Brand Information Use in EU Nations

Johanna and I have chosen detergents to analyze that are widely used in Denmark and Sweden. Naturally, this information will be valuable to Scandinavian residents. However, I believe many of these products are marketed all over the EU. This past week, I was traveling in Budapest, Hungary; and I noticed that Ariel, the major brand-name clothing detergent that I selected, is also widely marketed in Hungary. Though the labeling is slightly different, it is likely that the ingredients are the same. Similarly, Palmolive hand soap is popular in North America and is available throughout the world. Since it is probably cheaper to maintain a particular chemical mixture, more information on these products and more awareness could have a potentially larger impact on environmental and health safety. I believe that this kind of acknowledgement of similar brands and similar ingredients is important so that the breadth of relevance of our study can be expanded.

Ingredient Disclosure

I was concerned when compiling the ingredient lists on the various detergent containers when I came to realize that not all information is created equally. Rather, the ecological products are openly providing much more detail about the contents of the detergents than non-ecological labels. I thought that this might prove to be a barrier to effectively comparing the detergents and their safety. However, when researching this issue, I found that Denmark is subject to EU regulations on labeling, and that I will be able to obtain the necessary information. This excerpt is taken from the Danish Ministry of the Environment:

"Disclosure / Declaration:

The packaging of detergents that are marketed to consumers must contain the following information in legible, visible and indelible characters:
• Product name and trade name.
• Name or trade name or trademark and full address and telephone number of the person responsible for marketing.
• Address and phone number and any email address from which doctors can find relevant information about product ingredients.

The packaging shall also bear the dosage as prescribed and with the address of a site where there is free access to list all product ingredients."

Source: http://www.mst.dk/Virksomhed_og_myndighed/Kontrol_i_ojenhojde/Tjekp%C3%A5markningen/M%C3%A6rkningsregler+for+vaskemidler/

It's a relief to find that transparency is a priority, and it is especially comforting to find that all surfactants must be biodegradable! This doesn't necessarily mean that they do not have other environmental or health impacts, but it does mitigate some :) So forthcoming will be investigations into the complete ingredients of the detergents.

What is the EU ecolabel?

"The European Ecolabel is a voluntary scheme, established in 1992 to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment. Products and services awarded the Ecolabel carry the flower logo, allowing consumers - including public and private purchasers - to identify them easily. Today the EU Ecolabel covers a wide range of products and services, with further groups being continuously added. Product groups include cleaning products, appliances, paper products, textile and home and garden products, lubricants and services such as tourist accommodation." Source: ec.europa.eu

Svanen - the Nordic ecolabel

"For a little more than 20 years ago the Nordic Ecolabel became the official Ecolabel for the Nordic countries. The purpose was to provide consumers with a tool to help them choose among the best, from an environmental standpoint, products on the market.  Criteria is developed by using a life-cycle perspective. That means that we judge the environmental effects a product has from several aspects: energy and water usage, kinds of chemicals used, recycling and reuse of waste products." Source: www.svanen.se

Detergents: A little bit of history

Today, the majority of detergents are synthetic. What we are used to call soap, is exactly the opposite: synthetic detergents are non-soap washing and cleaning products, put together chemically or synthesized to produce a variety of raw materials.

The first synthetic detergent was developed by German scientists during World War I, mainly in response to a shortage of fats needed for the soap production. Further developments were also driven by the need for a cleaning agent that, unlike the soap, would not bind to mineral salts in water forming insoluble soap curd on fabrics.

The first synthetic detergents were short-chain alkyl naphthalene sulphonates, still used today as wetting agents. Later on the so called “built” detergents were developed. These detergents contain a builder and a surfactant. The surfactant is the basic ingredient of a detergent product as it plays the role of the cleaning agent. The builder instead helps the surfactant to work more efficiently. Phosphate compounds were used for this purpose.

However, the kind of detergents used until mid ´60s (based on PT benzene) was blamed to contribute to the rise in eutrophication in lakes and rivers as they contain phosphates. In fact, the branched chain of PT benzene makes bacteria unable to degrade such molecules.

During the last 30 years, detergent development has focused not only on achieving more efficient and easy-to-use products, but also on the safety of consumers and the environment.