Is Persil Laundry Detergent Green?
February 19, 2008 by Debra Lynn Dadd
Question from MJ
We've been looking all over the web all evening trying to find any kind of review of Persil laundry detergents and their ingredients without luck. We're looking for the best detergent to use with a new Miele front-loading washer, while also minimizing impacts on our own health and on the environment.
To their credit, the manufacturers of Persil list their ingredients on the package. Looking for an MSDS sheet for the detergents has been difficult, and researching the listed ingredients leads to some bewildering yet interesting chemical notations.
If anyone can comment on the natural and non-toxic attributes of Persil laundry detergents, we would be very much obliged.
Debra's Answer
The problem is that there is little information on the sources of these ingredients, being renewable from plants or nonrenewable fossil fuels. Also no information on biodegradability. Zeolite is a natural mineral, enzymes are natural, fragrance looks to be artificial.
Update 2020: There are several different varieties of this brand so I can’t comment on the exact ingredients but EWG rates them between a “C” and an “F”, so they are not non-toxic.
These are archives of Q&A asked by readers and answered by Debra Lynn Dadd (from 2005-2019) or Lisa Powers (from 2019-2020). Answers have been edited and updated as of December, 2020.