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The Bottom Line

Method's "Sea Minerals" dish soap has an enticing fragrance, eye-catching color, and a fresh scent, but it's not as green as it could be. Read on for all the details about how it fares in terms of environmental friendliness, safety, ingredients, and more.

Pros

• Effectiveness: Removes stuck-on food; cuts through grease and grime
• Packaging: Made from 100% post-consumer content; recyclable

• Product Certifications: Cradle to Cradle, U.S. EPA's "Design for the Environment Program"
• Refills: Available
• Scents: Seven scents available
• Testing: No product testing on animals

Cons

• Colorant: Synthetic and not fully disclosed
• Safety & Environmental Friendliness: Some ingredients are not 100% safe
• Fragrance Ingredients: Part synthetic; not fully disclosed
• MSDS: Not available on website
• Sizes: Only one size available

Description

• Type: Liquid dish soap
• Size: 18 fl. oz. (523 ml.)
• Scent: Sea Minerals
• Cost: $3.99
• Ingredients: purified water (aqua), sodium lauryl sulfate, decyl + lauryl glucoside, lauramine oxide, alcohol (ethanol), glycerin (vegetable), citric acid, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, methylisothiazolinone / methylchoroisothiazolinone, polymeric colorant, fragrance oil blend

Company Background

The San Francisco-based company Method is owned by Ecover, the well-known European green cleaning manufacturer, making it the largest green cleaning company in the world! Known for its eco-friendly, stylishly designed cleaning and personal care products, Method has a reputation for coming out with unique designs that are pretty enough not to hide under the kitchen sink!

Method is a founding B Corporation, which means it uses the power of business to make social and environmental change. Also, one of Method's missions is to use safe and sustainable materials that are manufactured responsibly, so they definitely have a commitment to being green. More information about its community involvement, sustainability practices, etc., can be found on Method's website.

Product Effectiveness

This first thing I noticed about this product was the tranquil blue-green color of the dish liquid and the unique packaging. The "sea minerals" fragrance, which is part synthetic and part essential oils, is the second thing that caught my attention with its uplifting, but soothing scent.

The oversized pump makes dispensing this dish soap easy and quick. It definitely produced suds and easily removed grease, grime, and stuck-on food from my dishes, pots, and pans without a problem. It also left my dishes shiny and spot-free.

Health & Safety

This non-toxic product is recognized by the U.S. EPA's "Design for the Environment (DfE)" program for ingredient safety. All of the ingredients are listed on the label, except for the fragrance and the colorant. Method's website states the fragrance and colorant ingredients are safe by pointing out what's not in them (e.g., phthalates, carcinogens) and the fact they have been evaluated by a third party, but I can't help but wonder why the company simply can't be be 100% transparent?

Most ingredients pose no health or safety concerns, except for the following:

• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). As noted in a series of 1970s peer-reviewed studies listed in the National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substances Database, SLS has been found to be irritating to the skin and eyes and can even produce allergic reactions.
• Methylisothiazolinone (MIT). MIT is a highly corrosive chemical, which can be irritating to the skin and eyes, and a suspected neurotoxin according to the Environmental Protection Agency. However, because it is used as a preservative in the product, the amount used is extremely small.

First-aid measures include flushing the eyes with water should eye contact occur and to drink a glass of water and contact a physician if swallowed. Unfortunately, the MSDS is not available on the website.

Environmental Notes

Method points out on its website that all its materials are assessed for health and environmental safety by the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA), which is an international scientific institute with a consulting perspective. However, I found environmental concerns for the following ingredients:

• MIT. This chemical is toxic to freshwater, estuarine, and marine organisms according to the EPA in the 1998 document,"Reregistration Eligibility Decision, Methylisothiazolinone. However, it is not expected to bioaccumulate or persist in the environment.
• Polymeric Colorant. This is not a specific ingredient, but a category, so the ingredient is not fully disclosed. On the website, Method notes it has low aquatic toxicity and is slow to biodegrade.
• SLS. This chemical is not expected to bioaccumulate or persist in the environment, but it is known to be toxic to aquatic organisms as noted in the International Chemical Safety Card (ICSC) Database.

Final Thoughts

This product did a great job cleaning my dishes, but the part-synthetic fragrance, fake colorant, SLS content, and the fact that Method isn't 100% transparent, left me feeling like this product wasn't as safe and eco-friendly as it could be. So, I definitely feel that Method could improve on the formulation of its dish soap.

Manufacturer's Site

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.