Dead Animals Are In Your Dryer Softening Up Your Clothes

Sounds pretty ridiculous, right? The fact is, dead animals may be lurking in your laundry as the secret ingredient in your dryer sheets. As strange as it may sound, many dryer sheets use beef fat (tallow) to make your clothes feel soft and static free. You could be avoiding beef in your diet while at the same time coating your towels, jeans, and undies with the stuff. Your arteries may be clear of cholesterol-laden beef fat but your clothes are literally swimming in it.

So what is one to do if soft and cuddly clothing is a must? If rough, scratchy, and clingy duds don't sound very appealing, there are several brands of fabric softening sheets that contain plant-based softening agents and essential oils instead of animal fat. One that is quite easy to find at many stores is Method and, according to the FAQ Section on their web-site, "All of method's current formulations are 100% vegan and therefore free of any animal ingredients and/or by-products".

My favorite alternative, while a little bit harder to find, is Mrs. Meyer's basil scented dryer sheets, which according to the package label, contain only a "vegetable-derived softening agent, essential oils of basil, parsley, black pepper and eucalyptus, and fragrance on a biodegradable paper sheet". These sheets are compostable and sound almost good enough to eat. The ingredients definitely seem more appetizing than most of the over-processed foods that fill the grocery aisle.

Products and ingredients derived from dead animals are everywhere, from the obvious leather in your shoes, belts, and riding chaps to the more subtle gelatin (derived from animal hides and bones) in jiggly gelatin deserts and marshmallows. Note, that fish gelatin is an available alternative for pesco-vegetarians who literally draw a line in the sand eating what swims on the wet side of the line while maintaining a diet completely devoid of the critters running around on the dry side. So remember - If you are a vegan or a vegetarian there are many more places besides your dinner plate where you must persist in your vigilance to keep "meat" free. You must read every ingredient list and become familiar with the sources of each of those ingredients...