A Greener Wash

A common shopper perception about eco-friendly detergents is that they don’t work as well as conventional brands -- but that idea may be about to change with the July national rollout of advanced botanical laundry care products from Berkeley, Calif.-based Vaska (“Wash” in Old Norse). The product line includes scent-free or lavender-scented herbatergent, which uses real herbs and potent botanical cleansing agents for high-performance stain removal, and is safe to use on even the most delicate fabrics and natural, chlorine-free oxygenbleach, which the company recommends for babies and people with sensitive skin. Even the stylish product packaging is sustainable: Made from 75 percent post-consumer recycled content, the bottle is sold alongside a refill pouch that reduces packaging energy consumption by 80 percent. Suggested retail prices are $.8.99 for a 48-ounce bottle of herbatergent, $13.99 for a 96-ounce bottle of herbatergent and $5.49 for a 48-ounce bottle of oxygenbleach. To learn more, visit www.vaskaproducts.com.