True, the single-use dryer sheet is somewhat of a multipurpose household miracle worker - TV and mini-blind duster, pet hair remover, chrome faucet buffer, musty drawer refresher, insect repeller, and the list goes on. And, when used for its intended purpose, a dryer sheet can render your clothing free of static cling, smelling like a Provençal lavender field, and more cuddle-worthy than a somewhat creepy, Micky Dolenz-voiced teddy bear named Snuggle. It's also popular amongst college students for reasons I won't get into here.

Given their disposable nature, dryer sheets are also incredibly wasteful and generally cannot be composted unless you opt for a "natural" alternative from a brand like Seventh Generation. In this case, non-woven polyester is swapped with unbleached paper and tallow (yes, tallow) is swapped for plant-based ingredients. And aside from wastefulness and rendered animal fats, there's a host of petrochemical nasties and possible carcinogens found in conventional dryer sheets that would probably leave poor old Snuggle weeping Blue Sparkle-scented tears.

In fact, a quick look around the Environmental Working Group's Guide to Healthy Cleaning Database shows that a majority of dryer sheets and fabric softeners - even some "green" varieties - scored abysmally with asthma and respiratory issues and skin allergies/irritation, with the active ingredients being a major concern.

Well, leave it to the folks at Method to conjure up an inventive way to make a clean break from the dirty world of dryer sheets by introducing a product that is a dryer sheet ... just sans the sheet part. Dubbed Dryer-Activated Fabric Softener, the product is just one of several notable new releases from the San Francisco-based company (recently acquired by European green cleaning powerhouse Ecover, as you may recall) alongside dish/hand soap housed in bottles made from recovered oceanic trash and biodegradable foaming hand washes in Orla Kiely-designed bottles.

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