Kirkland Signature Environmentally Friendly Body Wash

We all use soap when we wash our hands and get in the shower.  Yet, these soaps contain sulfates, which can be very damaging to the environment.  Therefore, for years soaps and body washes have not been very sustainable.  This is where Kirkland Signature’s (Costco) new body wash comes in: it is made entirely of pure plant extracts.  This makes the product overall much more environmentally friendly than other body washes and soaps.  But how does it compare to other soaps?  Read more to find out.

The Test

Overall the body wash worked very well.  It cleaned very well and left a sense of cleanliness afterwards.  One thing I noticed was that it felt much less greasy than soaps with sulfates, an added bonus.  It has a pleasant scent, which adds to its appeal – and the scent is not overwhelming as it is in other soaps.  The added sensibility that it doesn’t contain sulfates, that it isn’t tested on animals, and that it is environmentally friendly is an added bonus to this excellent product, which overall I found to perform just as well as a regular body wash.  Overall, this is one of the best products “green products.”

I did notice some drawbacks.  The cap on the first bottle I used was quick to break, which made using the product very difficult overall.  Other bottles I have used since have not had that problem.  Another problem is the plastic packaging.  Although this is what most body wash products come in, I don’t find it very convincing that a product that is trying to be environmentally friendly comes in a plastic container.  Plastics are biodegradable – they just take hundreds of years to break down and release toxins into the area around them.  As it is plastic number two, it can be recycled in Tri-Cities; just not at the curb (curbside only collects plastic number two milk jugs).  You’ll have to take it to a recycling collection center to recycle, which can be out of the way for many people.  The plastic packaging is thick, and the cap is large, but there is no way to recycle the cap, so you’ll have to put it in the landfill garbage. 

The Verdict

Although it loses points for its packaging, this is an excellent product.  As long as you recycle the bottle it comes in, this can be considered practical sustainability.

The Scores

Sustainability: 7

Practicality: 10

Overall: 8.5