Most commercial laundry detergents and dishwashing liquids are not eco-friendly; Lanbao cold wash detergent has formaldehyde exceeding the standard by 8 times
Text by Huang Fu-hui, special correspondent for News&Market, and reporter Wang Wen-hao
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday (the 26th) released the results of spot tests on laundry cleaning detergents and dishwashing liquids sold on the market. Among them, the "Lan Bao Cold Wash" carrying the Eco Label was found to contain formaldehyde at more than 8 times the Eco Label specification standard. Comparing general products with Eco Label products using the "Eco Label specification standard," the non-compliance rate of general products is far higher than that of Eco Label products. The EPA urges the public to look for products bearing the Eco Label when buying laundry cleaning detergents and dishwashing liquids, as they are safer.
However, at the end of last year, laundry detergents marketed as having anti-mite or antibacterial functions were found to contain controversial insecticides or other controversial substances. Neither the current "CNS national standards" nor the "Eco Label specification standards" yet regulate this, so these were not within the scope of this EPA inspection announcement.
At present, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has proposed a draft amendment to the CNS national standard for "synthetic detergents for laundry use." In the part on ingredient safety requirements, it adds three provisions: "the environmental agents specified in the ‘Environmental Agents Management Act’ shall not be added," "the pesticide ingredients specified in the ‘Pesticide Management Act’ shall not be added," and "the safety of the added raw material ingredients shall be proven by the manufacturer." The draft will be submitted to the National Standards Technical Committee for discussion at a meeting.
The EPA announced the recent spot-test results of 33 laundry cleaning detergents sold on the market (including 14 Eco Label products) and 29 dishwashing liquid products (including 15 Eco Label products). Seven general laundry cleaning detergents and 6 general dishwashing liquid products did not meet the Eco Label specification standards, while only 1 Eco Label laundry cleaning detergent did not meet the specification standards.
