Learn » Benefits
Nature’s Wash Berries has many benefits: to your health and household, to the environment, and to developing communities.
Health & Household Benefits
For how effective they are at cleaning, Nature’s Wash Berries are a surprisingly gentle substance. They rinse almost completely out of fabrics, leaving them soft, clean, and absorbent.
Because it is so gentle, it is amazing for delicates, linens, and towels. They will also not fade your colors, prematurely wear out your clothes, or cause excess lint. In fact, compare your lint trap using your conventional detergents then after you’ve switched to Nature’s Wash Berries for a month or two.
We have received great feedback from those suffering from eczema, psoriasis, skin allergies, and skin sensitivity.
Nature’s Wash Berries are hypoallergenic and have minimal suds, requiring less water and helping to keep your washing machines/pipes unclogged.
Compared to the detergent/fabric softener combination, Nature’s Wash Berries are a much more cost-effective solution that takes up less space, is less messy, reduces the chemicals in your household, and is much easier to use.
Environmental Benefits
Soap nuts are, literally, the most natural, green, sustainable, and (insert your own environmental synonym here) cleaner you can find. It grows on a tree, for crying out loud!
Although some farms are now starting to pop up in parts of India, the vast majority of soap nuts are still harvested from wild grown trees. They grow all over the forests of the Himalayan foothills and each tree is quite prolific, producing plenty of berries annually during the 90 year-or-so lifespan.
Many of the areas where soapberry trees grow were once chopped down for lumber and firewood, being the only source of capital available. Now that there is a growing market for Nature’s Wash Berries, there is a financial incentive to keeping these virgin forests whole and healthy.
Nature’s Wash Berries are harvested from wild trees in Nepal, de-seeded by the local villagers, laid out in the sun to dry, then shipped directly to us ready to be used. Compare this environmental impact to the chemicals, energy-heavy manufacturing process, plastic containers, and shipping required to get a bottle of conventional detergent to your home. Compare also the fact that a one gallon plastic jug of detergent can weigh over 10 lbs, whereas the same volume could hold around 4 lbs of Nature’s Wash Berries, capable of washing and softening about 600 loads of laundry!
Finally, keep in mind where your wash water goes once it leaves your home. Being anti-bacterial and anti-microbial, Nature’s Wash Berries are great for septic and greywater systems as well as friendly to the water and biosystems downstream. Read about many of the problems related to chemicals in our water systems at Common Problems.
Social Benefits
As we’ve mentioned, Nature’s Wash Berries is a cash crop that depends on the native forests where it grows being maintained rather than chopped down. The market being created for this sustainable product is bringing capital into one of the poorest, most geographically isolated nations on the planet.
We buy from local exporters that work directly with the villages to ensure that both quality and fair trade practices are easily enforced. In the future, we hope to import more products from this incredibly bio-diverse and culturally rich nation.
On our end, we give a set percentage of our net profits to local, national, and international non-profits that we feel fit our mission statement.
Himalayas seen from Nepal. Click for Full Image.