You may have heard last month about the launch of Frey – a new oak and musk laundry detergent aimed at men, all sleek black packaging and looking as if it might contain diesel oil rather than a liquid to help remove it. There was a bit of commotion in the media about whether it was necessary / appropriate / sexist, and for what it’s worth, I think anything that challenges the prevailing view that laundry products should only be bought (or used) by women strikes me as good news. If I were in the US, I’d try it.
But what interests us here, of course, is whether it’s free of MI. I emailed, and asked what preservative system was used.
The response came from Oliver, ‘Head Gent’ of Customer Relations, via Frey’s chemist. It said: “There are no thiazolinones of any type in the formula. Our preservative is not a thiazolinone.” Reassuring – although it would have been useful to find out which preservative issued. You can buy it direct from the Frey site here.
Despite some cheeky suggestions to the contrary, Frey isn’t in fact the first laundry product for men.
Hero Clean – also looking as if you might find it at a gas or petrol station – not only offers a very popular Ultra Clean Detergent, but other manly household products in the shape of Odor Eliminating Spray, All Purpose Cleaning Spray and Ultra Liquid Dish Soap.
“We do not currently have any isothiazolinone preservatives in our current formulations,” Hero Clean’s Founder and CEO Mike Eaton reassured me.
American guys can buy the products via Amazon US as well as direct from their site.
British chaps also have a male-targeted washing powder in the shape of Distinctive Washing Powder – which promises a fragrance of amber and sandalwood, and 20 washes from their 1,200g pack.
As it’s a powder, which is water free and therefore unlikely to need any notable preservation system, it is, as they confirmed to me, MI Free. Ingredient details can be seen on their Product Safety Sheet.
It’s available via Amazon – where you can also get some handy ‘trial’ packs for only a few bucks, at the time of writing.
Finally, Clutch for Men dryer sheets are fabric softener sheets containing, we were told by their customer services reps, hydrogenated tallow (non-vegetarian), alkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and ester ammonium salt – typical fabric softener ingredients. That would appear to make them isothiazolinone free. American men can find them on Amazon.
We also approached DirtyBoyClean – who despite some contact have yet to confirm whether or not their products use isothiazolinones – and Bounce for Men Dryer Sheets, who have not responded to our approach. We’ll update news if and when we get it.
For additional (unisex!) laundry products, mainly in the UK and US, check out our dedicated directory here.