5 ms·

SLS is a detergent not a soap. Look at the ingredients in a soap like ivory or zest (which used to be a detergent until 2008), or Irish spring (which I like, b

SLS is a detergent not a soap. Look at the ingredients in a soap like ivory or zest (which used to be a detergent until 2008), or Irish spring (which I like, but is definitely a cheap soap) - the first one will be sodium palmitate or tallowate.

gruez 4y ago
> SLS is a detergent not a soap. That's technically correct but colloquially those are interchangeable, eg. dish "soap", or liquid hand "soap". >Look at the ingredients in a soap like ivory or zest (which used to be a detergent until 2008), or Irish spring (which I like, but is definitely a cheap soap) - the first one will be sodium palmitate or tallowate. After checking the ingredient lists of body washes/hand soaps on amazon, this seems to be limited to solid soaps. I suppose it still means the parent post's point is true (ie. solid soaps are artificially cheaper because of animal fat), but in the context of this story it doesn't matter much. Liquid soaps are more popular than solid soaps[1], except in low income countries where they're more popular because they're cheaper[2]. In my experience liquid soaps are at least as popular as solid soaps in hotels, so it's safe to assume they're willing to fork over money for non-subsidized soap (ie. liquid soaps) and the animal subsidy isn't something that's driving hotel soap waste. [1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/40-billion-worldwide-soaps-market-to-2025---increasing-awareness-of-covid-19-is-boosting-demand-301085073.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/40-billion-worldwid... [2] https://www.reportlinker.com/p05916773/UAE-Soap-Market-By-Form-By-Distribution-Channel-By-Application-By-Region-Forecast-Opportunities.html https://www.reportlinker.com/p05916773/UAE-Soap-Market-By-Fo...
- analog31 4y ago
  I belong to a family of chemists, and there's a general sense of resignation over the fact that terms have such disparate popular and technical definitions. Not to mention, legal ones as well.

gruez 4y ago

> SLS is a detergent not a soap. That's technically correct but colloquially those are interchangeable, eg. dish "soap", or liquid hand "soap". >Look at the ingredients in a soap like ivory or zest (which used to be a detergent until 2008), or Irish spring (which I like, but is definitely a cheap soap) - the first one will be sodium palmitate or tallowate. After checking the ingredient lists of body washes/hand soaps on amazon, this seems to be limited to solid soaps. I suppose it still means the parent post's point is true (ie. solid soaps are artificially cheaper because of animal fat), but in the context of this story it doesn't matter much. Liquid soaps are more popular than solid soaps[1], except in low income countries where they're more popular because they're cheaper[2]. In my experience liquid soaps are at least as popular as solid soaps in hotels, so it's safe to assume they're willing to fork over money for non-subsidized soap (ie. liquid soaps) and the animal subsidy isn't something that's driving hotel soap waste. [1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/40-billion-worldwide-soaps-market-to-2025---increasing-awareness-of-covid-19-is-boosting-demand-301085073.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/40-billion-worldwid... [2] https://www.reportlinker.com/p05916773/UAE-Soap-Market-By-Form-By-Distribution-Channel-By-Application-By-Region-Forecast-Opportunities.html https://www.reportlinker.com/p05916773/UAE-Soap-Market-By-Fo...

analog31 4y ago
I belong to a family of chemists, and there's a general sense of resignation over the fact that terms have such disparate popular and technical definitions. Not to mention, legal ones as well.