Testing Green Soaps

"Ah, dish duty. Who hasn't ignored it, dreaded it, rock-paper-scissored over it? But there comes a time in each eater's life when dishes must be done. Happily, today's generation of eco-detergents makes it a less-toxic task than in the past -- though not completely pure.

When I set out to test six "eco" dish soaps, I had little idea of the sudsy morass I was about to wade into. For the most part, green-cleaning companies have worked hard to eliminate scary stuff, including phosphates and ammonia, from their detergents -- and unlike mainstream companies, they're happy to provide a full ingredient list. But after I plucked six brands from the shelves, I discovered that the study released this spring by the Organic Consumers Association had found detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane -- a probable human carcinogen that's a byproduct of the manufacturing process -- in four of them: those made by Seventh Generation, Ecover, Method, and Earth Friendly Products. (The other two were not included in the test; I contacted Biokleen by phone and was told that they are running their own internal tests, and will issue a release should they find 1,4-dioxane in their products; Lotus Products, which owns LifeTree, did not return my call by press time.)"

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