internationally.

 

Our Conclusion

Including “botanicals” and “free & clear” on the label, and listing an association with animal rescue organizations is classic greenwashing. It says, “Look at this over here!” while taking shortcuts with questionable chemicals that can be absorbed by our skin.

When deciding on cleansers, price point may be a critical factor. Paying double the price for dish soap simple simply not be an option for some people.

Seventh Generation is a common US brand that offers something of a middle ground, price-wise.

Its Lavender Flower and Mint Dish Soap prices between $3.00-5.00 and is a blend of natural ingredients with a few synthetics. Many stores carry this option.

Nature Offers Another Way
Many natural ingredients can combine to form effective cleaning supplies.

Consider a DIY dish soap that costs a mere $0.85 to make, per batch. That’s right! For less than one dollar, you can make months’ worth of cleaning supplies.

Each ingredient should be available at your local Walmart or online.

• 1 quarter bar of Purex Fels-Naptha soap, grated - $0.25 ($0.99 for full bar)
• 2C water - no cost
• Stove - no cost
• 2Tbs white vinegar - $0.03 ($1.50 full jug)
• 1Tbs vegetable glycerin - $0.32 ($3.88 per 6oz. bottle)
• ½ lemon (juice + zest) - $0.25 ($0.50 per lemon)

This leaves just one question:

Why wash with chemicals when you can clean with plants?

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊 

Our hope is to inspire people to perform their own small-scale beach cleanups whenever they visit our beautiful oceans. Every bit helps, so we hope you join the community and share your stories.

Thanks, and we’ll see you on the next wave!

Enjoy what you're reading?

Sign up to join our community, The Wave, and get articles, ocean magic, and product updates as we have them.

Never email trash, just the good stuff.

Thank you for being you.