Quality Level 1
Selection of raw materials
Sonett laundry detergents and cleaning agents contain no ingredients which are considered hazardous to the environment and health, or causing allergies. This means that no artificial fragrances or dyestuffs, no synthetic preservatives, no enzymes, no phosphates and optical brighteners, no petrochemical bleaching agents which are difficult to degrade, and no petrochemical or partially petrochemical active washing substances (surfactants) are used.
Active washing substances
The centerpiece of all the laundry detergents and cleaning agents are the active washing substances. As a matter of principle we use pure plant-derived soap wherever possible. Soap is the active substance coming closest in its properties to man and nature. It is rapidly and completely biodegradable and, compared to all the other active washing substances, it has the outstanding property that right after its use it reacts chemically with the limescale always present in waste water, forming calcium soap. As a result, the surfactant effect of the soap on live aquatic organisms is being neutralised (primary degradation).
Subsequently the calcium soap is 100% micro-organically decomposed into carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) (secondary degradation).
In order to further improve the soap’s performance we use coconut oil alcohol sulphates and sugar surfactants made from coconut and sugar derived from corn or potato starch. Thanks to their unchanged natural inner molecular structure these surfactants are easily detected by microorganisms and are, therefore, rapidly and 100% biodegraded. In its compatibility with man and environment this group of surfactants comes closest to that of soap.
Process of saponification at the Sonett manufacture
We do not use any ethoxylated products such as fatty alcohol ether sulphates or fatty alcohol ethoxylates. The use of them is widespread and they are often described as being “non-ionic surfactants based on renewable raw materials.” Ethoxylated surfactants are made from fats and oils which are modified using the petrochemical ethylene oxide. All ethoxylated surfactants, due to their method of manufacture, always contain small quantities of the known toxic substance dioxane the carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of which are well-known.
Fragrances
Natural essential oils have been added to some of the Sonett products. These are used, on the one hand, for their germ-inhibiting effect, and, on the other, for enjoyment and well-being during washing and cleansing. Natural essential oils, which have been developed in the course of the year under light and heat, have a harmonizing effect on the entire human body and have, therefore, been used successfully to cure physical and psychological diseases. Whereas synthetic aromatic substances which are obtained from waste of the pulp industry, such as vanillin used in large quantities, or the synthetic aromatic substances obtained from petroleum derivatives have an opposite effect. They lead to irritation of the nervous-sensory system, proven by studies of hyperactive children in the USA and Europe. Cheap essential oils are often adulterated with synthetic aromatic substances.
Enzymes
All of our products are completely free of enzymes. As a matter of principle we do not use enzymes in order to have fat (lipases), protein (proteases), and amylum (amylases) degrade more easily at low temperatures.
More information about enzymes ‣
Full Declaration
It is not at all customary that all of the ingredients, inclusive of all essential oils, are fully declared according to their chemical denominations. Full declaration is to be found on all Sonett Products.