Clean Living Blog

From bright blue to royal red, colorful clothes can be a great way to display your personality, whether you’re headed to work or out for a night on the town. Of course, with all that wear comes washing, and knowing how to wash colored clothes is just as important as knowing how to wash white clothes.

That classic, crisp tee. That chic, wintry knit. Those jeans. You know the pair. Those bright, tight, brilliant white jeans that once made your backyard barbecue feel like a sunset in Mykonos. There’s a reason why our white clothes make such essential pieces. They keep us looking sharp all year long and they go well with everything.

Sometimes our days require quick thinking and a change of clothes—or three. First, you have morning yoga, then work, then lunch and an afternoon coffee run. Even after all that, there’s still a stop at soccer practice, a dinner with your parents, and a late-night Target run before you finally get to slip on your pajamas and slide into your long-awaited sheets. 

If you were to ask us, “What’s the most surprising thing about your industry?,” the first thing that would come to mind is the state of transparency. Did you know the US has no federal requirement for household cleaners to tell you what’s inside them? When it comes to food that we put in our bodies, every brand must list the ingredients. But with cleaners, you can choose to disclose zilch. Zero. Nada.

We’ve all been there. That moment you go to look at a bottle’s ingredient label and find a list of words you can’t pronounce, let alone identify. Sometimes it feels like you need a PhD in chemistry just to understand what’s safe or unsafe for your home. While we can’t offer you an advanced degree, we can promise to be as transparent and open as possible about what we put in our ECOS products. Unlike many conventional cleaners, we list all our ingredients. And if that’s not enough, we also list all the ingredients we promise to never use, AKA “The Nasties.

This interview was originally published on Three Ships Beauty. Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks joins us on the #HerHustle blog to share her leadership journey with us. She shares the importance of safer cleaning products for your health, and what she does to overcome moments of self-doubt and adversity.

When you’re in need of a little “me-time,”  a good skincare routine can be a perfect go-to. After all, who doesn’t love a nice sheet mask, a few cucumbers, and a moisturizer that makes your skin feel silky smooth? But when it comes to pampering your skin, there’s one thing that often doesn’t get the attention it deserves: your laundry detergent. 

October is breast cancer awareness month. It also happens to be the month that we raise money for the American Cancer Society. When it comes to finding a partner, we always look for organizations who share our mission to help people live a cleaner, healthier lifestyle. And there’s no better partner in that effort than the American Cancer Society; a group that works tirelessly to fund and drive research and fight cancer.

The reality is, when it comes to carcinogens, there’s no way to avoid them ALL. Instead, it’s about finding balance and living a cleaner lifestyle where you can. Luckily, your home is a place where reducing carcinogens is easily within your control. So don’t feel alarmed, and let’s go through some super simple ways to do just that. 

Clean air, clean water, access to proper nutrition, a safe and healthy home—these are fundamental human rights. At ECOS, we’re passionate about creating a world where these rights are guaranteed for everyone, no matter their race or socioeconomic status.

Did you know that by 2030 there will be more than 22 million cancer survivors in the U.S.?  Fortunately, cancer rates are going down overall, and the number of survivors is increasing due to advances in treatment and early detection. But what if we could take steps to help avoid getting cancer in the first place? And how can we support our friends and family members who are facing a cancer diagnosis? 

Program: Upper Rio Grande Winter Flow Restoration 

Location: Conejos River & Upper Rio Grande, Colorado

Program: Lower San Pedro Pastureland Conversion 

Location: Lower San Pedro River Wildlife Area, Arizona

Program: Scott River Water Trust (SRWT): French Creek Flow Enhancement

Location: French Creek, Scott River watershed, California

Washing the dishes. It’s something you probably haven’t spent much time thinking about, but it’s a chore performed daily in almost every home. It starts with a squeeze of dish soap, a few swishes of the sponge, followed by a water rinse. But that conventional dish soap you’ve been using? It doesn’t all wash off. In fact, it leaves toxic chemical residues behind on your dishes and glasses that pose significant health hazards over the long-term.

We wear our largest organ ­– about 20 feet of it – on the outside of our body. Our skin. It has the important job of being the first line of defense from germs and toxic substances ­– like the skin-irritating chemical residues of conventional laundry detergents. If your skin reacts by getting itchy and irritated, it’s time to take a closer look at your detergent’s ingredients.

As COVID-19 retains its grip on the headlines, keeping our homes clean and virus-free remain top priorities. But, does all the spraying, scrubbing, and disinfecting come at a cost to our health? The truth is – yes – all that deep cleaning can spread some nasty chemicals into the air of your home.

Program: Washington Water Trust (WWT) Dry Year Leasing Program

Location: Dungeness River watershed, Washington State

Sustainability has been part of our DNA for over 50 years. To us, sustainability is holistic; you can’t make environmentally friendly products in an unsustainable way and be successful. 

It’s no mystery, we are living through a crucial moment in American history. A moment along our timeline that will be remembered and retold for generations. And you (yes YOU!) are a critical part of how this story unfolds.

This year, we are proud to partner with Folds of Honor, a nonprofit that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen or disabled veterans. The 501(c)(3) was established in 2007 after Lt. Col. Rooney, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, saw the grieving family of a fallen U.S. Army Corporal meeting their loved one’s coffin on an airport tarmac. Folds of Honor scholarships support private education tuition, tutoring and educational summer camps for children K-12 and higher education tuition assistance. To date, they have awarded more than 24,500 scholarships totaling $130 million to military spouses and children.

With stay-at-home orders in place across most of the U­.S. because of the COVID-19 crisis, access to fresh produce can be a little hit and miss. Some people are still shopping at grocery stores using safe distancing, while others have turned to grocery delivery services and weekly CSA (community-supported agriculture) boxes to help keep their home stocked.

“Wash your hands.” This reminder has become as common these days as “Good morning” or “How’s the weather?”. But beyond the CDC’s guidelines for washing our hands, we’re still left with questions: How exactly does washing my hands prevent the spread of disease? Do I need antibacterial soap? How often do I need to wash my hands? Will this really protect me?

The spread of the new COVID-19 illness has been unsettling for all of us. We want to do everything we can to protect ourselves and our family, and we’re bombarded with new recommendations every day on how to stay safe. Working from home, social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting – it can feel overwhelming at times.