Minml White Vinegar (an eco-friendly fabric softener)

Visit any supermarket and you’ll find an aisle packed with toxic fabric conditioners, all made with artificial fragrance and sold in plastic bottles (most are also tested on animals and contain palm oil).

But here’s the truth – you don’t need them. You can easily make clothes softer and reduce static cling, with other methods. Fabric conditioners also reduce absorbency (so not good for washable cloth nappies and feminine pads). And when tumble-dried, can even increase flammability of fabrics.

There’s a simple alternative to chemical fabric conditioners. Just add half a cup of unscented cleaning vinegar (not malt vinegar!) to the dispenser or final rinse cycle. The smell dissipates, so your clothes won’t smell like a bag of chips!

Choose unscented laundry detergents if pregnant/nursing and for baby/pet bedding (use higher temperatures for weak immunity and oxygen bleach for stains. Use a microfiber filter, for synthetic fabrics. 

You can bin empty containers of chemical laundry liquids (don’t rinse). For half-full items, take them to hazardous waste at the refuse centre.

Most ‘biodegradable laundry sheets’ contain PVA (plastic polyvinyl alcohol) that still leaches up to 40% plastic into the sea (one expert says to trust such items, she would want to know the precise times and temperatures which can’t be promised).