A New Zealand laundry company has refuted the claims of a recent Consumer NZ study where it claimed its product was one of the worst to use.
On Tuesday, Consumer NZ released the results of its study where it revealed the so-called best and worst laundry detergents.
The detergents were marked on how well they removed grime, collar and cuff marks, grass stains, olive oil and tomato residue.
One of the worst-ranked detergents in the study was Kiwi laundry company Re-Stor's laundry sheets, which Consumer NZ claimed were worse than a wash with just water.
Chief operating officer and co-founder of Re-Stor Renee Lee said the company was "blindsided" by the results.
"You would think they would consult with a small New Zealand brand before releasing the results," Lee told Newshub.
She also said the results of the testing don't seem plausible, claiming it seems impossible for their product to be worse than a wash with water.
"To us, there is no logical or chemical way it can be worse than water, it doesn't make sense."
Replying to Re-Stor's response to results, Consumer NZ's product test manager Paul Smith said in a statement that they stand by their testing.
"We stand by our testing, which is conducted in an independent lab. We have been testing laundry detergents for a decade and are proud to provide the results free to the public," Smith said.
"We think it is important consumers have an independent source of information about the quality and performance of laundry detergents."
Lee told Newshub Re-Stor welcomed independent testing but they should be notified before the results are released to the public.
"They [Consumer NZ] should be supporting New Zealand businesses and the New Zealand customer base."
Lee also said she does not know how their product was ranked as one of the lowest because customers have raved about them.
"We have been inundated with customer feedback that have said they loved the sheets."
The Re-Stor product was also rated 4.9 stars out of five on the website ProductReview.com.au.
Smith also said in the statement that Consumer NZ would admit if they had made a mistake in their testing but in this case, they do not think there has been one.
"If we identify that we have made a mistake in our testing, we wouldn't hesitate to admit and correct that," Smith said.
"In this instance, we have not been presented with any evidence that would question the findings, other than the fact that Re-Stor is displeased with their results. We stand by our test report."
Lee told Newshub that they want consumers to decide for themselves which laundry detergents should be used.
"We hope consumers will make up their own minds."
