On a quest to reduce your waste and avoid the unnecessary mess in your laundry from powders and bottles? You may have considered laundry pods as a solution. They may do away with gooey detergent bottles and spilled powder. But they really are not the eco-friendly, zero waste answer for your laundry room that you’ve been searching for. So what is? Laundry Sheets of course. Comparing laundry detergent sheets vs pods will no doubt have you making the switch.
Laundry Detergent Sheets VS Pods - Ingredients
Pods - Ingredients
Laundry pods, such as those from Tide, Persil and Purex are water-soluble packets of laundry detergent. They are pre-measured and concentrated. Containing all the same ingredients as detergent from plastic jugs, but with only 10% water. Compared with up to 50% when contained in a jug. There is a long list of chemicals in liquid detergent usually over 25 harsh ingredients.
There is usually even more unnamed ingredients, not required to be disclosed by law. So you really don't know what you are exposing your family to. Just the simple act of doing the laundry is more harmful to the environment and your health than you realise.
Sheets - Ingredients
Unlike pods, Kind Laundry Sheets contain only naturally derived ingredients:
- Dodecanol, a fatty acid derived from natural coconut oil, this is a surfactant or detergent that cleanses your washing.
- Polyglycol Ether, a gentle solvent that dissolves the dirt and stains from your clothing, also derived from coconut.
- Polyvinyl Alcohol, PVA is a colorless, water-soluble synthetic resin that we use to create the laundry sheets. It bonds the ingredients into one completely dissolvable and powerful cleanser.
- Water. We use just 15% water in our product, compared with competitor products which can be as much as 70% water or higher. Thoughtfully, we use deionized water, which prevents salt and mineral build-up in your washing machine.
Safe for even the most sensitive skin and our marine environments. With no mess and no waste. You really do not need chemical saturation to clean your laundry. Kind Laundry Detergent Sheets are proof of that. Non-toxic, safe for your family and importantly, effective at cleaning your laundry.
What's the more eco-friendly solution: Sheets or Pods?
The only similarities between a laundry pod and a laundry sheet are that they both dissolve. Beyond that, one is toxic and one is not. If the ingredients haven’t already convinced you as to why a laundry sheet is a better option, then consider the packaging.
Laundry pods almost always come packaged in plastic. Either in a plastic tub with a plastic lid or resealable pouch, also made of plastic. In America alone, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has advised that ‘of the 267.8 million tons of municipal solid waste generated by Americans in 2017, only 94.2 million tons were recycled or composted.’ Add to this that it is now cheaper to make virgin plastic than recycle it and the problem is only compounded. So much plastic waste is now incinerated and ending up back in landfill. It’s catastrophic for our environment with no easy solution in sight.
In addition, not all pods are biodegradable, they are degradable. Meaning they do break down, but at a slower rate, meaning they can still be intact by the time they wash into our waterways. Placing marine life at risk of ingesting the remnants.
By choosing the washer sheets, you’re supporting positive change. Not only will your wash leave no negative impact on marine environments, but all packaging is completely biodegradable, it simply breaks down in landfill. Even our mailers are 100% biodegradable and eco-friendly.
Laundry Sheets vs Pods – Safer Solution?
Worryingly, detergent pods have also been linked to poisonings and even death. Between 2012 through early 2017, eight deaths were reported as a result of the ingestion of laundry detergent pods. Additionally, in just one year between 2012 and 2013, poison control centers in the USA reported over 7,000 cases of young children eating laundry pods.
The fragranced and brightly coloured pods look similar to candy and are just the right size for little mouths. They are often too enticing for little ones who do not know any better. The Tide Pod Challenge popularised on YouTube in 2018 only made this situation worse. Even adults who did know better began to eat the pods. Exposure to the chemicals contained therein caused asthma, respiratory distress, vomiting, changes in blood pressure and heart rate as well as death.
Laundry sheets are an infinitely safer option in your home that poses significantly less risk to your loved ones. Just as easy and mess-free to use as pods, simply place a pre-measured sheet in your usual laundry cycle and enjoy the seriously clean results.
Liquid, Powder, Pods...Sheets!
Don’t let clever marketing or ‘greenwashing convince’ you that pods are a more eco-friendly option simply due to the absence of a detergent bottle. Choose truly sustainable and environmentally friendly products and packing. Get to know ingredient labels and ditch the unnecessary chemicals from your life.
Enjoy brighter, fresher laundry with a clear conscience and toxin-free laundry by choosing Laundry Detergent Sheets as an alternative to the toxic mainstream detergent solutions. Kind to you, kind to the environment.
