By now you have hopefully jumped on the laundry sheet bandwagon and are enjoying exceptionally clean laundry and a clean environmental conscience. We know you don’t miss messy plastic detergent jugs or spilled laundry powders!
Behind the scenes of our war on laundry waste (especially those pesky plastic detergent jugs), we have been hard at work taking a great product and making it greater. We love our laundry sheets but have found a way to make them even more effective. After careful research and testing, we have now added another incredible (and underutilized) natural ingredient - tea seed oil to our laundry sheets.
What Is Tea Seed Oil?
Also known as camellia oil, tea seed oil is a little-known oil extracted from the seeds of the humble camellia plant. The oil most often comes from the Camellia sinensis plant or the Camellia oleifera plant.
In the case of the Japanese Camellia oil, also known as Tsubaki, this comes from a wild variety of camellia native to Japan, known as camellia japonica. Tsubaki oil is primarily used in cosmetic applications and has slightly different properties than other tea seed oil varieties.
This beautiful bush produces glossy green leaves and stunning flowers and is a plant we see in gardens all over the country. Aside from its visual appeal though, the seeds of the camellia plant are also incredibly useful.
The seeds contain natural saponins, or soap-like qualities, making it fantastic as a natural degreaser and cleanser. The seeds themselves are put through a cold-pressing or solvent extraction process to obtain the oil.
What Makes Tea Seed Oil So Great?
There is a reason this oil has been favoured in Japan and China for generations. It all comes down to the exceptional makeup of natural components found within the oil such as:
- Oleic Acid is also known as Omega 9. Up to 80% of tea seed oil is oleic acid, this fatty acid has been linked to lowered cholesterol and reduced inflammation.
- Polyphenol antioxidants, these micronutrients have been used to treat digestion issues, help manage weight, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and cardiovascular diseases.
- Vitamins A, D, C, & E (Tocopherol) - natural softeners and conditioners that work wonders on skin and clothing fibres.
- Fatty acids linoleic and palmitic acids, give the oil its ability to foam and cleanse. In cosmetic applications, they also protect against UV exposure.
Of course, not all these benefits will benefit your wash day, but compared with traditional laundry detergent ingredients, these components are much more appealing. Tea seed oil is simple, natural, effective and safe.
What Can Tea Seed Oil Be Used For?
Like so many underutilised natural ingredients, the uses for tea seed oil are many! Tea seed oil can be used topically on the skin, taken as part of a healthy diet (it is an edible oil) or used in household products. Tea seed powder, a by-product of tea seed oil, is also very useful in these settings.
In your home you can use tea seed oil and tea seed powder for the following:
- Washing dishes
- Washing hair
- Cleaning fruit and vegetables
- Natural and non-toxic pesticide for plants
- As a facial scrub and cleanser
- For cooking and frying
- Moisturising
And of course, when helpfully combined with other great natural ingredients in our laundry sheets, for washing clothes!
Why Add Tea Seed Oil To Our Laundry Sheets?
As part of our commitment to offering the most effective natural laundry detergent in the market, we are always open to tweaking our ingredients. While our original laundry sheet ingredients packed a powerful cleaning punch, we found a way to enhance them further - tea seed oil.
Why it may seem counterintuitive to add oil to a laundry product designed to remove oil and grease, tea seed oil is different. It is considered to be a ‘dry oil’ because of its non-oily feel, so you can be confident it will not leave residues on your clothing. Additionally, it has a light, delicate scent, making it safe for those sensitive to fragrance.
Tea seed oil has become part of our laundry sheet ingredients for three key reasons:
- Natural degreaser to lift and shift tough stains such as oil and grease.
- Naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial to keep your laundry smelling fresh and ready to wear.
- Acts as a natural fabric softener to leave your laundry softer without build-up or toxic residues.
So why choose tea seed oil for these benefits? Sure, there are other ingredients we could add to achieve these added features, however, we believe natural is best. Since tea seed oil comes directly from nature, it is better for the environment and the ideal extra for our laundry sheets.
As an added bonus, with each sheet now even more effective, each box of laundry sheets can go further. Where previously you may have needed 3 sheets for a heavily soiled load of laundry, you will get the same great results from.
Exceptionally Clean Washing With Zero Green Guilt
We know that sometimes change can be confusing. However, despite this change to our ingredients, our sheets are still:
- Non-toxic, biodegradable, and allergen-free.
- Free of petroleum, parabens, phosphate, phthalates, dyes, artificial color and optical brighteners.
- Cruelty-free. No animal by-products or palm oil.
- Dissolves immediately in all water temperatures
- Effective in front-loading, top-loading, standard and HE washing machines
- Safe for handwashing your delicates.
- In 100% recyclable packaging.
- Helping to reduce the presence of plastic laundry jugs in landfills and waterways.
We can’t promise to stop improving, but we do promise to continue seeking the most effective, environmentally safe solutions for your laundry. Choosing laundry products created from natural origins not only helps protect our waterways, but minimises chemical exposure in your home.
A brighter, whiter wash with no mess, no waste and zero negative impact on the planet? That's the definition of doing a load of Kind Laundry. Try our newest laundry sheets with added tea seed oil and experience your best wash day yet!
Have you tried our laundry sheets with added tea seed oil? We would love to hear your feedback.
