Being green

In the past, green cleaning products have been let down by their performance. Working closely with a team of chemists, scientists and environmental experts, we have created the Naturally Powered range of eco cleaning products – specially formulated to have a reduced impact on the environment than other leading products and with the cleaning performance you'd expect.

To help us understand our products' eco credentials, we used environmental experts ERM (Environmental Resources Management) to assess their environmental impacts. They looked at the ingredients in our formulations as well as our packaging and assessed them against eight key impacts that cover climate change; water use and water pollution: air pollution; land and soil pollution; and depletion of non-renewable fossil resources. For instance, the assessment looked at how our range compared to typical leading brand products and also how it supports the production of sustainable palm oil.

Being green with outstanding performance

We wanted to avoid using ingredients that were derived from fossil fuels, so where possible we opted for plant-based ones instead, such as coconut, potato, corn and wheat. Our scientists found that using small amounts of several ingredients gave a much better cleaning performance – rather than using a lot of one single ingredient. This clever mix of ingredients is what we call 'Combination technology' and the way in which the ingredients work together is a 'Synergy'. Our products have also been developed so that you can use them at low temperatures – helping you to save energy and money!

Supporting sustainable palm oil

Some of our products use palm kernel oil – mainly in the surfactants that provide the cleaning power. We actively support the protection of rainforests and also the cultivation and production of sustainable palm oil. Where palm kernel oil is used in the Naturally Powered eco range, we only use GreenPalm certificatifed palm oils. This means that the manufacture of our products supports the cultivation and production of sustainable palm oil by paying a premium for every tonne of oil to the palm oil producers – all of whom operate within the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil's (RSPO) strict guidelines for social and environmental responsibility.

Our packaging

Using resources more efficiently is key to us, which is why, wherever we can, our packaging is made from 100% recycled materials (99% in the case of card) (except for the trigger sprays and caps, but we’re working on that) – and is recyclable too! Although more water has to be used in the recycling process (to wash the plastic), using recycled plastics has a lower overall environmental impact than a bottle made from new plastic.

We've also reduced the weight of our packaging without compromising the protection of our products. This means that less material is used to do the same job, saving on precious resources, and less stuff is being transported to and from our stores, meaning reduced transport emissions.

Striving for perfection!

We'd love all our products to be 100% natural and we are always looking at new ways to do this. The thing is, they have to work too!

Where essential for performance, we have included low levels of synthetic ingredients. For example, optical brighteners give you gleaming bright whites, which is what you’d expect from your normal non-eco washing powder or liquid, so we have added just a little bit to our formula. We’ve also added small amounts of enzymes in our biological washing powders and liquids – they help to remove starch, protein and fat stains, so it seemed silly not to use them especially as we only use a little bit. And lastly, while it may sound odd, some synthetic fragrances are less likely to cause allergic reactions than some plant-derived ones, so we thought it was sensible to use synthetic ones in some of our laundry products and washing-up liquid to minimise any chances of irritancy.

Putting our eco range to the test

All the products in the Naturally Powered range were put through the toughest tests by our team of scientists and people in the home. Here are some of the results:

The Synergy Lab

Find out more about how we make our products in the Synergy Lab.

 take a look
5 top green tips
  • 1. Go digital

    Buy a DAB digital radio, rather than an analogue model, and you'll use 75% less electricity every year.

  • 2. Use the smallest ring on the hob

    Size is everything and using the smallest ring on full power will guzzle up less gas than using the largest on low.

  • 3. Stain buster

    Rinse stains, such as tea and coffee, with cold water and spot clean with washing detergent (not soap, as it doesn't have the stain removing agent).

  • 4. Choose a full load

    Always wait until you have a full load of washing or dishes to save electricity and money.

  • 5. Dry your clothes outside

    When the weather's fine, dry your clothes outside on a line if you can – it'll save you energy and money.