Laundry without plastic?

Washing with or without plastic?

Unfortunately, laundry strips also contain plastic, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, PVOH).

Buying laundry detergent is often hard work, whether it's gel or powder, as the large plastic bottles tend to be quite heavy and bulky. Unfortunately, many detergents also contain microplastics. Strangely enough, these are not listed on the packaging, as manufacturers are not required by law to do so.

Fortunately, there is a much simpler way

For several years now, you have been able to do your laundry with a so-called laundry strip. The strips are sent in an envelope and fit through your letterbox, giving you 60 washes. No more large plastic packaging and lugging around heavy bags – perfect, you might say.

Unfortunately

Unfortunately, several laundry strips have recently come under scrutiny.

To our surprise, we received reports that the laundry strips contain microplastics, namely polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH, or PVA).

The manufacturers of various laundry strips do list all ingredients on their websites. This transparency is greatly appreciated, and other detergent manufacturers should follow suit.

Yes, but according to EU legislation, this is not microplastic!

That's right, but that definition is very strange. All microplastics that are not solid particles and dissolve in water fall outside the rules and are therefore not banned. However, this does not mean that substances that dissolve in water are by definition not a problem for humans and the environment. Polyvinyl alcohol is known to degrade poorly in the environment and have adverse effects on nature.

What now?

Hopefully, manufacturers of laundry strips will quickly replace the auxiliary material polyvinyl alcohol with a material other than plastic. It is a smart solution for all the heavy plastic bottles, but preferably plastic-free, of course.

And all other manufacturers who do not list the ingredients on the packaging: We would like more transparency, because we want to wash without using plastic.

What is the Plastic Soup Foundation doing about this?

Every day, we fight to reduce plastic pollution, but also to inform you about plastic-free and sometimes non-plastic-free products. We have created an app called PlasticFreeFuture, where you can scan your cosmetics for microplastics. We also offer you an alternative product, naturally free of microplastics. This makes it easy for you to make a sustainable choice!