Detergents and cleaning products have contributed to great improvements in human health and hygiene over the last several centuries. As with all widely used products that provide wide-scale benefits to consumers, we need to be attentive to the risks. Some potential concerns include:
- How do we assess the risks to human health from using detergents?
- How are consumers or workers exposed to laundry products? What levels are safe?
- Do detergents lead to skin irritation, allergies or sensitization?
- Do products containing enzymes raise any special concerns?
- Are fabric softeners, like Lenor, safe for people with sensitive skin (including infants)?
These are questions that P&G scientists address every day in their commitment to ensuring consumer product safety. Following a tiered approach, researchers assess detergent ingredients from the available data and lab tests before being tested on human volunteers (P&G has committed to not testing on animals unless legally required). The sections below provide information on the methodologies, types of tests and results of decades of research that ensure the safety of P&G products to human health.
