Eco Friendly products - what do we think?

Hi Kathy & Dave,

A good point to discuss .... I personally do believe in the 30 degrees cycle as it takes energy to heat the water, so it must take less energy to wash at a lower temperature.  Washing powders have for several years plugged the "washes well at 30 degrees" angle.  I will on occasions do a hotter wash for really dirty stuff, but I'm not convinced it really washes better.  In fact I think washing powders/liquids that use enzymes (i.e. biological) that are optomised for 30-40 degrees can do less well at higher temperatures as the enzymes can be heat sensitive.  I'm happy to hear other points of view if I'm deluding myself, but otherwise I'll keep using my (non-biological) Ecover at 30 degrees.  :o)

Heather

Hi Kathy,

Good point to raise. We try to be as environmentely freindly as we possibly can, the question is are some of these machine signed up to a paper enabling them to promote the product as green.

Maybe they were produced in a lower emissions energy workshop

I know it's off subject but

The supermarket select / finest / quality brands as opposed to the cheaper lo-cost / value etc brands in some cases are from the same grower/ supplier and the difference inside the packet is minimal although the price would suggest superior quality.

Some companies can buy into an agreement and have endorsments for the consumer to think they are buying a quality product that has a better effect on the environment, although this is not always the case.

Happy Eggs are promoted as"Freedom Foods and endorsed by the RSPCA"  the hens have a great life wandering around outside with all the space they need, big promotions on TV and of course we were drawn in. Then there was a TV programme exposing the reality of The Happy Hens, that were anything but Happy!

The company still trades and the wider public think buying eggs that have great things about the hens on the box are doing their bit for the welfare of the hens and the greater good.

We no longer buy these eggs and shall never in the future! - We try to buy the best products in which we "think" the farmer, ingredients, growers or animals that supply us with get the best out of their lives and the best deals, sometimes this is not the case.

As for Happy Eggs, if you buy them and think of them as a reputable company, check out the you tube vids. Not for the faint hearted though, you have been warned!

Sorry to go off subject there Kathy,

H

Hi Emily,

I think that is the point, we all think we are doing the right thing by looking at the labels and seeing these seals of approval for a product giving the consumer information that is not always true.

What should be in place is a definitive guide to products where the consumer can find out how and why these companies get endorsed by these organisations ands a better understanding of these organisations.

I know that Kathy's thread wasn't mean't to go in this direction (sorry about that Kathy)

Going back to the original subject

H

Hi H, and everyone

Emily: I heard that Happy Eggs are not what they seen to be on the market.  I maybe misinformed but others will add to the thoughts here.  I tend to buy eggs form my local butchers as they have them for sale so you know you are getting fresh eggs.

By the way, this is a thread that opens doors to many thoughts about lots of 'eco' friendly products as long as it improves the environment for us, quality of life for all creatures and wildlife.

I know I used eco friendly products a years ago due to an allergy I had to clothes soaps powder.  it had corrected itself now.

The thread matter is loose, and the title attached the thread can go to many areas of things we want to happen, or are happening now.  It is an open ended discussion for everyone to add too, anytime

Regards

Kathy and Dave

I must admit, I have never been that impressed with the cleaning power of certain brands of eco-products.  I just don't think they are on a par with the regular cleaning products in terms of effectiveness and ease to clean with and why would anyone buy a cleaning product that doesn't do the job as well as something they were using before?  I'm not fond of cleaning and anything that makes the work more difficult does not go down well with me I'm afraid!  We also stick to the same washing powder due to my OH's allergies, better the devil you know and all that.  

I do use the RSPB skinny dipper handwash, shower gel, bubble bath etc which don't contain nasties, palm oil etc.  They could do with expanding to include shampoo too though!  However, I do tend to react quite badly to some shampoos so they'll have to be careful!  I find that these also last a lot longer than the usual stuff too, so need to buy less often which means less plastic bottles for the recycling bin...

Our washing machine doesn't go down to 30 but that might be changing as we are looking at replacing it (and the fridge freezer) as both are old, pretty much at the end of their lifespans and are far from energy efficient.  As we are about to go into a serious cost-cutting drive, these are one of the first things on the list!  When I was in a house where the washing machine went down to 30 I washed pretty much everything at 30 and this was before these wash at 30 products lol  The only things that I won't wash at a low temperature is the dogs bedding because I think it is very important to make sure that is thoroughly cleaned on a hot wash that should get rid of most nasties should any be hiding away in there.  Let's face it, better to have the washing machine at a higher temperature than having to spray the house in insecticides!

What an interesting thread, well i went over to ecover washing up liquid and laundry products a few years ago, but i found the conditioner resulted in a weird musty odour in my clothes, so gave up the conditioner and went to a more mainstream producer with no more problems.

we have a condensing boiler more by accident than design, a triple A rated toilet cistern, and a posh washing machine.

I would collect rainwater in my 5 rain barrels if we had any rain. 

We also visit farmers markets when we can, but they are really expensive, only buy free range eggs and recycle tonnes of stuff as our 'Council are very good at providing bins for all items, and i also compost and have a wormery.