It’s easy to assume that any brand proclaiming its ‘natural’ qualities will be free from methylisothiazolinone (MI) and related preservatives, but that may not be the case.
Canadian household cleaning brand Nellie’s All-Natural arguably goes further with that ‘All’ – so I looked into the brand. Finding their ingredients wasn’t easy. Their website does give ‘free from’ attributes to their products – of ingredients such as SLS, SLES, phosphates, and many others listed here, which is great – but the ingredients don’t seem to be provided.
I made enquiries about their MI status, and was told that their four One Soap products (melon, water lily, peppermint, fragrance free) for dishwashing contain 0.1% Neolone (which is an MI-containing preservative mixture).
I eventually found the full ingredients to one of the One Soaps on the well.ca website. The product contains coconut-based cleaning agents, ethanol, water, natural fragrance – and ‘biodegradable preservative’ – which I take to be the Neolone (MI is apparently biodegradable).
Nellie’s laundry products are MI-free
“As the quantity (0.1%) is so minimal, it [Neolone] does not contribute to the listed ingredients,” I was told by a Batten Industries Inc. Customer Services Advisor.
The good news is that Nellie’s All-Natural laundry powder products are free from MI and related preservatives, and are available in the US via Amazon, but why can’t the MI be declared on their One Soaps – and indeed more widely at online points of sale?
For MI-free dishwashing products, see our Kitchen Products Directory.
Thank you for doing the research and providing us with knowledgeable guidance. I am new to this MI, MCI issue and with your help I am able to purchase items for kitchen, laundry and bath without worry.
Thank you, Valerie – that’s nice to hear. Really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Do let me know of other products you discover and I’ll try to add them to the site and build it further.
So wait – the powder product has MI, or just the liquid ones? Which are the four unsafe versions?
Sorry – I’ll clarify. The laundry powders / products are MI-free. The One Soaps (three fragranced versions, one fragrance free) contain MI.
Are any of the UK supermarket own brands of washing up liquids free of methylisothiazolinone? Fairy liquid has methylisothiazolinone too, I think. Sometimes MI-free dishwashing products are not easy to find even in big stores.
They can be tough to find in smaller supermarkets, Sal. I’ll look into it. Meanwhile, we have a list of safe washing up liquids in our Kitchen Products directory: https://mi-free.com/products/kitchen/