I was recently alerted to the fact that some types of Seventh Generation laundry detergent now have sweet almond oil in them.
Specifically, the Natural 2x Concentrated Laundry Liquid in Wildflowers & Fresh Citrus scent contains almond oil, as you’ll see from this ingredients list:
Aqua (water), sodium lauryl sulfate (plant-derived cleaning agent), laureth-6 (plant-based cleaning agent), sodium citrate (plant-derived water softener), oleic acid (plant-derived anti-foaming agent), sodium hydroxide (mineral-derived pH adjuster), boric acid (mineral-derived enzyme stabilizer), protease and amylase (plant-derived enzyme soil removers), glycerin (plant-derived enzyme stabilizer), calcium chloride (mineral enzyme stabilizer), sodium chloride (mineral viscosity modifier), citric acid (plant-derived processing aid and pH adjuster), essential oils and botanical extracts for Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender*: (lavendula hybrid (lavandin), lavendula angustifolia (lavender), eucalyptus dives, pinus sylvestris (pine)) for White Flower & Bergamot Citrus***: (citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot), citrus aurantium dulcis (orange), citrus aurantium amara (petitgrain bigarade sur fleurs), myristica fragrans (nutmeg)) for Wildflowers & Fresh Citrus**: (prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, cedrol, citronellol, eugenia caryophyllus (clove) leaf oil, citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel oil, litsea cubeba fruit oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, pogostemon cablin (patchouli) oil, citrus nobilis (mandarin orange) peel oil, vanillin, cananga odorata (ylang ylang) flower oil), methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone (synthetic preservatives). Trace materials are commonly present in cleaning product ingredients. *Linalool is a component of these essential oils. **d-Limonene is a component of these essential oils. ***Linalool and d-Limonene are components of these essential oils.
Source: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Laundry-Detergent, accessed 28 August 2011,
In addition, the 4x Laundry Detergent in the Geranium Blossoms & Vanilla scent also contains almond oil. Here is the ingredients list:
Aqua (water), sodium lauryl sulfate (plant-derived cleaning agent), laureth-6 (plant-based cleaning agent), sodium citrate (plant-derived water softener), glycerin (plant-derived enzyme stabilizer), oleic acid (plant-derived anti-foaming agent), sodium hydroxide (mineral-derived pH adjuster), boric acid (mineral-derived enzyme stabilizer), calcium chloride (mineral enzyme stabilizer), protease, amylase and mannanase (plant-derived enzyme soil removers), essential oils and botanical extracts* in Geranium Blossoms & Vanilla only: (prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, citrus limon (lemon) peel oil, pogostemon cablin (patchouli) oil, cedrol, litsea cubeba fruit oil, cananga odorata flower (ylang ylang) oil, citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot) fruit oil, citronellol, vanillin, coriandrum sativum (coriander) fruit oil, beta-caryophyllene, eugenia caryophyllus (clove) leaf oil, pelargonium graveolens flower (geranium) oil), methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone (synthetic preservatives). Trace materials are commonly present in cleaning product ingredients. *Citral and d-Limonene are components of these essential oils.
Source: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/4X-Laundry-Detergent, accessed 28 August 2011.
These products would not be safe for consumers allergic to tree nuts, and the products that don’t include almond oil still could have traces of that allergen, if they’re made in the same facility or on the same manufacturing line. To find out more, the contact information for Seventh Generation can be viewed by clicking here.
UPDATE 2 JUNE 2013: A blog reader sent this message to me about her daughter’s allergic reaction to Seventh Generation laundry liquid. “My daughter has life-threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and egg. A few weeks ago, she borrowed a shirt from her cousin and had hives for days afterward everywhere the shirt touched. I called my sister to let her know and we both assumed that she must be sensitive to the perfumes or dyes in the laundry detergent. This weekend, my daughter stayed with my sister. When it was time for bed, my sister washed her face with a washcloth and water and she immediately broke out in hives on her face. My sister double checked the ingredients on the laundry detergent (Seventh Generation Brand) and it contained almond oil. I am a fanatic about checking food, lotions, shampoo, etc. But it never would have occurred to me that laundry detergent would contain almond oil! ~ Dawn B.
* If you found this post helpful, I would love for you to use the “Sharing Is Caring” bar (below) to share this post via Facebook or Twitter. If you’re reading this as an e-mail message, you need to jump over to my blog first by clicking here.
Wow! I never thought about laundry detergent. I’ve thought about lotions but not detergent.
I will not be buying any of there products. This is really scarely. Especially with the Almond oil. My granddaughter is a allergic to all nuts. Do they not realize that nut allgerics are a life and death situation.
My son has had the worst reaction from their supposedly free and clear laundry soap.