What about seventh generation detergents? does anybody know?

Like many products and services we buy, it's very hard to know the full details and compositions of them, so often it's easier and stress-free to do it yourself.  In this case, I've been happy and comfortable to use pure soap, washing soda (stronger cousin to baking soda) and borax mixtures for laundry.  They're clean and all-natural, it might be a bit of work sourcing them to buy, but once you do they last a long time.  1/6th cup or less of soap, 1/2 cup of washing soda, 1/4 cup of borax does the job for full laundry loads, and if perhaps not all stains come out, it's a wonderful trade-off to know, these clothes are truely clean!  After years of using these and nothing commercial, I have really become hypersensitive the synthetic scents and the big smells they create with other people using the common chemical-soup junk.  And while I have you reading this, I'll say that dryers are unnecessary, you can hang your clothes in the house to dry (as well as outside), especially in winter when your air will be dry from whatever home-heating you do.  Happy cleaning! (o:

P&G has always tested their products on animals. You could check the PETA site to see if they have cleaned up their act, but last I checked they had not.

So, if you care about animal welfare, stay away from P&G products.

Greta

I second what Greta said; P&G is a HORRIBLE company to suggest and I can't believe that Umbra doesn't already know the awful things that P&G does to animals.

Also:  suggesting Wal-Mart?  COME ON.  Many anything-conscious people (economy, environment, health etc) do not shop at Wal-Mart for a plethora of reasons.  For more info, a good source is WakeUpWalMart.com.

I appreciate the true alternative suggestions that I found in the comments (imagine that:  more answers in the comments section than the actual answer itself!) and will be trying some of them ASAP.

I too can't believe that Umbra recommended P&G AND Wal-Mart. I've boycotted both companies for years.

I climb into my Hummer, with leather interior, for a trip to Wal-Mart to buy some P&G household chemical cleaners and PVC outdoor furniture.  As long as I am here, I might as well pick myself up a gun and several rounds of ammo...in case I have to fend off insurgents.

Oh, I just can't resist grabbing a package of Oreo cookies [big tobacco product]. I'm so hungry.  Oops, I got crumbs on my new mink coat. Here, I'll just brush them off with my bootlegged copy of Halo 3.

Ah, shucks. I'm nearly out of gasoline after that 1-mile drive to Wal-Mart. I'll just pull over to Exxon.

"Greta, wake up. You were having a bad dream."

Seventh Generation's laundry detergent says "specifically formulated for HE and standard machines."  I've never tried it in a HE washer, but it works great in a standard.

What about Trader Joe's "Next to Godliness" laundry soap?  

I've been looking for a green HE detergent for months and this has given me several great leads...thanks!!

To those of you who question why Wal-Mart was mentioned as a possible source...wake up and get out of your little corner of the universe.  I happen to live in a rural area of the U.S. where the ONLY place to find anything like this within 20 miles is the local Wal-Mart.  Sure, I hate them as much as you do, but I'm not driving even my 35mpg car 20+ miles just to boycott them...how "green" would that really be, especially when you're not talking just about my family but the 10,000 other people in our community, too??  Yes, believe it or not, Wal-Mart has the corner on our household goods market here...sadly.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and sorry for the rant!

Unbelievable that Grist / Umbra would recommend P&G. products.

Now that has me wondering if they really do their homework on the rest of their recommendations.