Soap Nuts – a Truly Green, 100% Natural Detergent and Cleanser? They Sound Too Good to be True!

If you are looking for a good green, chemical free, eco-friendly, high efficiency detergent for that new HE washer, or just something more environmentally friendly for that old Maytag, soap nuts are a must try. Hands down, they are the finest “TRULY” natural detergent out there. NaturOli recently received “the best eco-friendly detergent” recommendation by Examiner.com.

Why do I emphasize “truly”? Because the degree of greenwashing in this industry is astonishing. Study the labels – and know there are thousands of ways to legally escape the truth. Labels are carefully and skillfully crafted to sell you. That’s their sole objective. Just because it looks and/or states green, natural, chemical free, etc. means nothing. You must drill deeper to find the truth.

I write this with the premise that you have at least a little knowledge of soap nuts. Not much is required. But for the sheer sake of some brevity, I do not stop to explain every term. Fair enough?

Soap nuts are simply GIFTS that Mother Nature has provided us. They’re going to change the way we think – and the way we clean (or at least WHAT we are cleaning WITH). The soap nut (or better yet, saponin – the active ingredient) is bringing a whole new world to washing laundry and cleaning in general. 100% natural, safe, gentle, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, hypoallergenic, fragrance free, biodegradable AND it actually works! Geesh…sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is true. Believe it.

Okay, you MUST be asking, “Where’s the proverbial skeleton in the closet?” Where’s the hitch? You must be skeptical. I certainly was. Let’s see what we can find in that closet:

Other than the rather unorthodox method of the soap nuts’ traditional usage, there simply isn’t a downside – not even economically if used properly. Interestingly, NaturOli is doing amazing things to maintain ALL the benefits of the soap nuts – without even changing HOW you are accustomed to washing laundry or cleaning the house. No concerns about convenience coming very, very soon. PLUS the purity and integrity of the soap nut is not being compromised or diminished in any way.

The weirdest story is about how villagers can use soap nuts to stun fish – that are then consumed, I must add. Well, if you know much about fish, a heavy dose of just about anything will usually kill them. Have you ever had an aquarium? Interestingly, even this story is sketchy at best. One thing I can write with complete assurance is that NaturOli’s official Material Safety Data Sheet utilizing our proprietary US extraction process states the extract (pure saponin) to be safe and harmless. Note: It is not for consumption, mind you. It’s NOT food.

Let’s try other angles:

Sustainability. Absolutely no issue. In fact, the mukorossi tree is a very prolific soapberry producer. It grows over 60 feet tall, and can produce bountiful harvests for up to ninety years. Although most soap nuts are wild-crafted, sapindus tree plantations are springing up in India and Nepal. Since the tree grows well in even poor soils, some otherwise unproductive ground can be made productive. In fact, that’s a nice little added natural resource and economic stimulus for these countries.

How about Fair Trade? Are these little gems actually “blood diamonds”? No. In fact, the exporters are feverishly working on getting their official Fair Trade certifications I’m certainly not going to think that there isn’t some mean plantation owner out there somewhere. That would be rather naive. However, there is no record of inhumane treatment to be found. We do know that many poor villagers are making a living by harvesting the wild, fallen fruits and sun drying them for sale to the exporters or for wages from the co-ops. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

A paradigm shift is needed to fully embrace soap nuts, but that’s only a matter of time. It’s hard to get over a lifetime of programming by the marketing departments of some of the largest companies in the world. Isn’t it interesting that soap nuts only recently washed up on US shores? (Pun intended.) Well, that’s a topic for an article of its own. However, now, we only need to use our heads to maximize their potential. I personally have a TRUE 90% green cleaning regime in my home. And it’s not due to the so-called green products I see all over the place. It’s due to soap nuts.

BTW, on this “so called green” note: I see Seventh Generation products everywhere. This is marketing hype at its finest. Every formula I have checked doesn’t even come close to natural and green as their marketing portrays so well.

Has anyone ever bothered to read and study their ingredients?

If not, the following is the full ingredient list for their “Baby Laundry Liquid Detergent” detergent (assuming it must be the safest, and most benign):

Aqua (water), sodium laureth sulfate & coceth-7 (plant-derived cleaning agents), sodium gluconate (soil dispersant), oleic acid (plant-derived anti-foaming agent), sodium hydroxide (alkalinity builder), sodium borate (alkalinity builder & soil dispersant), sodium chloride (thickener), amylase & protease (non-animal derived enzymes), calcium chloride (cleaning enhancer), hexahydro-1,3,5-tris (2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine (preservative, less than 0.05%. Trace materials are commonly present in cleaning product ingredients.

This is chemical soup. I was shocked! They cleverly attempt to disguise the triazine that has a 9 rating (10 being the worst possible health hazard) in Skin Deep’s ingredient database. Let’s see…it’s linked to cancer; allergies; immune system toxicity; skin, eye and lung irritation; organ system toxicity; ecotoxicology…need I go on? Amazing that SLS is the SECOND ingredient after water. Well, at least that only rates as a 4 (moderate hazard). Too bad there’s an awful lot in it. It’s nice knowing that it’s plant derived (as many poisons are).

Is there a conscience in this outfit? Cute babies and kids, caring mothers, green leaves, blue skies – such imagery blankets their products and site. It’s so misleading. Their mission statement: “In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Okay, now I at least know where the name came from. I guess seven generations ought to be long enough to make us ill or worse.

That’s enough. I apologize for the long departure. It’s just so disturbing.

Back to soap nuts: If you’re not familiar with them yet, you will be soon. There is a rapidly growing movement around the globe that is recognizing the true potential of these remarkable little beauties. You will see more sellers, more advertising, more labs developing saponin-based products. Most importantly, your awareness will grow.

Mother Nature had the wisdom and generosity to make soap nuts readily available to us. Now, it’s up to us – and all those that are formulating, marketing and selling them – to do the RIGHT things.

This is such an interesting characteristic of Mother Nature. As usual, she only points out the direction. I feel in this case she even went one extra step further and actually mapped out a path for us. Will we have the common sense to follow it?

I certainly hope so.