We all want to protect the planet but often we just don’t know where to begin. Many environmental issues are out of our control but we can make a real difference with our shopping choices. Voting with our wallet is one of the most powerful ways we can influence what happens to our world today!
It’s what’s in the bottle that counts!
Cleaning and laundry products get a lot of bad press and much of it is deserved. Toxic chemicals are routinely chosen by manufacturers as main ingredients and when we have finished with our products all those ingredients end up in our water systems and are often poisonous to aquatic animals. Even many so-called ‘environmentally friendly’ cleaning ranges include SLS and SLES known to irritate eyes, skin, and lungs, especially with long-term use. SLES may also be contaminated with a substance called 1,4-dioxane, which is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Often it is a cocktail of chemicals from a range of products such as loo cleaner, sprays & floor cleaners that become poisonous to us and are lethal to water-based plants and animals. This is no way to protect the planet.
There is an alternative! All Greenscents products are made from at least 70% organic ingredients and anything else is natural and approved by The Soil Association too. All Greenscents products are certified palm oil free so there is no need to worry that your household choices are supporting the destruction of the rain forests. Greenscents products will solve your cleaning needs without destroying the planet.
Can I trust the label?
The labels on household products are difficult for consumers to navigate. This is because there is little to no legislation in the UK, EU or US that forces manufacturers to list ingredients in detergents or cleaning products. If you have a known allergy to an ingredient its absence from the label doesn’t mean it’s not in the product! Unlike personal care, manufacturers don’t have to tell you what’s in your household product.
Greenscents is the only range of laundry & household products in the UK that must list ALL ingredients on the label. Our organic certification with The Soil Association means that you can trust Greenscents labels and you can check up on any ingredient that is listed. We want you to ask questions and we are very happy to email or speak to you about all our ingredients and why we have chosen them. Just get in touch! Greenscents is an ethical company that is authentic and transparent as well.
Protect the planet and your health
Recent Swedish research at the Karolinska Instititet has shown that the number of industrial chemicals, as well as their abundance in the environment, has steadily risen since the 1940’s – with devastating effects for our ecosystems, wildlife and even human fertility. Many chemicals were introduced to the market with little testing for safety. This has led to a situation where humans and the environment are exposed to an extensive ‘soup’ of industrial chemicals.
Multiple chemicals have been found to be harmful after only decades of consumer use. These include PFAS (the chemical used in Teflon, Scotch Guard, and firefighting foam), phthalates (used in plastic packaging, medical equipment and soaps and shampoos), as well as pesticides and other industrial chemicals like PCBs. These chemicals are all ‘persistent’, which means they build up in the body over time. Not all chemicals have immediate impacts but can lead to diseases much later in life, like in the case of endocrine disrupters decreasing fertility and causing high cholesterol and obesity. Some chemicals have an effect with very low doses, while others can go unnoticed until the build-up reaches a critical level leading to health problems.
Adverse health effects from our chemical overload include asthma, depression, anxiety, cancer (including breast, ovarian and brain), birth defects and developmental disabilities, as well as reproductive, cardiovascular and immune system disorders. Recently, toxic chemicals have been suggested as a cause of the rapid rise in autism too.