EWG + Household Cleaning Products

Over the past few years consumer awareness about health and wellness has created a trend towards people wanting to buy safer products. Many of us recognize that there is increasing evidence that certain ingredients in products are linked to a range of health concerns, ranging from things like cancer to reproductive issues. However, long unknown ingredient lists on the back of products or lack of ingredient information altogether leaves consumers wondering if what they are buying is actually safe. Buyers expect that when they pay the premium for products labeled “natural” or “healthy” that those products are actually SAFE & HEALTHY. Sadly, this isn't always the case. 

Did you know that the FDA has no formal definition for the word “natural”. You guys...this means the word “natural” can be used for any product regardless if it’s actually “natural” or not, which is OH-so-frustrating. However, there is an organization called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that is on a mission to help consumers make informed decisions about the products they use by researching product safety and providing resources so people can live healthier lives.

The EWG works for consumers by advocating for public health when the government & industry fall short. Their website can help you make informed decisions about the products you buy and provides great information about healthy living in general. The EWG website offers reports, online databases, mobile apps and various other resources free of cost for consumers to use.

One of our favorite tools on the EWG website is their search engine, which provides product ratings for THOUSANDS of items. Essentially this feature allows you to find out if what you are paying for is actually SAFE & healthy. Several products that we thought were “healthy” were actually rated as “hazardous”. The EWG rates everything from food items to beauty care lines, but today we want to focus on how the EWG evaluates household cleaning products. Their consumer guide for household cleaners can be difficult to find, so for your convenience here is the link.

The EWG rates cleaning product ingredients based on a combination of 5 different factors: asthma/respiratory concerns, skin allergies & irritation, developmental/reproductive toxicity, cancer potential and hazard relative to the environment. An "A" is the best rating a product can receive and an "F" is the worst. They break each product down by category, which is helpful because an area of concern for one consumer is not necessarily an area of concern for another. They also disclose all of the product ingredients, whether or not the product is tested on animals, and if it’s certified “green”.

Several common household products brought up shocking ratings when we searched the EWG website. For example, Tide Laundry Detergent received a “D”. EWG indicates that the rating is given due ingredients that are known to cause respiratory issues, skin allergies & irritation, and developmental & reproductive toxicity (yes...you read that right). FYI, the “Free & Gentle” Tide received just as low of a score.

Dawn Dish Soap received a “C” rating due to ingredients that are known to cause respiratory issues, skin allergies/irritation & environmental concerns. Cascade Dishwasher Gel also had some questionable ingredients that have been known to cause respiratory issues, skin allergies/irritation & cancer, leading to its rating of a “D” as well.

Don't panic if after searching the EWG website you discover that many of the products you use aren’t as safe as you actually thought. It’s easy to get discouraged searching your household cleaning supplies and seeing poor ratings on items that you love using. Our advice is to slowly replace low rated products with safer options. Here are some products that EWG found to be safer & that we recommend:

Seventh Generation Dishwasher Packs (both Free & Clear and Lemon)-- “A” rating from EWG. The ingredients are found to have some concern for allergy/respiratory issues, and low concern for all other categories.

Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent Powder, Free & Clear-- “A” rating due to the low concern in all categories and some concern for asthma/respiratory and cancer.

Keep in mind that if you are searching product lines just because a company has an “A” or “B” rating for one product you searched, that does not mean that all of their products are necessarily rated similarly. For example, Maddie and Kate use some products from Mrs. Meyer’s (such as their tub & tile cleaner pictured below) which is rated “B”, and in general, most Mrs. Meyer’s products are rated “B”, however, their “Clean Day Scent Free Laundry Detergent” was rated an “F”!  

In case searching the website for product ratings sound overwhelming, you should know that the EWG has also started placing a stamp of approval on several products which verifies it is free from harsh chemicals and meets their safe standards. If a product can claim to be “EWG Verified”, it has earned that through transparency of ingredients that have truly proven to be safe.

We get that buying “natural” or “organic” anything typically costs an arm & a leg. We suggest searching for products you want on the EWG website before buying them to see if they truly are less hazardous, and therefore worth the higher cost. Rome wasn't built in a day and creating your clean & SAFE product arsenal won’t be either. And hey, maybe some of you aren't concerned about the ratings and that’s okay, but at least now you can be informed regardless of what you chose to buy. 

The bottom line is that product marketing and ingredient lists need to be more transparent, and if companies don't want to inform consumers about their products, rest assured that the EWG will. If you want help searching products on the EWG website or are curious about other products we use in our homes please let us know.