Natural laundry products have, until now, been a difficult choice for busy households, even those with family members who want to be ecological. These days having washing which comes out of the machine still with stains present, is not only frustrating, but can also lead to more waste with repeat washes being required, not to mention an army of stain removing tools, which somewhat defeat the object of environmentally friendly cleaning.

In our house we had resigned ourselves to using natural cleaning products where the laundry just needed freshening up, and there are some excellent products available for this, some even have beautiful scents as well. For the heavy duty washes we had conventional products which worked beautifully. Then I discovered Method, and these conventional products are now redundant in our house as they have no purpose.

Method you may know have been at the forefront of ethical products with respect to household cleaning. I have used their French Lavender kitchen spray for many years now, and many other products they make too, so when I noticed their washing liquid I decided that I should put the liquid to the test. I have to confess I was sceptical as although I do love using environmentally friendly laundry items, I have a strong dislike when garments head for the line still with their tomato marks in place. This is absolutely soul destroying, especially if you have purchased a new top which is in for its first wash.

To be absolutely honest I have been waiting to submit this review, as I have been gathering evidence in relation to how this product handles stains, and, of course, I had to wait until garments acquired them! So the opinion I will submit later in this review is based on actual usage over a three month period, as I feel this is of paramount importance with a product of this nature.

The washing liquid is sold in very small pump action bottles in three different fragrances. I chose the Peony, but there is also one entitled Fresh Air, and one called Free and Clear. The Peony is presented in a bottle which has rose pink base, and when I purchased mine it was on offer at £4. The recommended price is £5.99 and this will perform 25 washes so it works out at around 24p per wash. Currently Waitrose are stocking it for £3.99 making it a superb purchase at this price. The RRP is approximately three times the cost of the cheapest range of laundry liquids such as Surf. So there is no doubt that you are paying more for a product which is designed to protect the environment. For this reason it has to work first time in my opinion.

To use you simply load the clothes into the machine and you squirt two pumps into the drum with the clothes. If you prefer you can put these into the drawer. If the laundry is slightly dirtier, or you have a larger load then four squirts is necessary, and for very dirty loads six squirts is recommended. The liquid is clear and thin, and has a lovely floral scent. However, I could not believe that such a small amount would actually clean the load thoroughly and remained sceptical to say the least.

So I gave the machine several very difficult tasks. Firstly the cherry trees in my garden are in full production now, and it isn't only me that is enjoying them. The blackbirds love to have one or two, and will discard the stone, which often falls onto my laundry which is outside on the line. Added to this my husband enjoys the annual picking and stoning of these, and also manages to get the juice all over himself and the clothes he is wearing. So one load I had was filled with fresh cherry juice stained items, and those included some which had dried on red splodges, and I thought it would be hopeless. I was wrong - the clothes came out spotless.

Then there was the tomato experiment. This time I came home from holiday to find quite a few tops belonging to my son that had very old tomato stains on them. These came up perfect after just one wash.

The fragrance of the clothing is also lovely on removal from the machine, it has a fresh smell which is pleasant and this makes the washing a pleasure to hang on the line afterwards.

The tiny bottle makes the product so convenient to store, in fact it has given me so much more shelf space in my kitchen I am delighted.

So with the extra cost of this you might be wondering why I buy this when conventional products work just as well. The main reason I use this is one of ethics. The product uses less water, less plastic, and requires 33% less energy to create it. For these reasons it is helping to reduce the carbon foot print, and to distribute these small bottles creates a fraction of the waste products generated by the heavy lorries which are used to transport even the newer conventional concentrated liquids, which still tower in size over this new Method liquid.

In addition to this I love the fact that the product contains plant based ingredients which biodegrade, and are non toxic to aquatic life.

Many people may be unaware that the phosphates used in conventional products end up in the rivers and waterways where they encourage overgrowth of algae. This starves other plant life from getting oxygen, and in turn upsets the entire balance of the water. Method is phosphate free.

Many of the major supermarkets are now stocking the product and if you visit the page at www.tesco.com/greenerliving/go_greener/competition s/free_method_samples.page for a limited period only you may be lucky enough to receive a free sample of the product.

As this bottle is really only the size of a large bottle of hand wash it delivers so much, if you don't drive and do the shopping on foot it would be a superb choice. Perfect too for holidays and for everyday use. I have found it to be perfect for all loads too including whites, colours and even woollens, which I have washed in the machine on the delicate cycle using this with no adverse affects. None of us have suffered any skin problems which is also important as my son has a history of eczema.

I can't fault this product except it is on the expensive side. I will stock up in Waitrose for the time being and look for offers in due course, as I feel it delivers on performance as well as leading brands of washing products, and is helping to preserve our waterways and aquatic life in the process. These really are - little bottles of brilliance!