The Cleanest Laundry You've Ever Done

by Genesis Tallow
Why your laundry detergent may be the most overlooked source of toxins in your home, and what to do about it (including our favourite DIY Laundry Detergent Recipe)
You spend hours reading the labels on your moisturizer, face wash, and deodorants. You've swapped your cleanser and SPF for non-toxic options. But when it comes to laundry day? Most of us are still trusting a brightly coloured bottle promising "fresh linen." 
Your clothing is in contact with your skin for up to 16 hours a day. Whatever your detergent is leaving behind on those fibres, it's transferring directly onto and into your body's largest organ: your skin.

"Your skin no longer protects you from the world, because the world it was designed to protect you against no longer exists. Instead, your skin absorbs it.”
Today we're digging into the chemicals lurking in conventional laundry products, why fragrance is the ultimate greenwash, and how a handful of simple, honest ingredients can get your clothes just as clean, without the toxic load.

By the way, this is what we would consider the 2nd step of a slow switch into a more non-toxic lifestyle. If you're just starting to swap out your products we recommend starting at step one. You can read all about it on our blog: How to Switch to a Non-Toxic Home + Body (Without Fear, Guilt, or Overwhelm)

What's Actually in Your Laundry Detergent?

Conventional laundry detergents are cocktails of synthetic chemicals engineered to clean, brighten, soften, and scent, and most of their ingredients are not required to be fully disclosed on the label. In the EU, US, and Canada, manufacturers can list "fragrance" as a single ingredient even when it represents a blend of dozens (sometimes hundreds) of individual chemical compounds.

Here are some of the most common offenders:

Synthetic Fragrance: An umbrella term masking up to 3,000+ individual chemicals, many of which are known hormone disruptors, skin sensitizers, and carcinogens. Among the worst: phthalates, which mimic estrogen in the body and never ever leave your body once they enter it.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): A harsh surfactant that strips the skin's natural barrier. Residue left in clothing can trigger irritation, eczema flares, and allergic reactions — especially in sensitive skin.

Optical Brighteners: Synthetic chemicals that stay on fabric and fluoresce under light. They don't wash out — they build up. Linked to skin sensitisation and potential hormone disruption.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats): Found in fabric softeners and dryer sheets. These are persistent skin irritants associated with respiratory issues and antibiotic resistance.

1,4-Dioxane: A carcinogen that forms as a byproduct of ethoxylation in detergent manufacturing. It's not necessarily added intentionally, but it shows up as a byproduct of the manufacturing process.

Phosphates: Linked to endocrine disruption and devastating to aquatic ecosystems. Still found in many commercial products and fabric softeners.

WORTH KNOWING: The skin's absorption rate varies by body part. Your underarms, groin, and face absorb chemicals at a significantly higher rate than your forearms; meaning clothing soaked in detergent residue are delivering these compounds exactly where absorption is highest.

 

The Fragrance Problem (It's Bigger Than You Think)

In the world of cosmetics and personal care, "fragrance" on an ingredient list is one of the biggest red flags you'll encounter. And I don't say that lightly, it is a HUGE red flag. The same is absolutely true in laundry products.

Under current regulations in most countries, fragrance blends are considered trade secrets, which means brands don't have to disclose what's in them. That "clean linen" smell you love? It could contain musk ketones (bioaccumulative and hormone-disrupting), benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer in animal studies), or limonene (which reacts with ozone in the air to form formaldehyde).

The fragrances sit in your towels, your pillowcase, your baby's onesie, and on your clothing, seeping into your skin and off-gassing into the air you breathe while you sleep. This is why at Genesis Tallow, our approach to non-toxic living starts with 100% natural products that completely eliminate synthetic fragrance from your skincare and personal hygiene products entirely.

Your Skin, Your Clothes, and the Toxic Load Connection

There's a concept in environmental health called toxic load: the cumulative burden of chemical exposure on your body from all sources. On any given morning, the average person is exposed to over 100 unique synthetic chemicals before they even leave the house: from their shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturizer, makeup, perfume, and... you guessed it: their freshly "laundered" clothes.

Your body has incredible detoxification systems (hello, liver and lymphatic system), but those systems were designed to handle natural environmental inputs, not a daily flood of petrochemical compounds. Where we stand on reducing your toxic load isn’t about fear; it’s about working with and supporting our God-given biology.

