Ecover

You see, Ecover is an environmentally friendly company, who produce washing-up liquid such as Camomile and Marigold, which is what I am reviewing here, as well as Lemon and Aloe Vera, Cleansing Agents, Detergents, Hand Cleaners and Compost Bags.

Now if you’re anything like me you will have a mind that automatically plays word association games. You hear an advert for “No win, no fee” solicitors, you immediately think “con”, you see an advert for “Best ever formula” and you immediately think “there’ll be a newer one out in a couple of months”, you see the “Yes car credit” advert and immediately think “Noooooooo!”, you hear the words “Environmentally friendly”, you think “expensive”. This was my first impression upon reading JillMurphy’s review of the same product a while ago, though Jill did go on to say that Ecover was no more expensive than well-known non-environmentally friendly brands, which persuaded me to give it a go (who says Ciao doesn’t work?)

A 1 litre bottle of Ecover Washing-Up liquid costs £1.58 from Tesco.com, which works out at a little under 16p per 100ml. (Compared to Persil costing 74p for 500ml, or 15p per 100ml, and Fairy, which is £1.68 per litre, just under 17p per 100ml)

So why is Ecover better for the environment than other “normal” washing up liquids? Well, the official boast is that the liquid far exceeds legislative requirements with regards to biodegrability, it has a minimum impact on aquatic life, it is against animal testing and is also suitable for septic tanks. Unfortunately it doesn’t go into a great more detail other than that. If we are to believe the packaging, it’s a boast that the company is right to be proud of, and I must say that a closer inspection of the website provides more info which, although interesting and seemingly ecologically sound, are not needed in this review. I’ll just say that I believe that Ecover does what it says.

It’s taken a little time for me to get to the part where I tell you what I think about the product. I apologise for that, though I feel it was necessary to put in the above as a background. You see, in a perfect world if there was a straight choice between two products that did the same thing, one which was essentially bad for the environment, and one that was better for it, then we would all choose the more environmentally friendly option, regardless of price. Unfortunately not many of us are able to be in that position. Interest rates may be at an all time low, but house prices are at an all time high, so many of us (and I speak as part of a family) struggle to pay our everyday bills, let alone spend over the top on a product which claims to be more Earth-friendly. Not that I begrudge anyone who can afford this choice, in fact I would encourage others to do as much as they can for the environment in a bid to make myself feel better for not doing enough.

The smell is pleasant, though not overpowering, with an aroma more of camomile than anything. I can’t say that adding a dash of this to the water makes it any more pleasant, as the smell seems to fade as soon as it’s diluted.

Unimpressed by the texture of the liquid, I was even more dismayed at the lack of bubbles that appeared. Without meaning to sound like a kid at bath time, I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to do the washing up elbow deep in fluffy white bubbles. A quick glance at the back of the packaging confirmed that it WAS washing-up liquid (and not bleach or something completely different which I really wouldn’t have put past me to pick up) and more comfortingly, that the instructions for use (as if they are that difficult to work out!) starts with the line: “Cleans effectively without producing excessive bubbles”. Phew!