Green People offers a small range of hand washes (in easy-to-recycle sugar cane packaging) including an anti-bacterial version with manuka oil, an unscented version and an instant-foaming citrus hand wash for children with larch tree extract and tea tree oil (also good to wipe-clean sticky faces, toys and highchairs.
Choose unscented for pregnancy/nursing and affected medical conditions. Keep soaps away from young children and pets (due to citrus oils etc).
We all need to wash our hands throughout the day. But most brands are made with non-biodegradable ingredients (including fragrance oils) and often packed in plastic bottles. This means the ingredients are too harsh for our skin (and the oceans, when they get washed down sinks). And even if you can recycle the bottles, it takes energy to do so (and energy to make them – plastic is made from oil). Instead, consider switching over to zero waste hand soaps (you could of course just use a simple bar of palm-oil-free bar soap. But for this post, we are focusing on alternatives to liquid hand soaps.
Be careful as there is a lot of greenwash out there – many ‘eco-friendly hand soaps’ that claim to be biodegradable are not, as they are cloaked under the term ‘fragrance’. Unfragranced is always best (never pour neat essential oils down drains, they can harm aquatic life). But if you use fragranced versions, then always choose versions with a tiny amount of real essential oils, not fragrance oils that don’t break down, reduce oxygen in the water supply, and ultimate harm fish and marine creatures. And likely to cause irritation for sensitive skin.
Choose unscented for pregnancy/nursing and affected medical conditions (suitable for children over 3). Never use ‘human’ soap/shampoos on pets (different PH and these bars also use macadamia oil, unsafe near furry friends).
Green People Berry Smoothie Hand Wash is sold in easy-to-recycle packaging. This features raspberry, vanilla and slightly foaming yucca, for a nice gentle hand wash for all the family. Free from alcohol, this hand wash is ideal for dry skin. Any ingredients like benzyl alcohol are natural components of essential oils (not from synthetic fragrance).
what to look for in a biodegradable hand soap
Soaps that are affordable. Quality hand soaps and liquid hand washes do cost a little more, because good ingredients and labour cost more to buy. But the good news is that as they work better, you can simplify and use less items and often need less of them. Having said that, designer soaps in expensive packaging are only for posh hotels. If we want change en-masse, we have to seek out brands that are aimed at the average consumer, not just those who read lifestyle magazines.
Vegan and free from palm oil. Whenever animals are farmed, exploitation occurs. So not just plant-based (could still include animal ingredients) but vegan, and free from palm oil (listed as sodium palmate, which is what most bar soaps are at present). ‘Sustainable palm oil’ is just a marketing term self-policed by industry, with no guarantee of protecting orangutans and other endangered creatures.
In sustainable packaging. Soaps can be paper or cardboard, and liquid soaps should be in easy-to-recycle packaging (if plastic, made from recycled plastic). Glass is not always a good option in bathrooms (wet hands etc). But there are some innovative alternative materials coming into the market.
No fragrance or natural essential oils. Unscented is always best. But most people prefer scent, so choose brands with tiny amounts that will biodegrade easily, not ‘fragrance’ oils that is just a term to cloak either synthetic fragrance or a blend of essential oils and fragrance (to save money).
It works! Look for the effectivenss of the ingredients. Now post-pandemic, we don’t want hand soaps to just clean our hands, but to (in the case of liquid soaps) contain ingredients to help stop viruses and salmonella etc- even more so, in the case of portable hand sanitisers.
other good brands of biodegradable hand wash
Beauty Kitchen offers biodegradable hand washes (scented with real essential oils) in aluminium bottles (with a one-time purchase ‘pump for life’). Made with coconut and sunflower oil, choose from Botanic (eucalyptus, may change & rosemary) or Citrus (grapefruit, orange, lemon).
Natrl (Buckinghamshire) offers organic hand wash (around £10, with organic sunflower/coconut oils, scented with bergamot & sweet orange essential oils).
biodegradable hand soaps for industry
Bio-D is a popular brand of cleaning/laundry products, which offers unscented hand wash alongside scented versions (a few use parfum but rosemary thyme, lime aloe vera and geranium grapefruit are all scented with essential oils). You can also buy 5L refills and giant 20L bottles (with drum taps, ideal for industry). All hand washes are tested to food-grade standard and neutralise 99.9% of bacteria including E.coli, Salmonella and MRSA.
Delphis Eco is a brand mostly for commercial use. Sold in bottles made from recycled milk jugs, the range includes a liquid hand wash for sensitive skin and an anti-bacterial hand wash (both in 5L refills). Alongside a non-flammable hand sanitiser in a handy pump dispenser, which cleans and kills germs and viruses, to prevent infection without need for drying. It also features a twin chain biocide to protect against bacteria, mould, yeast, algae and viruses.
an organic chef’s hand wash from Cornwall
Trevarno Skincare’s Chef Hand Wash (Cornwall) is expensive (around £20) but is formulated to remove food odours, so you don’t go home smelling of garlic! Features essential oils of sage & rosemary, with a pump for easy application.
where to recycle empty hand wash bottles
Terracycle offers a free recycling program (sponsored by industry). Just order a box and place it somewhere within your community (a local shop, school, council office etc). Then everyone can drop off items of beauty packaging they can’t recycle locally. When full, just use the pre-paid label to ship it off, and the items are recycled into other goods like recycled plastic park benches etc.
As well as liquid hand soap bottles, you can also send off hand cream tubes and caps, shower & shampoo bottles (with refill pouches) and skincare pots and lids. Try to remove excess products, but you don’t have to clean the bottles before recycling. The program does not accept perfume bottles, aerosol bottles or nail polish bottles (just wrap and bin these).