Where skincare fits into this picture

If you're investing in genuinely clean skincare, like tallow moisturizers and balms that are naturally designed to work with your skin barrier rather than disrupting it, you deserve to know that what you're wearing supports your efforts to reduce your toxic load. And as we explored in our recent blog post, just because it's tallow doesn't mean it's non-toxic, even within natural skincare, sourcing and quality matter enormously!

 

Conventional skincare products are often the first swaps people make on their clean-living journey, and rightly so. Products applied directly to the face and body (especially under the eyes, on the lips, and around the underarms) sit at some of the body's highest-absorption points. 

But the conversation can't stop at skincare. Eventually, it has to extend to everything that comes into contact with your skin.

That means deodorant.

That means sunscreen.

And that means your laundry detergent.

Low Waste, Low Impact: A Note on Principles

Beyond what goes onto our bodies, we have to consider what goes into our water supply and ultimately back into the earth. Every time you do a load of laundry, that water (carrying whatever your detergent is made of) goes down the drain and through water treatment systems that are not designed to filter out synthetic fragrance compounds, optical brighteners, or surfactants.

The low- and zero-waste philosophy isn't just about plastic; it also considers the chemical residues we send downstream. It's about choosing ingredients that are biodegradable, minimal, and derived from the earth (vs. from a refinery). And on top of making better swaps wherever we can, we can also DIY a lot of it with recipes we make ourselves in bulk, with transparent, single-ingredient ingredients.

This DIY Laundry Detergent recipe ticks every one of those boxes. It’s made of four simple ingredients, all naturally derived, all biodegradable, and most of which are packaging-optional when bought in bulk. Once you’ve made it, store it in a reusable glass jar you can keep refilling for years to come!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fine sea salt
  • 1 cup Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate)
  • 3 cups washing soda (sodium carbonate)
  • 3 cups baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon of your favourite essential oil (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Combine the washing soda and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. These two make up the cleaning and deodorizing backbone of this recipe.
  2. Add both the sea salt and Epsom salt. Stir well until fully combined. The salts act as natural water softeners and help lift mineral deposits from fabric fibres.
  3. If using, add your essential oil drop by drop over the mixture, stirring continuously to distribute evenly and prevent clumping. Good choices include lavender, tea tree, or eucalyptus, all of which have natural antimicrobial properties.
  4. Transfer to an airtight glass jar or tin. Store in a cool, dry place away from moisture.
  5. Use ¼ cup per med-large load. Add directly to the drum before loading clothes, or to the detergent drawer.

 Tip: For a fabric-softening boost, add 1⁄4 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle.

Why Each Ingredient Earns Its Place

Washing Soda: the workhorse
Sodium carbonate is the true cleaning powerhouse here. It's a naturally derived alkali (made from salt and limestone via the Solvay process) that raises the pH of your wash water, helping to break down oils, grease, and protein-based stains. It also softens water by binding to hard water minerals that would otherwise reduce cleaning effectiveness. Washing Soda is not the same thing as baking soda; don’t confuse them; they're different compounds with different strengths.

Baking Soda: the deodorizer and booster
You already know baking soda as a natural deodorizer. In laundry, it neutralizes both acids and bases, making it exceptional at tackling odour at the molecular level rather than masking it with fragrance. It buffers the pH of the wash water and gives fabrics a soft, fresh feel.

Sea Salt: the mineral cleanser
Sea salt acts as a natural abrasive and mineral-rich cleanser. It helps prevent colours from running, brightens whites, and adds natural trace minerals to the wash. It's also a gentle water softener, reducing the calcium and magnesium ions that make water "hard" and interfere with cleaning.

Epsom Salt: the softener
Magnesium sulphate helps break down mineral buildup, supports fibre softening, and works synergistically with the other salts to improve overall cleaning performance. It's the reason this formula can skip commercial fabric softeners (and all the quats that come with them) entirely.

Essential Oil: your clean scent (optional)
If you'd like a gentle, natural fragrance, a small amount of therapeutic-grade essential oil delivers it without any synthetic compounds. My favourites are lavender, tea tree oil and eucalyptus! Lavender is soothing and antimicrobial, tea tree is a powerhouse against bacteria and mould, and eucalyptus is fresh and clarifying. Because we're using real essential oils (not “fragrance”), you know exactly what you're getting. Just keep in mind that essential oils can affect fabric, so less is always more.

