Let me explain to you the "illusion of whiter clothes" and the truth about how this toxic chemical trick works.

The whole premise of advertising campaigns for laundry detergents, which you and I have been bombarded with from childhood, is "whiter clothes", "cleans better".  I can see it playing out in my head right now... the 4 year-old coming home in white clothes covered in mud, the mother shaking her head not knowing what to do, the light-bulb goes on over her head as she reaches for the box of toxic laundry detergent, problem solved.

The whole "whitens clothes" is a clever trick thanks to optical brighteners which are chemicals that make your clothes appear brighter, whiter, and shinier.

Rather than providing a deeper clean, optical brighteners leave a residue of molecules that reflect ultraviolet light from your clothing, leaving yet another layer of chemicals to give the appearance of vivid color.

If you were to strip laundry detergents of optical brighteners, you'd probably find they don't clean that well at all. One of the reasons why they use optical brighteners is because if they DIDN'T, you would be horrified, your clothes would lose all their color in a week due to all the super corrosive chemicals in the detergent.

When they say, "Our stuff makes your colors last longer!" They are really just referring to the optical brighteners and how they are making your clothes appear brighter so you continue using the detergent thinking nothing is wrong. And "enhanced whitening formula" can be translated into, "We've put even more optical brighteners in this time!"

And from a health perspective these guys aren’t too good either. Brighteners rub against and stick to your skin causing irritation and skin rashes. Because of the ultraviolet reactive molecules, your skin can become photosensitive and easily burn from exposure to sunlight and an increased exposure to ultraviolet rays increases your risk for skin cancer.

Is it really worth it, paying with your health while buying a concoction of toxic chemicals to clean your clothes with?

Wishing you wellness,

Water Liberty
Love Your Water

References:
Peltier Green Cleaning Expert, Karen. "Why Optical Brightening Chemicals Are Not Needed in Laundry Detergents." About.com Home. N.p., 26 Dec. 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.