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Wellness > Health

New York Bans Big Name Laundry Detergent – Here’s Some Sustainable and Healthy Switches

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.

You may or may not have heard of the big-name laundry detergent ban in New York state. A common ingredient in many common laundry detergents is 1,4-Dioxane, which has been identified as carcinogenic and can be extremely harmful to human health. Recently, New York state has banned all laundry detergents that contain this ingredient. 


Many of the banned laundry detergents include Arm & Hammer Clean Burst, Tide Original, Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Free & Clear, and Gain Original + Aroma Boost. If you’re anything like me, you have used these detergents before and for most of your life. This ban was extremely alarming and I’ve now switched to more sustainable and healthier laundry detergent for the future. Here are the best products I found out there:

Earth Breeze

This is the cleanest and most sustainable laundry detergent I have found. It comes in a pack of laundry detergent sheets that dissolve into detergent when wet. They are also a small business that is committed to reducing people’s carbon footprint. I just ordered a pack of these and I’m really excited to see the results.

Tru Earth

This is another great option and on their website, they mention that they are 1,4-Dioxane free. This product is also extremely similar to the aforementioned option in the way it works. 

Blueland

The company Blueland has a lot of other cleaning products as well – which are all extremely eco-friendly. The detergent comes in small tablets that boast great results. Blueland products also claim to have clean ingredients without harmful chemicals.

The New York detergent ban has definitely opened my eyes to just how harmful and unsustainable the everyday products we use are. The detergents I mentioned above are zero-waste or close to zero-waste products that have extremely good reviews online. As always, do your own research before you buy and make sure that you are buying sustainably.

Ivie Maher

CU Boulder '23

Ivie is a senior studying political science. She loves dogs, bunnies, and ice cream. She loves the outdoors and feels right at home here in the mountains. You can catch her cooking green bean casserole (her favorite), finding new music, or writing her newest article.