Thursday, February 15, 2007

Sharing- Laundry Detergent, Fabric Softner, and Cleaning Products

I know, I'm starting out with all of the fun animal-friendly products to share- toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent, cleaning products.... I promise, I have some good ones coming soon. I know that these are some of the products I had the hardest time finding, so I figured it would make more sense to share these things first.

As far as laundry detergent goes, I've been using the Trader Joe's liquid brand. It works and smells nice. You can find it at any local Trader Joe's store, and it's about if not less than the same price as Tide or any other main-stream-not-animal-friendly laundry detergent.

Now, with the current fabric softner you use, there is a little secret you probably don't know about. Most main stream fabric softners contain animal bi-products or fat. Nice, right? You wash your clothes to make them clean, and then cover them in animal fat. For fabric softner, I've moved to using the brand Method. I buy my Method from Target, you may have seen it already since they make many other products as well. It's a great brand and does not use animal bi-products nor test on them. I have not yet tried their brand of laundry detergent, mainly because Trader Joe's brand is cheaper. But, if you give it a try and like it, let me know. The fabric softner and other products they make are more check book friendly.

For cleaning products, I've been using a combination of Trader Joe's house brand and also Method. When I say cleaning products, that includes things like all purpose cleaner, shower/tile/bathroom cleaner, dishwashing liquid for both hand washing and dishwasher soap, hand soap, etc. Both brands are great so far, so experiment and see which ones you like better. Naturally, most of you probably find going to Target more convenient, and that's what I love about Method. It's right there in the store I already need to go to. It might be a dollar or two more than the product you normally buy, but just think about the animal's life you saved by spending that extra buck. To me, the life is worth much more than a few extra dollars.

Have you tried other animal-friendly products that fit into this category? Let me know if you have and what you think about these when you try them. Happy animal-friendly shopping!!