Breaking down the ingredients: The science behind eco-friendly detergent sheets

One of the scariest things about cleaning products is the fact that many of us have no idea what ingredients are found in them or what they do.

Regular detergents are filled with petroleum-based chemicals and unnatural surfactants that can be harsh on fabric, our skin, and the environment. We decided to create eco-friendly detergent sheets which are naturally-derived and plant-based, so that they’re kinder for you and the planet.

Let’s take a deep dive into how our sheets are made and what ingredients are found inside. We’ve carefully selected the best, plant-derived ingredients, and we’re going to explain how they all work together to leave your clothes and dishes sparkling clean.

How Are Our Detergent Sheets Made?

Each ingredient is carefully selected for their role in cleaning, removing stains or grime, and working with the other ingredients in perfect harmony. Detergents are made from a combination of surfactants, enzymes, builders, and oils; all of which are selected based on intricate chemistry. 

What makes our detergent sheets different is that all our ingredients are naturally-derived from plants, even if the name of the ingredient looks foreign or a little complex. The ingredients are blended together, in a process that ensures each sheet will have the same cleaning power and can be perfectly measured out for each load.

Our detergent is then fused together into a paste and spread into water-soluble sheets. They are then dried completely; effectively dehydrated, so that the sheets become flexible and concentrated. When dropped into water, the detergent dissolves instantly to do its job cleaning and removing stains as your machine washes.

What Are the Ingredients in Our Detergent Sheets?

Both our laundry and dishwashing sheets have different ingredients, although there are some that crossover to both. 

2 in 1 Laundry Detergent Sheets

Water, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Fatty Alcohol Polyglycol Ether, Glycerides, Coco Mono and Di Ethoxylated (Cocomide MEA), Disodium Edta, Hydroxyacetophenone, Sodium Chloride, Cocoamidopropyl Betane, Decyl Glycoside, Trisodium Citrate, Perfume

Dishwashing Detergent Sheets

Sodium coco sulphate (coconut oil derived), Protease, Lipase, Sodium Bicarbonate, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Glycerol, Lemon Oil (lemon peel extract).

Understanding Surfactants, Enzymes, and Alkalis

The major ingredients in detergent generally fall under these three components: surfactants, enzymes, and alkalis. These all work together to clean and remove grime and stains. We’re going to take a look at the ingredients that we’ve selected for our sheets and how they work. But, don’t worry, we’re going to break it down quite simply, no complicated chemistry knowledge required here!

Surfactants

Surfactants attract both oil and water, enabling them to lift dirt and oil off fabric and attach it to the water, so the dirt gets rinsed away when the water drains out of the machine.

Some of the surfactants found in our detergent sheets include:

• Sodium coco sulfate (SCS): Palm oil alternative, derived from coconut oil and found in our dishwashing sheets
• Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS): A common ingredient in detergents and found in our laundry sheets
• Fatty Alcohol Polyglycol Ether: A surfactant used in our laundry sheets
• Decyl glucoside: A mild non-ionic surfactant found in our laundry sheets
• Cocamidopropyl betaine: Organic compounds derived from coconut oil found in our laundry sheets
• Cocamide MEA: Coconut oil based surfactant that increases foaming capacity in our laundry sheets
• Ethoxylates: Found in our laundry sheets and helps break the surface tension of water

Enzymes

There are many different enzymes that target specific soils, and break the soil into smaller molecules to be washed away. Enzymes are naturally occurring, but they can also be engineered and produced intentionally for use in detergents. 

Some of the enzymes found in our dishwashing detergent sheets include:

• Protease: Degrades protein-based soils
• Lipase: Degrades fat-based soils

Alkalis

Alkalis are soluble salts that react with an acid to neutralise it. They are effective in removing dirt and stains from fabric without excessive rubbing. When added to other detergent ingredients, the alkalis react with the fats in the formula to make soap.

Some of the alkalis found in our detergent sheets include:

• Sodium Bicarbonate: A mild alkali that is naturally occurring in our dishwashing sheets 
• Sodium citrate: A mild alkali found in our laundry sheets
• Sodium chloride: A mild alkali found in our laundry sheets for bleaching and as an anti-scaling agent

Other Ingredients

You’ll notice some other ingredients on the list that don’t fall under the above three categories. These are preservatives, humectants, binding agents and other essential ingredients to help our detergents clean fabric and dishes, while balancing the other aspects of detergent.

• Polyvinyl Alcohol: Acts as a binding agent found in our dishwashing sheets 
• Polysiloxane: A type of silicone that acts an an antifoaming agent and helps detergent break away from clothing 
• Phenoxyethanol: An organic compound that acts as a preservative in our laundry sheets
• Glycerin: A humectant that acts as a stain remover and foaming agent in both our laundry and dishwashing sheets
• Disodium Edta: A preservative and stabiliser used in our laundry sheets
• Hydroxyacetophenone: An antioxidant and preservative booster found in our laundry sheets

How Are Our Sheets Kinder to Your Skin?

Many detergents add artificial fragrances, colourants and dyes to their mixtures to make the detergent look and smell more appealing. However, these can irritate sensitive people’s skin and cause reactions like eczema and other allergies. We chose not to add anything like this to our detergents, you’ll only find natural fragrances like lemon peel to give a nice citrus smell.

Why We Chose Plant-Derived Ingredients

You’ll notice that our ingredients are plant-derived or naturally occurring. Instead of using chemically based and artificially created ingredients that pollute our waterways and irritate our skin, we wanted to create detergents that were kinder to the planet. 

We also chose mostly coconut oil based surfactants, to focus on palm-oil free and more environmentally friendly practices. Coconut oil on the other hand is far less intensive and supports economies in Asia and around the world.

How Are Our Sheets Different to Other Brands

We designed our detergent sheets to radically change the way you clean. As a greener swap for your household, they’re not only made from plant-derived and natural ingredients as we’ve described above, but our sheets are also plastic-free and biodegradable. 

We’ve removed plastic, damaging chemicals, skin-irritants, and polluting residues from detergent so that you can wash your clothes and dishes with peace of mind. Standing apart from regular detergent found in supermarkets, we’re changing the way you clean one sheet at a time.