which is worse in laundry SLS or optical brightners?

[tracyhos]

Argh. So I am totally liking my Ecover Laundry Wash. However it has SLS in it...I guess when I read the back of the label at the store and it said: "Plant based ingredients gentle on your skin, not based based on petro-chemical ingredients" and "No phosphates nor optical brightners" ...I must have stopped reading, cause it has SLS in it.

Please tell me SLS in laundry isn't as bad as say soap, shampoo, bodywash....you know, the stuff that goes right on my skin.

Here is the complete ingredient list from Ecover's website"
"Complete ingredients list

* Water
* Rapeseed Oil Methyl Ester Ethoxylate (7 EO)
* Ethanol
* Sodium Laurate
* Sodium Oleate
* Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
* Sodium Citrate
* Citric Acid
* Perfume
* Linalool
* Limonene
* Citronellol"

[JamieCatheryn]

SLS isn't as bad on laundry as on your skin, it's toxic and absorbs into the skin, harsh on skin and hair, etc, but it's a detergent rather than soap and when it comes to rinsing without residue it's better in that respect.

[jyurina]

optical brighteners destroy your clothes and can be irritating. I guess the SLS would be the lesser of the two evils.