The Benefits of Going Fully Natural and Non-Toxic

Switching to natural products in your laundry room, your bathroom, and your skincare routine is one of the highest-leverage choices you can make for your long-term health. Here's what many people experience when they make the switch:

  1. Calmer, Less Reactive Skin: Without constant exposure to surfactants and synthetic fragrance, many people see a significant reduction in eczema, contact dermatitis, and general skin sensitivity.
  2. Hormonal Stability: Eliminating phthalates, parabens, and other endocrine disruptors from your daily routine supports your body's natural hormonal regulation.
  3. Reduced Environmental Impact: Natural, biodegradable ingredients break down safely in waterways, so you're not having optical brighteners accumulating in aquatic ecosystems or synthetic musks building up in fish tissue.
  4. Cost-Effective and Minimal: Buying in bulk, making your own, and owning your ingredient list is almost always cheaper per load than commercial detergent, never mind that it also eliminates packaging waste.
  5. Clearer Mind and Better Sleep: Many people report reduced headaches, brain fog, and improved sleep after eliminating synthetic fragrance from their home environment, particularly in bedding!
  6. Safer for the Whole Family: Children and babies are especially vulnerable to chemical exposure due to their smaller body mass and higher skin-to-body-weight ratio. Natural laundry products are a meaningful protective step.

Building a Truly Non-Toxic Home

Your laundry detergent is one piece of a larger picture. Once you've made this swap, you might find yourself looking at everything else with fresh eyes, and that's a wonderful thing. The journey to a non-toxic home isn't about perfection or doing it all in one big swooping effort; it's about progress, ingredient by ingredient, product by product. If you're not sure where to begin beyond the laundry room, our guide on how to switch to a non-toxic home and body, free of fear or overwhelm, is the perfect next read.

At Genesis Tallow, we believe that what you put on your skin should be as clean and intentional as what you eat. Our tallow-based skincare line is formulated from 100% natural, food-grade ingredients. Tallow, sourced from grass-fed and finished beef, is uniquely biocompatible with human skin. It mimics the lipid profile of our own sebum and absorbs without residue, disruption, or a single synthetic compound. If you're ready to overhaul your face care routine in one step, our Essentials Face Bundle Box is the simplest way to start. It’s everything you need and nothing you don't.

When you slowly pair clean skincare with clean laundry, clean home products, and clean personal care, you're supporting your body’s natural intelligence, not just reducing your toxic load. As you move forward on your non-toxic or low-waste journey, don’t forget, you don’t have to follow any rigid rulebook; it’s really about just one honest, simple choice to give your body less to fight against after another.

Clean home. Clean skin. Clean conscience.

Extend your non-toxic lifestyle to your skincare routine.

Shop All Non-Toxic Products →

References:

Abdollahi, H., Ghanbarlou, S., Babapoor, A., Yari Kalashgarani, M., Valadez, I., Zarrintaj, P., & Davachi, S. M. (2025). Surfactant-containing detergents: Impacts on dermal health. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 256(Pt 1), 115026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2025.115026

Jeguirim, I., Ouerghi, O., Laadhar, L., & Feki, M. (2025). The impact of perfumes and cosmetic products on human health: A narrative review. Frontiers in Toxicology, 7, 1646075. https://doi.org/10.3389/ftox.2025.1646075

Nematollahi, N., Doronila, A., Mornane, P. J., Kolev, S. D., & Steinemann, A. (2023). Do synthetic fragrances in personal care and household products impact indoor air quality and pose health risks? Science of the Total Environment, 871, 162106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162106

Rowe, D. (2006). Detergents, clothing and the consumer with sensitive skin. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30(5), 447–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006.00514.x

Rudel, R. A., Camann, D. E., Spengler, J. D., Korn, L. R., & Brody, J. G. (2003). Phthalates, alkylphenols, pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and other endocrine-disrupting compounds in indoor air and dust. Environmental Science & Technology, 37(20), 4543–4553. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0264596

Simmonds, M. S. J., Bhatt, A., & Kumar, S. (2024). Synthetic endocrine disruptors in fragranced products. Cosmetics, 5(3), 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics5030027

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