What Makes A Cleaner Eco-Friendly?

As we all look to do our part for the environment, it’s no surprise that eco-friendly household cleaning products like the ones produced here at Friendly Soap have soared in popularity in recent years.

Unfortunately, this has led to some larger manufacturers of household cleaning products trying to capitalise on the public’s desire to become more environmentally conscious using a misleading marketing practice known as ‘greenwashing’. In a time when this is so common amongst big companies, it can be difficult to know what eco-friendly cleaning products are, and what products have just been made to appear eco-friendly. 

It's worth familiarising yourself with what really makes a cleaning product sustainable and environmentally friendly to ensure that you’re making the right choice when choosing your own cleaning products. 

Environmental impact of cleaning products

Household cleaning products have traditionally caused a host of issues for the environment, due to formulas, packaging, ineffective recycling practices and more. 

Cleaning products often use chemicals which could be harmful to plants and animals if they should make their way into the environment. This is unfortunately common, especially affecting marine life due to water pollution and packaging being eaten by or injuring fish, birds and other aquatic creatures.

Packaging used by many cleaning companies uses lots of plastic, which is not biodegradable and takes millions and millions of years to break down in landfill. 

What is ‘greenwashing’?

Some larger cleaning companies have responded to increased environmental awareness by giving their packaging and marketing an eco-friendly makeover without changing the harmful formulas of the products themselves. 

This practice is known as ‘greenwashing’, a term given to the practice of tricking environmentally conscious consumers into falsely believing that they are buying an all-natural product. 

Common greenwashing examples include using ‘natural’ imagery and language in advertising materials, switching to sustainable or recyclable packaging while still using harmful chemicals within the product itself and distracting consumers through ‘quick fix’ tactics, such as claiming that the company is off-setting their environmental impact through planting trees, ocean clean-ups and other similar means.

While greenwashing is certainly frowned on, there isn’t currently any laws preventing companies from misleading their consumers in this way, so it’s important to know what to look out for. 

What makes a cleaner eco-friendly?

We believe that a product can only be truly eco-friendly if both its formula and packaging is creating with the environment in mind. 

At Friendly Soap, we do all we can to make our products environmentally friendly. Not only is our packaging 100% recyclable and plastic free but our products are creating using sustainable, all-natural materials with zero phosphates, sulfates and preservatives. Many of our products are fragrance-free, while all scented products are created using a blend of natural essential oils. 

Take a look at some of our all-natural household and cleaning products below. 

Friendly Soap Kitchen Sponge

Many kitchen sponges are made using synthetic materials, which often shed fibres during use and cannot be recycled after use. 

The Friendly Soap Kitchen Sponge is a high-quality sustainable alternative to these traditional double-sided kitchen sponges, with one side created using natural cellulose while a side made from tough coconut fibres offers all-natural scrubbing power. This eco-friendly sponge can be used on dishes, pans, surfaces and more – and the best part is that it is fully compostable after use. 

H2: Friendly Soap Kitchen Bar

While many kitchen cleaners are formulated using harsh chemicals, the Friendly Soap Kitchen Bar is free of sulfates, preservatives, and plastics. 

This bar works brilliantly to remove stains from dishes and surfaces and will leave your kitchen smelling clean and fresh thanks to its zesty lemon and lime scent. It can even be used as a pre-wash stain remover to remove stubborn marks from your clothes, making it brilliantly versatile. 

Eco-friendly and tough on dirt, this is a must-have for every kitchen.

Friendly Soap Kitchen Brush

Traditional washing up brushes are generally made entirely from different forms of plastic, making them a nuisance to the environment once thrown away. 

The Friendly Soap Kitchen Brush is designed to deliver all the scrubbing power you need without being made from any synthetic materials, instead being made up entirely of plant materials. 

The handle is crafted from bamboo and is designed to offer a secure and comfortable grip, while the plant fibre bristles will allow you to scrub dishes, pots, and pans until they’re sparkling clean. 

H2: Friendly Soap Laundry Powder

The Friendly Soap Laundry Powder is kind to skin and kind to the planet – fragrance-free, eco non-bio and free from any harsh chemicals, phosphates, and sulfates. 

Unlike many laundry products, we’ve packaged Friendly Soap’s new laundry powder in a way that is compostable, recyclable and entirely biodegradable. This powder may be gentle on the skin but it’s tough on stains, especially used after a pre-wash treatment with our kitchen bar.