Growing up we never used liquid fabric softener. It’s a secret of my laundry-past. But nowadays, we have two handmade minky quilts that we use on the daily and I’m a big believer in helping keep minky soft with, well, softeners.

I’ve seen a bunch of DIY’ed natural fabric softener recipes, but I have yet to try any, so in the meantime I’ve been trying out a few brands.

I was impressed with Ecover’s passion for eco-friendly products and thought it would be neat to do grab a bottle and test it out.  Turns out, the bottle has lasted a lot longer then I expected.  I think it’s the combination of the tiny capfuls and the wool balls as softening substitutions I sometimes use.

So far, I’ve noticed that this fabric softener doesn’t overpower your laundry items with too much fragrance. It also fares better than my  wool balls when it comes to keeping static at bay. One con I’ve experienced is the occasional clumping/thickening of the liquid.

How do you prefer softening your clothes?  Do you currently use a DIY’ed fabric softener recipe? Lemon and I would love to hear all about it. Let us know about it below.

Love,

Hazel and Lemon

Good for You - If you are looking for a softener made from some plant based ingredients and that’s free of phosphates or optical brighteners--then this is a great option. For those trying to go strictly clean, be mindful that there are some synthetic ingredients and fragrances in the softener.  Some ingredients you may want to be mindful of include: dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, dipropylene glycol, and sorbic acid.

Good for Others - Good for Others: Ecover is another certified “B Corp”. This certification is what Fair Trade is to coffee. In other words, Ecover proves and promises accountable to high standards of social and environmental performance, and public transparency.  For example, the sugarcane used to make Ecover’s Plantplastic is harvested using fair labor practices.

Good for Earth - Ecover really shines in this area! Its softener is complete biodegradability, it’s designed to make a minimal impact on aquatic life and it’s never been tested on animals. The bottles are made from 75% Plantplastic® (plant-sourced plastic made from sustainably, Bunsucro harvested sugarcane) and 25% post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR). the final bottle can be recycled again in most curbside recycling programs along with your cans and newspapers. Ultimately, using our blend of Plantplastic® and PCR in place of petroleum-based plastic allows us to avoid the greenhouse gas emissions and energy use associated with making virgin plastic. If you check out Ecover’s Benefit Blueprint you can read all about how they’ve decreased their waste, water-usage and carbon footprint.

C&C Review - Ecover’s softener has plenty of benefits.  It doesn’t leave that  heavy residue-feel and my towels, blankets and shirts do feel noticeably softer.  Although Ecover’s Sunny Days softener does use a synthetic fragrance it isn’t overpowering.  The softener does tend to clump/thicken up, but if you add a bit more water and shake the bottle it seems to fix itself. While this product isn’t 100% nontoxic I appreciate Ecover’s Compass of Clean goal (which outlines their determination to maker cleaner products within five years).