Product Review

method hand wash

Cleaning Power: ***** (out of 5)

Scent and Appearance: ***** (except green tea + aloe. It rates a ** for its irradiated algae color and sinus-clearing scent) Available in scents such as sweet water, sea minerals, and pink grapefruit.

Recyclable Packaging?: Yes, Code 1

I found it at: Target, Kroger, Randall's (Safeway)

Other stuff: Packaging states that it is biodegradable and never tested on animals. You can buy re-fills to cut down on packaging

See below for the scoop.

Let's face it: You probably already own this product. If folks have one biodegradable, earth-friendly product in their homes, method hand wash is it. Which just goes to show where green marketing can go - create a beautifully-packaged (I mean, doesn't the teardrop-shaped bottle make you smile?), great-smelling product that actually works and makes people feel virtuous at the same time, and it will become ubiquitous on the edge of American sinks.

Method hand wash comes in a variety of appealing scents. My personal favorite is french lavender, but I have a thing for lavender. The green tea + aloe smells cloyingly chemical; I don't recommend it. The holiday scents which you see above in the red and green bottles, are a must-have in November/December. The frosted fir, in particular, smells like you're walking through a snow-laced forest in your organic wool cap, talking to the white rabbits as you go. I've had more than one person tell me that they wash their hands with it just so they can sniff their fingers.

On-line, you can find some folks questioning the composition of the fragrance ingredients, so if you're super-cautious, or have a scent-sensitivity, this might not be the product for you. I'm fairly scent-sensitive, and I have never had an issue with it, but you might want to check it out before investing.

Now, method hand wash is not an anti-bacterial. I know that's a plus for most folks -- better for the environment, better for the future of humanity, non-drying to the skin, possibly lets kids get sick occasionally, thus reducing their susceptibility to asthma and allergies. As a former teacher, I know that anti-bacterial is sometimes a necessity. This is probably not your best bet, then, for your classroom sink (though it would make the kids smell pretty). For home use, however, it can't be beat.