Green Your Laundry (and maybe more!)

I think we all know to buy safe laundry detergents, but what about the containers they come in?  It seems that every detergent I see comes in a bulky plastic bottle that's nearly impossible to reuse/repurpose and the only option seems to be recycling.  Throw what you know about traditional containers or into the proverbial recycling bin - there's a new bottle in town!

Like our family, working mom Julie Corbett was shocked by the amount of plastic jugs and cartons her family produced on a regular basis.  She decided to do something about it.  With some inspiration from the Canadian milk pouches (they're thin bagged milk, which is often placed into a reusable pitcher - it's amazing) and the molded fiber tray her iPhone came in she got to work.

After lots of hard work and a paten on her technology in May 2008, Ecologic Brands was born.  Today I introduce you to their fantastic two-part container.  The molded fiber shell is made from 70% old corrugated cardboard boxes and 30% old newspapers. The inner pouch and spout are made from #4 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plastic. The dosing cap is made from #5 Polypropylene (PP) plastic.

Every empty Ecologic bottle is 100% recyclable.  Simply pop open the outer shell at the seams and separate it from the inside bag.  The outer shell can be recycled with cardboard or tossed into your/your local compost bin.  Rinse out the thin inner plastic bag and recycle it along with the cap at your local recycling center.  If you need help finding your local center, use the search at Earth911 or check your local Whole Foods Market.

I was lucky enough to have a chance to check out one of these bottles myself, and I must say - I love it!  It's sturdy and I love the look.  In addition to the bottle, inside was Seventh Generation's 4X Concentrated Detergent, which I am loving.  You can read more about it here.  I have the scented version, and it's so nice.

I love this bottle and I hope to see it come to store shelves in so many more categories than detergent.  Can you imagine?!  Juice bottles, milk jugs, additional cleaners, and more - all easily recycled and consuming far less plastics.  We're a family of five and it's impossible to avoid containers.  A product like this can make such an amazing impact.

What do you think?  Have you seen it/tried it?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.