Differences between common detergents and Bensos’ products are mainly in the way raw materials are chosen. At the beginning, Bensos’ choices were inspired by Swedish ecological certificate, Good Environmental Choice (Bra Miljoval); then Bensos went on examining in depth long-term toxicity of chemicals, following University of Brescia researchers’ suggestions.
As a result, Bensos DOES NOT use not biodegradable chemicals, even if they were of natural origin (ex. etidronate, CMC, hydroxyethylcellulose), DOES NOT use allergens (ex. essential oils, enzymes), DOES NOT use long-term toxic chemicals (ex. potassium cocoate, sodium cocoyl sulfate, etidronate, LAS, MEA, TEA, parabens, etc.).
For instance, many chemicals that characterize essential oils show concerning long-term toxicities, which make them not recommendable for daily use especially for kids; many common products contain high concentrations of some surfactants (LAS, sodium alkyl sulfates, coconut soap, ethanolamines, etc.) with long-term toxicity data already measured and published, so… why use all of these chemicals, if it is possibile to make good products without them?
Once we select biodegradable and safe chemicals, the best way is to choose among them those from renewable origin, instead of synthetic ones. But it must be a well-balanced choice, surely secondary compared with low environmental impact and low toxicity: it does make no sense to use toxic or persistent chemicals only because they are of natural origin! Renewable or not, toxic or persistent chemicals are NOT TO BE USED at all. Even so, Bensos’ products can be considered natural detergents: most of them contain a low (< 5%) or very low (< 1%) amount of synthetic chemicals; more importantly, these chemicals are safe both for human health and for environment.
This is Bensos’ choice.
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