Not everyone has the same idea of "green living." ( Photo by: C. K. Klose)
Charlie’s Soap being thrown under the truck is not a fun topic to post about for me. People are getting all riled up about is a specific product made by Charlie’s Soap because it contains 2-butoxyethanol. As you read this keep in mind, we’re talking about the All-Purpose Cleaner.
I’ve used Charlie’s Soap All-Purpose Cleaner. It worked pretty well. Charlie’s Soap is a lot greener than just about every main stream grocery store all purpose cleaner out there. “Green folks” ought to stick together, not divide each other, but I think one person’s idea of “green” is not always the same as the next persons.
Charlie’s Soap All-Purpose Cleaner
Now, for starters, you may have found that the All-Purpose Cleaner is no where to be found online anymore. Someone on Charlie’s Soap’s Facebook time line asked what happened to it. Charlie’s Soap responded back, “Nothing at all. http://www.charliesoap.com/indoor_outdoor_cleaner.html
We found many had trouble understanding it’s function, so we changed its name … AND then we came out with a daily cleaner (Kitchen & Bath)”
Got that? The All Purpose Cleaner is now named the Indoor/Outdoor Cleaner. According to Charlie’s Soap, the name change is to make its intended use more clear. I think that is admirable.
Is Charlie’s Soap Safe and Environmentally Friendly?
Charlie’s Soap has always been considered a really great natural company among my crunchy friends. Charlie’s Soap in many ways helped pave the way for us crunchy moms. Charlie’s Soap has always been and is still highly biodegradable and rinses off of surfaces well.
2-Butoxyethanol “can enter your body through skin contact with liquid products such as paints, varnishes, ink and spot removers, and household cleaners. If your skin comes in contact with vapors of these compounds in the air, some can also enter your body through your skin.” Factors that determine whether 2-Butoxyethanol is a health risk are the amount of time you are exposed to it as well as how much you are exposed to. Other factors that must be considered when determining health risks include the other chemicals you’re exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health. (SOURCE)
According to Charlie’s Soap official MSDS, 2-butoxyethanol is present at less than 4% in Charlie’s Soap All-Purpose Cleaner and does not possess the occupational health risk associated with exposure to undiluted 2-butoxyethanol. The point crunchy moms and green folks are making though is that 2-butoxyethanol is not what they think of when they think of a natural product. 2-Butoxyethanol does not occur naturally. SOURCE
Charlie re-affirms his soap is safe.
Charlie posted a blog in response to the drama online about Charlie’s Soap containing 2-butoxyethanol:
The bomb as we knew it is passe. Now we have DDT, BPA, formaldehyde, asbestos, petroleum, genetically modified whatever. We are inundated with scary things. Most of them are innocuous. Did you know that there is cyanide in almonds? Maybe you did, but did you know that apricot pits have five times the cyanide of almonds? Natural, for sure, but not deadly by a long shot. A good handful of them, however, can make you sick.A cursory glance at any latest fear and who benefits from it will give away the scam. But nobody investigates. And nobody wants to admit they were scammed. I’ll tell you this: our Indoor/outdoor cleaner, which contains 2-butoxyethanol, was used on my kids as bubble bath.
The difference though is that 2-Butoxyethanol does not occur naturally. Therein lies the problem for many of us. It’s not a natural chemical like the natural cyanide in almonds. He’s right that just because something is natural doesn’t make it safe and just because something is unnatural doesn’t make it unsafe. The thing is though, 2-Butoxyethanol’s relationship with fertility and its effect on pregnancy and its cancer causing potential are still considered unknown. What’s worse, what tests have been done, don’t make me like the chemical much. I’m confident that Charlie’s Soap is pretty safe, but that won’t cease the drama surrounding it.
What I don’t think Charlie understands is what we crunchy-type moms are like these days. The effects of 2-Butoxyethanol are dependent on a lot of things, right? We moms already have so much to worry about, and with good reason. Our kids are exposed to toxins already in the water and in the air that were never there before. Our autism rate is 1 in 88. A majority of our children have chronic illness. We have a pediatric mental health crisis on our hands. Our children have more cancers than ever and we ourselves are struggling with infertility like no generation has seen before.
And no, Charlie didn’t do this. No, Charlie is not the enemy of treehuggers like me everywhere. But….
There are so many things that we can not control, that when we find something that we can control, (like what kind of soap to use) we are often willing to sacrifice all sorts of money (and even quality in order) to make sure we keep every single toxin that we can control away from our children, even if its presented at nontoxic levels.
Charlie’s Secret Formulas
Other people are upset because they now want to know the complete ingredient list for Charlie’s other products. On another blog post Charlie said:
Our family has been making and using our soaps and detergents since Taylor was 6 years old. Our four kids, Taylor, Jenny, James and Morgan — all healthy and strong and hard working — bathed in the stuff. Our employees have also washed their kids in Charlie’s Soap. We all have literally had our hands in the stuff since 1976. Our little company has complied with every federal regulation and warning concerning the chemicals we use in our soaps/detergents. Yet still there are demands that we reveal our special secrets to those who cannot figure out why our products are so good. I think not!
I certainly understand the purpose behind secret formulas, but another thing that Charlie’s Soap and many other manufacturers need to understand is that we are also dealing with a tremendous amount of allergies, dermatitis, asthma and other allergic responses in our children more than parents in any other generation has ever had to deal with. We need to know what is in stuff. For many of us, if a manufacturer is not willing to let us know specifically what we’re exposing our children, we simply will not use their product in our homes.
For crunchy moms today, federal regulations are a joke. We won’t allow stuff in our house simply because it meets federal guideline. Complying with federal regulations is great. Going the extra step to be biodegradable like Charlie’s Soap has is fantastic. Still, our own household regulations (now that we have children living in them) are much stiffer than the FDA or the EPA’s mandates.
What will I do?
Charlie is not the enemy, so it breaks my heart to say this, but 2-Butoxyethanol, even at the less than 4%, is still not welcome in my house. Other Charlie’s products? CERTAINLY!!! These days though, I usually sacrifice perfection and use a little baking soda here and a little vinegar there for most of my cleaning needs, so my business is not of much consequence to Charlie’s Soap. The big question is, what will all of you do?
Copyrighted. See page footer. Intellipissies is an opinion forum. Nothing Intellipissies writes should be considered professional, medical or legal advice. See disclaimer.
