Blue Indian laundry soap - vegetarian?

[ScottMalaysia]

I'm hoping some of our members from India can help me out.

I bought a bar of laundry soap from an Indian supply shop. It is made in Mumbai by a company called Hindustan Unilever Ltd. I vaguely remember something about asking the store owner if the soap was vegetarian and him saying yes, but I'm not sure. It's the kind of soap that comes in a blue bar that is kind of gritty. The packet calls it a "blue detergent cake".

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6EGjAQ-bw7o/TFoNLMZ1ovI/AAAAAAAACq4/6Z9rI0bZx04/s144/laundrysoap.jpg

Is this sort of soap made with animal fat? I wouldn't have thought so, but I'd like to be sure. Can anyone who lives in India help me out here?

[saidevo]

namaste SM.

Here is a presentation that might help you decide:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31679217/Hindustan-Lever-Ltd

The only washing soap available during my school years was the 'Sunlight' from the HLL. We knew nothing about its composition, but it is horrifying to read now that the margarine they used could have contained animal fat. It seems that they now use vanaspati in their soap products, but due to the company's Western origins, I am not sure about it. We keep using their Surf-Excel detergent power though. For bathing, I used the margo soap, sometimes the Lifebuoy, which are good. I also find that the Neem toothpaste (made of powdered leaves of the margo tree) is more effective than the Colgate dental cream I used earlier.

[ScottMalaysia]

The soap in question is not the "Sunlight" one. It is called "Rin" (a name which seems out of place in India). It's called a 'detergent cake' rather than soap.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Scott:

Thank you for the reminder (again). There are dozens of products out there that we use that probably or may contain animal products. Too bad there wasn't a free service by a lab funded by vegetarians to just go ahead and test everything.

I remember the McDonald's lawsuit over false advertising of the French fries where they lost the suit but didn't change the beef flavoring. It is so tough to make changes in such products themselves, so you have to run around and find the vegetarian options. I also wonder how open the laws are in India as to listing of ingredients. Here the food labels are good, but other commodities not so.

Here's a nice list: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/stumbling.html

Aum Namasivaya

[ScottMalaysia]

I'd like to know if I can continue using it to wash my clothes for going to the temple. I wouldn't want to bring animal products into a temple.