We get it — cleaning’s not fun, and it’s even less fun when the products you use either don’t clean effectively or contain unnecessary ingredients. That’s why we asked our customers for their input on cleaning ingredients. You cleaned, you spoke, we listened.We revamped our standards and did our research to eliminate certain ingredients and find better alternatives for you and the planet. Our rigorous standards for all household cleaning products we sell require:
A Cleaner Way to Clean
135+ banned household cleaner ingredients including phosphates, phthalates, FD&C colors and optical brighteners.
Performance-Tested to Pulverize Dirt and Grime
Products are performance-tested for efficacy — specifically the ability to remove dirt and germs from surfaces.
On the Label, Every Time
Ingredients are always listed on the label, except for proprietary fragrance and enzyme blends.
Ousting Optical Brighteners
Optical brighteners are synthetic chemicals added to liquids and powders like detergents to make clothes appear whiter and brighter. Side note: They’re also unnecessary, so we’re leading the way in the industry as the first national retailer to ban them from our aisles.
Trustworthy and Performance-Tested Brands
When it comes to household cleaning, our priority is giving you the best of both worlds. That means providing effective cleaners and ingredients that may have a lower impact on the planet. That’s why we’ve vetted and performance-tested our products for efficacy. So go ahead — spray, scrub and clean the tub without a second thought.
135+ Banned Ingredients and Counting
There are certain ingredients that just don’t belong in household cleaning products. That means no phosphates, phthalates or FD&C colors. If you’d like to test your pronunciation skills and see which products weren’t up to our test, take a look below.
Below are many of the ingredients we’ve banned.
Banned Ingredients | ||
|---|---|---|
1,4-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, dimethyl ester, polymer with 1,2- propanediol, diester with amethyl- | 2-oxepanone, homopolymer | 3 (Trihydroxysilyl) propyldimethyl octadecyl ammonium chloride |
4-Acetylpyridine-N-Oxide | 4-Formylphenylboronic acid | 4,4′-Diamino-2,2′-stilbenedisulfonic acid |
Acid blue 82 | Acrylic acid/styrene copolymer, sodium salt | Alcohols C12-C18, ethoxylated, propoxylated |
Alizarin cyanine green F | Alkyl (C10-16) benzene | |
Alkylphenol ethoxylate | Aminoethylethanolamine | Aminomethyl propanol |
Anionic modified polyester | Benzalkonium chloride | Benzene (C14-C30) alkylate |
Benzenesulfonic acid, (1-methylethyl)-, sodium salt | Benzophenone-4 | Benzotriazole |
BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) | bis(2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl) hexanedioate | Bronopol |
Butoxyethanol | Butyl carbitol acetate | C10-14 Alkyl benzene sulfuric acid |
C12-14 Ethoxylated propoxylated alcohols | Calcium phosphate | Cannabidiol |
Chlorine (Sodium Hypochlorite) | Chromium hydroxide green | Cocamide DEA |
Cocamide MEA | Cocamide MIPA | Decyl Phenoxybenzenedisulfonic Acid |
Di-(palm carboxyethyl) hydroxyethyl methyl-ammonium methyl sulfates | Dialkylester ammonium methosulfate | Diaminostilbene disulfonic acid |
Diazolidinyl urea | Dicocoethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate | Diethanolamine (DEA) |
Diethylene glycol butyl ether | Diethylene glycol monoethyl ether | Dimethyl octadecyllamine |
Dimethylaminopropyl amine | Dipropylene glycol monobutyl ether | Dipropyleneglycol monomethyl ether |
Disodium distyrylbiphenyl disulfonate | DMDM hydantoin | Dodecanamide,N-[2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl]- |
Dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid | Ethanaminium, 2-hydroxy-N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-Nmethyl-, methyl sulfate (salt), octadecanoate (ester) | Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid |
Fatty alcohols C12-C14 ethoxylated, propoxylated | FD&C Blue No. 1 | FD&C Blue No. 2 |
FD&C Green No. 3 | FD&C Red No. 3 | FD&C Red No. 40 |
FD&C Yellow No. 5 | FD&C Yellow No. 6 | Formaldehyde |
Hexahydro-1,3,5-Tris (2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine | Hexdecyldimethylamine | Hydroxy-methylpentylcyclohexene carboxyaldehyde |
Hydroxyethyl-methyl ammonium methosulphate | Hypochlorous acid | Hypophosphorus acid |
Imitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate | Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate | Isonicotinic acid-n-oxide |
Isoparaffinic hydrocarbon solvent | Lauramide DEA | Laurtrimonium chloride |
Linear alkyl benzene sulfonates | Manganese, ((2,2',2''-(nitrilotris(2,1-ethanediyl(nitrilo-kappaN)methylidyne))tris(phenolato-kappaO))(3-))-, (OC-6-22)- | Methanol |
Methoxymethylbutanol | Methyl anthranilate | Methyl bis(soya amidoethyl) 2-hydroxyethyl quaternary ammonium methylsulphate |
Methylchloroisothiazolinone | Monoethanolamine | Monoethanolamine oleate |
Montan Wax | n-Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride | n-Alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride |
Nitromethylidynetrimethanol | Nonylphenyl ethoxylate | Octadecyldimethyl (3-trimethoxysilylpropyl) ammonium chloride |
Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane | PEG 22 Dodecyl Glycol Copolymer | PEG 300 Monoctyl Ether |
Phosphates | Phthalates | Poly-4-Vinylpyridine-N-Oxide |
Polycarboxylate, sodium salt | Polymeric Blue Dye | Polypropylene terephthalate |
Polyquaternium- 7 | Polyvinylpyrrolidone | |
Potassium alkyl benzene sulfonate | Potassium Alkylpolyoxyethylene Phosphate | Propyl gallate |
Quaternary Coco Alkylamine Ethoxylate | Quaternium-15 | Quaternized Coco/Soya Fatty Acids |
Salt of Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate | Salt of Triethanolamine Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate | Silver chloride |
Sodium acid pyrophosphate | Sodium dichloroacetate | Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate |
Sodium ferrocyanide decahydrate | Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate | Sodium monochloroacetate |
Sodium petroleum sulfonate | Sodium phosphate | Sodium xylene sulfate |
Sodium xylene sulfonate | Sulfuric acid | Tetrasodium EDTA |
Toluene | Tributylphenol polyglycol ether, 12 – 14 EO | Tricalcium phosphate |
Triclosan | Tripropylene glycol methyl ether | Tripropylene glycol n-butyl ether |
Trisodium nitrilotriacetic acid | Urea-formaldehyde-copolymer | White mineral oil |
Wood dust |
If that induced painful flashbacks to high school chemistry, don’t worry – you won’t see any of those on our ingredient labels and you can trust that when you see a hard-to-pronounce ingredient on one of our labels, we’ve done the homework.
Note to product suppliers: This list is intended for our shoppers. It’s not for use in formulating products as it doesn’t include all Whole Foods Market requirements and ingredient restrictions. Creating a product with no unacceptable ingredients does not guarantee that we will sell it.
