Consumer Reports Hits Unit Dose Detergents

Unit dose laundry detergent packs will get some unwanted publicity this fall, when the September issue of Consumer Reports no longer recommends unit dose laundry detergents in homes with young children. The article was posted online this week.


“The product is a convenient, often effective way to do the laundry – and it’s a serious health hazard for young children,” Consumer Reports stated. “We strongly urge households where children younger than 6 are ever present to skip them altogether.”

The article appeared even after P&G announced plans to add a bitter taste to the outer layer of its liquid laundry detergent packs. Of an estimated 2.2 million calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers every year, about 12,000 are related to laundry packets.


The American Cleaning Institute issued the following statement from Nancy Bock, ACI senior VP-education, in response to the Consumer Reports’ recommendation:

“The cleaning products industry takes every incident of accidental exposure with any cleaning product used in the home very seriously, and we believe that these accidents are preventable.


“Laundry packets are used in approximately 26 million households. Consumers are safely using liquid laundry packets in their homes and laundromats every single day.


“Our industry wide campaign is raising awareness of the importance of keeping all household cleaning products, including liquid laundry packets, out of the reach of children. Our communications to parents have been significantly reinforced with our consumer campaign that was launched in 2013. We have generated a groundswell of awareness and support with its safety posters, infographics, information packets, e-cards and videos demonstrating how to properly and safely use and store liquid laundry packets.


“Safe use and safe storage is being practiced by many, as less than 1% of the calls to Poison Control Centers are related to laundry packets.


“ACI is seeing signs that the changes manufacturers have made to packaging, prominent safety warnings on product labels and our education efforts are working in both the US and abroad. We are seeing declining rates of exposures in the US and abroad. https://www.aise.eu/documents/document/20150611171430-psp_status_update_9_june_2015.pdf


“Educating parents and caregivers is vital to the prevention of any type of injury in the home and the cleaning products industry will continue to work to help prevent accidental access to these products.


“We remain committed to keeping kids safe with a strong reminder that all household cleaning products should be kept out of reach of children.”