Whether you’re laundering clothes or money, you might as well be gentle about it.

How much do you even know about fabric softener?

Me, personally? You’ll learn from reading this blog post: Not much.

My mom always taught me to use dryer sheets. They work just fine – I don’t really know the difference. I’ve never really gone without them, so I don’t know how un-soft my clothes are without. A box will last over a year in my one-bedroom apartment. And if my hair is crazy with static, a swipe of one of those will assist.

But then I was sent this full-size Ultra Downy April Fresh to try out.

It smells great. The picture of the rose on the package makes sense. But why is there a girl on the package? Is her name April, has she been fresh? That struck me as a little weird marketing-wise, but Snuggle has a weird anthropomorphic bear, so I shouldn’t judge too harshly.

Did it work? Yes, certainly. Fabric softener is like using conditioner after shampoo. My clothes definitely feel nice.

Was it any better than fabric softener dryer sheets? God, I don’t know. How do you measure the softness of your clothes? Maybe it’s worked? The jury is still out. All I can say is that the difference wasn’t vast upon first wash.

Now – the real thing here – this product isn’t cruelty-free. But neither are most of the products in my cleaning closet. I have made the effort to move from brands that do animal testing amongst my beauty products, and that was a huge effort considering how many I use on a regular basis. From Maybelline to NYX, Benefit to Too Faced, Aussie to Maui – a lot of products in my household have changed. But what hasn’t changed is my go-to Clorox Wipes, Tide detergent, and whatever chemicals come in Scrubbing Bubbles or my Clorox toilet wand.

When it comes to cleaning, I don’t want to be as gentle as I want to be to my face. I want to bleach the floors until they sparkle, killing all the grime etc. Will a cruelty-free product do that for me? Probably? I just need to find someone other than Proctor & Gamble who produces such items and find some reasonably priced ones that are both sustainable and good for the environment. I want to reduce my carbon footprint wherever I can.

Is Downy fabric softener worth it? My clothes smell fine, and they seem soft enough. But it isn’t cruelty-free. And with over 800,000 animals dying due to animal testing in labs…I’m going to have to pass on purchasing this one. But, that’s just my opinion. Let me know yours in the comments down below.