English: A schematic of the soap/detergent making process. The schematic was based on an image from the book "Wereldwijzer" by Marshall Cavendish. Permission was given by Marshall Cavendish for use at Wikimedia Commons. As clearly visible in the schematic, the making of synthetic soap is a very complex and ecologically harmful process (due to the need to manufacture a large amount of chemical ingredients; eg sulphates, phosphates, silicates, parfum, ...). As such, soap substitutes are a better option for certain purposes (eg personal hygiene); simple chemical detergents as NOH, KOH (thus without any extra added chemicals) are a good option for certain other purposes.