For those who have been to search out your self poking round Environmental Working Group’s Information to Wholesome Cleansing and also you filtered right down to cloth softeners, you understand what you’d discover? Of the 212 cloth softeners and dryer sheets that the environmental advocacy group has analyzed for “hazards to well being or the setting,” 72.1% are ranked as excessive to highest concern—with simply 11.8% ranked as low or lowest concern. So some are OK, however the majority, not a lot.
In the meantime, by 2025 the world is predicted to spend $22.72 billion on cloth softener. All that cash and all that potential hazard—and all these plastic bottles. Is the scent of lab-formulated “April Contemporary Scent” or “Sea Breeze” actually price it?
It’s particularly confounding when there’s a actually nice different—and that, my associates, is the common-or-garden wool dryer ball.
I received my first set of wool dryer balls years in the past as a present. I might have by no means anticipated them to be so efficient, however efficient they’re. A set is comprised of six felted wool balls that one places within the dryer with their laundry. By bouncing round with the drying gadgets, they work to separate layers and create air pockets to assist fluff and soften, and scale back drying time. I add just a few drops of pure important oil to the balls for a botanical-based perfume, which is a stunning different to the standard cloth softeners which are scented with artificial chemical substances that may result in pores and skin irritation.
Apart from the mechanical motion, the balls additionally soak up moisture, additional lowering the time it takes to dry garments. That absorbed moisture does double obligation to assist scale back static cling—of which the balls do a beautiful job. Most static cling comes from overdrying; however because the balls launch the absorbed moisture because the drying progresses, the circumstances for the build-up of static electrical energy are minimized.
In addition they assist with wrinkles, take away pet hair from garments (no small miracle) and assist towels and linens not intertwine into soggy braids.
They’re efficient, cost-effective since they can be utilized for years, non-toxic to particular person and planet, and plastic-free. I actually cannot think about ever shopping for liquid cloth softener or dryer sheets once more.
I requested eco-advocate and entrepreneur Mimi Ausland concerning the Friendsheep Eco Dryer Balls out there at Free the Ocean, the day by day trivia website she co-founded to wash up ocean plastic. (Friendsheep is identical model I used to be given all these years in the past—mine are nonetheless going robust.) Ausland stated:
“Not solely do I like that these dryer balls change single-use dryer sheets however I actually admire how they scale back drying time, wrinkles, and static, naturally! No chemical softener discovered right here. Did I point out how the six cute faces make doing laundry a lot extra enjoyable?!”
(She was speaking concerning the penguin-themed balls, in case you have been questioning why she has a sextet of cute faces serving to her together with her laundry.)
The Particulars
Wool might not be an possibility for vegan households; however for the file, Friendsheep is adamantly against mulesing. They use 100% natural New Zealand wool that’s 100% cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny Licensed.
The wool comes from a consortium of family-owned farms and the balls are handmade for truthful wages in Nepal. As Friendsheep explains, their merchandise usually are not mass-produced in China as are most of the different wool dryer balls in the marketplace. “Our artisans are folks—principally girls—from underprivileged communities residing within the Himalayan Valley of Kathmandu. We imagine that the perfect product mustn’t solely be made with the perfect supplies but in addition made with love, in the perfect moral and environmental circumstances by passionate folks like our artisans.”
Dryer balls will final for round 1,000 a great deal of laundry, and might then be backyard-composted or used as balls for youngsters or pets (true story—my cats steal mine and appear to suppose they’re fabulous). They are often common into air fresheners, pincushions, ornaments, used for juggling follow, changed into toys, mobiles, made into dolls or creatures, countless crafts, and extra. I imply, you’ll be able to’t do all of that with an empty plastic bottle, proper?
Ausland’s store at Free the Ocean provides the dryer balls in 5 cute designs: penguins, sloths, ladybugs, pigs, and a good looking array of ocean blues. And if you happen to store there, each buy of dryer balls funds the elimination of 10 items of plastic from the ocean. Which is like including a win-win to a win-win-win. Head over to Free the Ocean to buy and study extra … and also you too might end up by no means shopping for liquid cloth softener or dryer sheets once more.