Laundry Powder by ecostore
August 2, 2012 by Isabela
Filed under Cleaning, House, Laundry, New Products and Services
Brand: ecostore
Attributes: No Animal Testing, Non-Toxic
Description: The ecostore Laundry Powder is made without any potentially harmful chemicals and thus safe for both the skin and the environment. The laundry powder also has the lowest total alkalinity in waste water in Australasia, which means you can use the waste water for your lawn or garden.
Fragrance free option available.
Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Coco Sulphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminosilicate, Lauryl/MyristylGlucoside, Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose, Sodium Polyaspartate, Essential Oils (Litsea Cubeba, Citurs Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil (fraction))
ecostore, based in New Zealand, produces a wide variety of home and body care products, which are not only natural but also safe to use.
ecostore’s products are distributed by The Naturally Better Company. You can buy from their boutique.
The product is awarded a Green Rating of 5 stars based on 15 points in the following 5 criteria (updated on 22 July 2012):
Business Sustainability
1. Does the company, product or service have a third party certified green business or green product label?
ecostore has achieved ISO 14001, Diamond Enviromark, and carboNZero manufacturing certification.
ISO 14001 is an environmental management standards created by the International Organization for Standardization that helps companies and organizations to improve their environmental performance.
Enviromark Diamond certifcation is the highest level of environmental certification awarded by Landcare Research, New Zealand’s foremost environmental research organization.
carboNZero is an internationally accredited greenhouse gas certification programme. This means that Ecotech has demonstrated proactive environmental efforts with regard to carbon dioxide emissions and their impact on climate change.
2. Does the company have a sustainability policy or publish a sustainability report?
The company has implemented various sustainability initiatives, such as using sustainable palm oil under the GreenPalm programme, using no harmful chemicals in their products, and using recycled and recyclable materials for the packaging.
GreenPalm is a certificate trading programme that tackles the environmental and social issues caused by palm oil production.
3. Does the company have an Environmental Management System?
ecostore’s Auckland based factory, Ecotech, has achieved ISO 14001 certification in 2010 and Enviromark Diamond certification in 2009.
ISO 14001 is an environmental management standards that helps companies and organizations to improve their environmental performance.
Enviromark Diamond certifcation is the highest level of environmental certification awarded by Landcare Research, New Zealand’s foremost environmental research organization.
4. Has the company taken steps to implement green practices in the office or reduce the environmental impacts from its offices?
The company implements various green practices in its operations, including health and environmental safety, waste minimization, and recycling.
5. Has the company, product or service won any environmental or sustainability awards?
ecostore has won the 2009 New Zealand’s most Sustainable Business of the Year award.
Energy and Climate Change
7. Does the product or service have an energy or carbon-related third party certification or label?
ecostore’s Auckland based factory, Ecotech, has gained the carboNZero manufacturing certification.
carboNZero is an internationally accredited greenhouse gas certification programme. This means that Ecotech has demonstrated proactive environmental efforts with regard to carbon dioxide emissions and their impact on climate change.
9. Does the company measure its energy consumption, carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions?
Ecotech is certified under the carboNZero programme and one of the requirements is to actively measure and report its carbon footprint and emissions.
10. Has the company set an energy consumption, carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas reduction target?
To achieve the carboNZero certification, Ecotech has to set targets and plans on reducing emissions.
11. Has the company taken steps towards reducing its energy consumption, carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions?
ecostore’s Auckland based factory, Ecotech, has actively done so and has achieved the carboNZero manufacturing certification.
Materials and Waste
19. Has the company taken steps to reduce the material and packaging used for the product, or to reduce the waste generated in the production of the product or service?
ecostore Laundry Powder boxes are made of 95% recycled materials, while the plastic inside the box is made of LDPE (Low Density Poly Ethylene), which is recycling code 4. A measuring scoop is also included in the packaging, and it is made from 100% post consumer regrind plastic.
Chemicals and Health
23. Does the product or service use natural ingredients or use no harmful chemicals?
ecostore Laundry Powder uses no harmful chemicals so it is safer for both people and the environment.
25. Has the company taken steps to reduce the chemicals used in the product or service?
ecostore prioritizes plant based ingredients from sustainable or renewable sources that are hazard free. Every ingredient is carefully assessed for people and environment’s health and safety, and products are constantly being reviewed to create the best formulation. ecostore also has extensive lists of natural ingredients they use and chemical ones they do not put in their products.
Social and Ethical
26. Does the product or service have an ethics-related third party certification or label?
ecostore has the PETA logo on their packaging and has verified to not conduct any animal testing on their ingredients or products.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the world’s largest animal rights organization that works around the issue of animal cruelty.
27. Does the company have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy?
Besides the company’s commitment to sustainability, a percentage of ecostore’s profits go to Fairground Foundation, which was created by ecostore founder, Malcolm Rands, as a way to support the community in the areas of health, culture and sustainability. The company has also created campaigns to raise awareness of nasty chemical ingredients in common household products.
28. Is the company against animal testing on its product or service?
ecostore products are not tested on animals.
“This is probably one of the first laundry powder that I enjoy using. Usually I had to dilute my laundry powder in some water before using it or it would leave some residue on my clothes. I am so happy that this one is easy to use. Plus the fact that it is concentrated, I don’t have to use too much. Performance wise, it does leave my clothes clean, but I can’t really compare it to other brands as usually my clothes are not severely stained. However, my clothes feel soft after every wash, which gives me a reason to stop buying softener. I also love the lemon scent—it’s as fresh as cold lemonade!”
“I tried the laundry powder with the dirtiest things in the house – my boys’ sports kit after football and fabric slippers! The powder did the job of removing all the stains and sweaty smells. I was also pleased that it did not leave behind an overpowering floral smell that you usually get with commercial laundry detergents. ”
- Agy
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