As of: February 21, 2024, 4:45 p.m
By: Nina Dudek
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More and more Germans are using organic cleaning products.
And there are good reasons for that.
© ChatGPT/AI
If you want to live more sustainably, you often use organic cleaning products.
You can find out here whether these are really more environmentally friendly and which ones are good.
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Germany is living more and more sustainably – including at home.
A trend that even the Federal Statistical Office confirms in figures1.
Sales of “green” products, which also include detergents and cleaning agents, rose to around 55 billion euros by 2020.
The evaluation of a German online platform for statistics also underlines the trend towards sustainable cleaning products.
In the years 2004 to 2020, sales of organic detergents and organic cleaning products increased in particular.
What's behind this sustainability trend?
Do organic cleaners actually do what they promise – or is it “greenwashing” in the truest sense of the word?
We clarify exciting questions.
What makes a cleaning product “organic”?
Organic cleaning products differ from conventional cleaning products primarily in their ingredients.
They are based on natural or biodegradable substances and largely avoid synthetic additives, fragrances, dyes and preservatives.
They must also meet certain ecological requirements, which can be proven by the EU environmental label, which was strengthened in 2017, or other independent certificates.
The legal basis for organic cleaning products is the EU Organic Regulation, which has been in force since January 1, 2022.
This regulation regulates the production, processing, labeling and control of organic products, which also include detergents and cleaning agents.
Are organic cleaners really more sustainable and environmentally friendly?
How sustainable an organic cleaner is depends on various factors, including:
Origin of ingredients
Energy efficiency of production processes
Packaging
Biodegradability
In general, organic cleaning products with natural ingredients have a lower chemical impact on the environment and leave a smaller ecological footprint.
Another plus of biological cleaning agents: They are often gentler on the skin and respiratory tract because they do not contain any aggressive or allergy-causing substances.
Organic cleaning products are also produced without animal testing and are often even vegan.
Good to know
It is important to pay attention to certifications and seals for organic cleaning products that guarantee environmentally friendly production and fair trading conditions.
For example, the EU Ecolabel or the Ecocert seal.
On the topic: What the organic seals mean – and which one is the strictest
How do you recognize good organic cleaners?
Not all organic cleaning products are equally environmentally friendly.
There are some criteria you should pay attention to if you want to buy a truly sustainable product:
The EU environmental seal
guarantees that the product meets strict ecological requirements.
For example, its production uses little energy and water, it is particularly easy to degrade and the raw materials come from responsible sources.
The seal is also a sign of socially responsible production.
Products that bear the EU environmental seal include the cleaners from Ecover or the universal cleaner from Klar.
The ingredients
: Even if a product is labeled “organic” or “eco”, that does not mean that it does not contain any questionable ingredients.
For example, some organic cleaning products use palm oil, which often comes from unsustainable cultivation and contributes to the deforestation of rainforests.
Products that do not contain palm oil or obtain it from controlled cultivation include Frosch cleaners or Sonett cleaning and detergent products.
By the way, supposedly natural citrus oils can also be harmful to aquatic organisms.
Packaging
is another aspect that influences the environmental balance of an organic cleaning product.
Many organic cleaners use recycled or recyclable plastic, which uses fewer resources and creates less waste.
Even better: packaging made from renewable materials such as paper or cardboard, such as everdrop's floor cleaner powder.
Which organic cleaners are the best?
When buying organic cleaning products, it is advisable to choose products that have received good reviews in independent tests.
Products from brands such as Frosch, Ecover and Sonett regularly perform well, both in terms of their cleaning performance and their environmental compatibility.
To make your decision easier, we have put together some recommendations for you.
The best organic all-purpose cleaner
Ecover all-purpose cleaner lemongrass & ginger © Ecover
An all-purpose cleaner is particularly versatile and is suitable for floors, furniture, windows and other surfaces.
One of the top sellers on Amazon with almost five out of five stars with over 1,338 movements is the Ecover Lemongrass & Ginger All-Purpose Cleaner.
To the bestseller from Ecover
A cheaper alternative is the natural-based soda cleaner from Frosch, which also achieves good cleaning results.
Tip for biological bathroom cleaner
bio-chem 3-piece cleaning set © PantherMedia photo agency;
bio-chem
A good bathroom cleaner should effectively remove limescale, soap scum, mold and bacteria without damaging the fittings or ceramics.
A new discovery on Amazon is the company bio-chem from North Rhine-Westphalia, which offers, among other things, practical savings packages.
Our tip is the organic bathroom cleaner set with drain and toilet cleaner as well as surface cleaning products.
To the bathroom cleaner set
Cleans really well, I cleaned the shower and toilet with it where many cleaning products had previously failed miserably!
Absolute purchase recommendation
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review on Amazon
Organic cleaner for stubborn dirt: scouring milk
Frosch Lemon Scouring Milk © Frosch
Scouring milk uses fine, coarse particles to clean heavily soiled or encrusted surfaces such as stovetops, pots, pans or tiles.
In the Öko-Test² test, the Frosch scouring milk lemon received the top grade of “very good”.
To the test winner
Are organic cleaners also suitable for allergy sufferers?
No.
Not all organic cleaning products are suitable for allergy sufferers.
Some still contain natural fragrances or enzymes that can trigger allergic reactions.
However, there are special cleaning products that have been developed for allergy sufferers and do not contain such ingredients.
New in the range: organic cleaning products for mopping robots
Grasshopper mopping robot cleaning agent with tropical fruit scent © Grashüpfer
Mopping robots are a great thing: the little helpers are simply “fed” with water and liquid cleaning agents and do the wiping all by themselves. Sustainable special cleaning agents in organic quality are relatively new on the market.
A well-known manufacturer is the German company Grashüpfer.
All of the brand's products are vegan and do not use animal testing at all.
The grasshopper cleaning agent is compatible with all mopping and vacuum robots; one liter of concentrate is enough for approx. 80 uses.
To the mopping robot cleaning agent
Market check: How environmentally friendly are organic cleaners?
Tips for the environmentally conscious use of organic cleaning products
✔️
Prefer concentrates
: They are often more productive than ready-made solutions and reduce packaging waste.
✔
️Observe the correct dosage
: an overdose does not clean better, but it puts unnecessary strain on the environment.
✔
️Use refill packs
to reduce plastic waste.
✔
️Save water
: Use organic cleaning products sparingly and make sure not to use more water than necessary.
In addition to classic household cleaners, there are of course also organic detergents for laundry.
According to Ökotest and Stiftung Warentest, there are also some sustainable organic products among the best detergents of 2023.
Another test by Öko-Test also shows that hardly any conventional liquid detergent is environmentally friendly.
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The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.