Additional Information

Cleaning products usually contain materials known as detergents or surfactants. These are substances that work at the boundary between water and oil or grease, and so are able to remove grease by surrounding it with surfactant molecules. One end of the surfactant molecule is compatible with water (hydrophilic), the other end with oil (hydrophobic, sometimes also called lipophillic).

Surfactant molecules surround grease and oil

Synthetic detergents, which have replaced soap for many uses, work effectively but although in most cases they do degrade after use, many do so only slowly. They are also made from non-renewable petrochemicals. Ecover use surfactants derived from plant material, which are renewable and fully biodegradable, although they do require some use of petrochemicals in their manufacture.

As an alternative, Ecover has also introduced a new biosurfactant into their product range. Certain bacteria, yeast and fungi produce this material naturally when nutrients are limited, and it can be harvested for use as a detergent.


Comparison of types of surfactant used in cleaning products