AUSTRALIAN NON-TOXIC AWARD
WINNERS 2019
GOLD & PEOPLE’S CHOICE ROSETTE WINNER – Household Cleaning Category
Eco Mates – Organic Soapnut Castile Soap – Concentrated Gel
Ingredients:
Excellent. Organic
Social Responsibility Summary:
- Use organic and/or locally produced and grown ingredients whenever possible
- Source ingredients as close to location as possible to minimise product mileage and carbon cost.
- Use recyclable and home compostable Hero Packaging shipping packages
- Re-use any plastic that is shipped from suppliers and other businesses – ingredients packaging boxes and bubble wrap
- Office has energy efficient lights using the latest LED downlights and low wattage globes in all rooms. As well as skylights.
- Recycle office paper
- Unless a large order with many items, no packaging slips are used
- Wholesale shipping company of choice is carbon neutral
- Encourage customers to continue the recycling and reuse/ recycle of wrapping and packaging
- Australian small business
REVIEWS:
Emily Fletcher
“Eco Mates Organic Soapnut Castile Soap is a concentrated gel based product which can be diluted for different uses as a laundry detergent, general cleaner, dish and hand soap. With a beautifully simple non-toxic ingredients list, this unscented gel is an absolute game changer on so many levels.
Having removed all excess water, this highly concentrated gel not only takes up less space for storage, saves plastic packaging and reduces carbon costs in shipping, but it is also amazing as a travel companion as it is so compact and you can make it into any non-toxic cleaning product you’d like. Such a lifesaver for a trip away!
In our home we use castile soap for our dishes and also diluted with water, vegetable glycerine and essential oils in foaming bottles as hand soap. I have a huge 9 Litre box of castile soap which takes up so much space in my kitchen cupboard. I LOVE that this product is so concentrated that I can swap over to a 500g pack and have my cupboard space back! I hadn’t used castile soap as a laundry wash before and I found this cleaned our clothes really well and it’s perfect for sensitive skin. Such a great product.”
Corrine Sultana
“Eco Mates is a really interesting laundry option. Completely different to other detergents as it comes in a gel form and you mix it up yourself. The gel is added to warm water and you wait for it to dissolve (you mix up a litre or more at a time) This means it contains bare minimal packaging as it comes in a pouch. I was surprised at how well it washes as it looks like water when you add it to the wash and you only need such a small amount. In comparison to some other low tox detergents it doesn’t look to damage the clothes at all through natural but harsh ingredients Everything came out clean and soft. No change to the colours at all. Look forward to using it again and again.
Size: 250g. Makes 3.3 litres of laundry liquid
Type: Laundry
Main ingredients: Soapnut Castile
Vegan: Yes
Organic Ingredients: Yes
Australian Owned / Operated: Yes
Australian Made: Yes
RRP: $37.80 (34c a wash)”
Emma Freeman
“This is a “back to basics” product that made me stop and think about the ridiculous amount of riffraff I keep stored on my laundry shelves (even if it all DOES claim to be eco-friendly). Packaged in a recyclable pouch, this concentrated gel is extremely versatile and can be used as a laundry liquid, handwash, floor wash or surface spray, depending on how you make it up. For the purpose of this review, I made it up as laundry liquid and put a little aside for a handwash and stain removal.
At one point, I did hit a stumbling block: what to use as a bottle for the laundry liquid? I didn’t have any spare bottles that were big enough. My husband suggested I go and buy some cheap cola and pour it out which I pointed out would defeat the purpose. Eventually I went for a glass bottle we use to serve water to guests, only it was 1 litre and the final mixture would be about 1.2 litres. This was when I had the bright idea to put some aside for handwash solution and stain removal. I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that I was forced to be resourceful, which is something I don’t often do as a mass consumer.
I love that the gel is made up of just two non-toxic ingredients: organic coconut oil and soapnut extract, and that these ingredients are both ocean friendly and kind to our planet. Awesome product, although a little on the expensive side.”
Amina Kitching
“Washing machines can contain many harmful bacteria that pose some health risks to humans. Scientists believe that it is possible that soap nut detergents can kill the unwanted bacteria, leaving your washing machine free from bacteria, this is equally as important as cleaning your clothes! I tested this product on a chiffon dress I have after I realised that the last wash hadn’t removed some marks, they looked like oil marks so I soaked the dress in the soap nuts & couldn’t believe that the marks were removed. I normally just use a botanic wool wash on all of my delicate items, I had never used anything else, but this time the stains needed something more effective & Eco-Mates Organic Soapnut gel did the trick – thank you!”