Don't worry, I'm not going to preach, I don't know enough about the world to do that. But I do know that when I read the back of the bottle of Ecover washing up liquid I feel all warm and glowy, and like I might be a nice person after all.

So what do we actually want from a washing up liquid? We want something that cleans the dishes! Yes indeed. Now, I'll admit I've never actually found a washing up liquid that *doesn't* clean the dishes-not even that massive bottle of yellow Morning Fresh! that I bought from the pound shop when I was a student. That did also unfortunately clean several layers of my skin off, more on that later, but the dishes were pretty good. Ecover is no exception; you squirt a bit in (it's in concentrate form so a teeny bit will do) swirl it around to get a few bubbles and then off you go. The fun part. Where you spend hours with your elbows in suds deliriously dreaming of a dishwasher...or maybe that's just me. Anyway, the dishes come out all squeaky and clean and smelling nice so all's good on that score.

So far so good. But there's not really anything to sway you from a leading baby toting liquid yet, right? How about this... The ingredients are all plant based. Yup, all of them. Even the scary sounding anionic and non-ionic tensio active surfectants-which I presume is the cleany part of the liquid-come from the anionic and non-ionic tensio active surfectant tree, or some such planty thing. Ok, we know that plants aren' t necessarily all good, belladonna certainly has it's moments, but consider that this means that the liquid is entirely biodegradeable. The lack of petrochemicals means that nothing nasty will leach into the atmosphere and water supplies, so we're mroe likely to have happy single headed fishes and other sea beasties. Closer to home, there will also be no stinky chemical residue left on either your dishes, your surfaces or your hands. Yay for that-my Morning Fresh! peely skin experience is not one I want to repeat, I now have contact dematitis as a result and have to be a bit careful about where I put my hands...cue Carry On! style comments. The Monster's skin is a delicate organ, I'll have you know.

If you're still unsure about Ecover then how about this. Did you know that in 1992 they won a prize for the most innovative product, presented by the NAHS UK for their product specially developed to remove oil from birds after the Shetland oil disaster? (Though in their translation from the Belgian they do actually instead mention a sunken tankard, which conjours up all manner of fantastic mental images...Ah, those pesky beer mugs). See how lovely they are? The thing I like most about the company as a whole is that they are dedicated to finding the most ecologically sound route in every area of their production, even the factory itself is pioneering in it's environmentally aware design. The Vegetarian and Vegan societies can't get enough of Ecover, and they are going from strength to strength as a company. Oh, and they don't wash up bunnies whilst testing their products. Or in fact any animal at all.

Ecover do a full range of products for those that are interested; I personally have washing liquid, fabric softener, squirty cleaner, delicate washing liquid and even some trusty loo cleaner and can recommend them all. Yes I am an Ecover fan, I think they rock. They have a rather spanky website at http://www.ecover.com/english/index.htm, where they give you allsorts of blurb (in marvellously Belgian English) on their products, even giving out washing tips and a fact of the day (today's is "did you know that electricity from the wall socket is more environmentally friendly than batteries?"). Yay for Ecover!