Why Most Cleaning Labels Are
Still Hiding Ingredients

In the United States, cleaning product manufacturers are not legally required to disclose all ingredients on their labels. Unlike food products — which must list every ingredient — household cleaners can use vague terms like "surfactants," "cleaning agents," or "preservative system" without specifying what those terms actually contain.

This isn't an accident. It's a policy outcome shaped by decades of industry lobbying, and it has real consequences for public health.

What "Fragrance" Hides

The most notorious example of ingredient obfuscation in household products is the word "fragrance." Under U.S. law, fragrance formulations are considered trade secrets and can be concealed under a single ingredient listing.

In practice, a product listing "fragrance" might contain dozens of synthetic aromatic chemicals — including diethyl phthalate (an endocrine disruptor), styrene (a probable carcinogen), and a class of compounds called synthetic musks that persist in human tissue and accumulate in aquatic organisms.

The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database has identified over 3,000 chemicals that can hide under the single word "fragrance" on a label. Consumers have no way of knowing which ones are in their cleaning products.

"If we don't tell you what's in our products, we're asking for blind trust. We refuse to do that."

The "Surfactants" Problem

Even brands that claim transparency often list ingredients in ways that obscure meaningful information. "Anionic surfactants: 5–15%" tells you almost nothing. Are they linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (persistent, aquatically toxic)? Or alkyl polyglucosides (biodegradable, low toxicity)? The chemical performance and environmental impact of these two categories are radically different.

At Dilween, we name every surfactant specifically — including its plant-derived feedstock where applicable — because we believe you deserve to know what you're buying, not just a category label.

What We Disclose — and Why

Every Dilween product lists 100% of its ingredients by INCI name (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients), the global standard for ingredient identification. Where relevant, we also note:

• The biological or botanical source of each ingredient
• The function of the ingredient (surfactant, preservative, fragrance, etc.)
• The origin of fragrance components (we use only pure essential oils, each listed individually)
• Third-party safety and efficacy test results

This level of disclosure goes well beyond what any regulation requires of us. We do it because we believe the cleaning industry's opacity is a public trust problem — and the only way to fix it is for individual companies to hold themselves to a higher standard.

How to Read a Cleaning Label

Until full industry-wide disclosure is mandated, here are the red flags to watch for on any cleaning product label:

• "Fragrance" or "parfum" — without further specification, these terms can hide dozens of undisclosed chemicals
• "Surfactants" without chemical names — meaningful transparency requires naming specific compounds
• Absence of any percentage data — responsible brands disclose concentration ranges for actives
• No safety data sheet (SDS) available — all responsible manufacturers maintain and publish SDS documents
• Claims without certification — "natural," "eco-friendly," and "green" have no legal definition in the U.S. Look for third-party certifications like EPA Safer Choice