Laundry balls were all the rage a few years ago. The corresponding marketing claims always seemed somewhat pseudoscientific. Cf.
Wikipedia. It seems quite a few 'eco stores' were taken in by the apparent greenwash propaganda – or worse, were perhaps 'complicit' in misleading well-meaning 'green consumers'. Could it all have been a load of balls?
Update June 2017:
Further "research" and the German page
here would suggest that the mechanical effect of certain laundry balls can in fact be beneficial. In one of the tests, better results were achieved with 50% of the normal washing power quantity than with 100% washing powder and no balls!
Our laundry balls have since been "recommissioned".
