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At a glance: The Best Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergent:
Making your home more Environmental friendly and Reducing the amount of waste you produce can often seem like two extremely overwhelming goals. One of the best ways to make these goals more manageable is to start with one, daily household product and consciously decide to replace what you usually buy with a different, earth-friendly brand. An easy place to start: switching to an eco-friendly laundry detergent, and we've rounded up some of the best brands to help you get started.
The best eco-friendly laundry detergents
Taking the step to switch to eco-friendly laundry detergent is a small action that can make a big difference. clean effect. While some companies promote their laundry detergent as eco-friendly, all-natural, or simply “green,” there is no consistent criteria for what these labels mean. In creating this list, we took into account factors such as eco-label, detergent type and cleaning effectiveness based on our editors' personal laundry tests, as well as customer reviews from well-trusted products.
1. Tide Purclean Liquid Laundry Detergent
This liquid laundry detergent from Tide is the most effective “green” detergent we've ever tried from any of the big name brands. Made from 75% plant-based ingredients like coconut oil, soy and corn, you'll also find it free of dyes, chlorine and optical brighteners. While they could just stop at what's inside the bottle, overseas, it's also produced in a zero-waste factory using 100% renewable electricity from wind power. We tried the Honey Lavender scented version and while we would have liked a bit more staying power from the scent in our load, overall it did the job and cleaned stains effectively in both hot and cold washes.
2. Laundry Club Laundry Sheets
Shark tank Viewers may recognize Sheets Laundry Club laundry sheets, but they stand out from the pack for a reason. Simply throw a sheet of concentrated detergent into your washing machine for eco-friendly cleaning. The sheet detergent is sensitive skin friendly and we found it really softened our clothes while also getting rid of dirt, stains and, most importantly, strong odors (there was no coffee spill). Not only is their detergent formula free of harsh ingredients and environmentally friendly, but the packaging reduces waste and is recyclable (each box comes with 50 sheets).
3. Dropps Lavender Eucalyptus Pods
If the Tide pod fiasco of the 2010s taught us anything, it's that there's something so playful about fresh laundry pods — but this option is also better for the environment. Dropps' eco-friendly washing machine option uses 100% plastic-free packaging, and the pods themselves don't contain excess water, artificial dyes and colors that won't clean your clothes. Like a little 'drop' of luxury, their Lavender Eucalyptus scented pods leave a crisp, relaxing scent that feels like a spa portal just opened in your laundry room.
4. Industry Basics The Concentrate
Consolidation of Core Branches it's made from non-toxic, natural ingredients like chamomile flower extract and decyl glucoside (often used in baby products) and gives our clothes a fresh, no-nonsense clean. Each Laundry kit it also comes with an oxygen booster and washer bottle, and it's very easy to quickly pour water and concentrate into the refillable bottle, mix it up, and pour 3/4 of the cap to clean the entire load. We were surprised how effectively it brightened our whites and deodorized our clothes considering it's not just for washing machine — the Concentrate can also do double duty as a multi-purpose cleaner (replacements are available here), and in between loads I've used it to remove dirt, grease and grime from my kitchen. It's just a clean and simple cleaning.
5. Charlie's Soap Laundry Powder
If you don't want to deal with the (occasionally) cost inefficiency of pods or messy liquid laundry, then Charlie's Soap wins in terms of ease of use. The powder can be added directly to your washing machine, it comes with measuring instructions on the back of the pack so you know how much to use. Each bag contains only four ingredients and one tablespoon per load — we were skeptical at first when it didn't lather, but it cleans just as deeply and left our clothes feeling fresh and soft.
6. Tru Earth Laundry Sheets
There are many reasons to love these eco-friendly laundry sheets from Tru Earth. The vegan formula is gentle enough for super sensitive skin and didn't irritate mine like big brands like Gain's scented formula have in the past. Bonus points for this zero-waste packaging too, which is even compostable. We also love these washcloths because they made measuring detergent so much easier than messily pouring liquid into a cap. One sheet can be used for large loads, but we found that small loads really only needed half a sheet. Sheets are easy to break in the middle and generally make wash day a little easier.
7. Biokleen Free and Clear laundry detergent
The BEST ecological packaging
For those who don't want to leave liquid detergent behind, Biokleen's natural detergent is environmentally friendly and Its packaging reduces waste, claiming to use 70 percent less plastic than traditional plastic laundry detergent bottles. The detergent uses plant-based ingredients and the bottle is made from recycled cardboard and newspaper, so we loved how easily it could be recycled or composted.
8. Dirty Labs Signature Laundry Detergent
This detergent doesn't just go earthy in its organic ingredient list, but also in its scent. Dirty Labs' sustainable laundry liquid combines refreshing magnolia with bergamot and cedar scents for a clean, forest vibe. Thanks to advanced enzyme cleaning technology, you'll also get targeted stain and odor-fighting power for clothes that look and smell fresh.
Buying guide: How we chose the best eco-friendly laundry detergent
Personal tests aside, here's what we considered when choosing the best eco-friendly laundry detergent.
Eco-labels: Eco-labels are placed on product packaging to help you determine which products meet “specific environmental performance criteria and are therefore considered 'environmentally preferable,'” according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. We gave priority to the detergent with EPA's Safe Choice Standard and Verified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). points for this list.
Type: Eco-friendly laundry detergent may be available as a liquid, but we've chosen alternative types like powder, sheets and pods for variety. There are pros and cons to each, for example – powder and leaves may be the least expensive, but tend to work best in warm to warm water. Pods may be a bit more expensive, but the convenience factor is high here. However, no matter which eco-friendly laundry detergent you start using, consider how many loads each method yields.
Smell: Eco-friendly doesn't have to mean 'unscented', so we've chosen laundry detergent with scented and unscented options so your clothes and linens still have some scent when they're clean. Note that there is a difference between unscented and unscentedaccording to the EPA.
Packing: The best eco-friendly laundry detergents review both the detergent itself and its packaging. While mainstream laundry detergents are often packaged in bulky plastic bottles, we focused on eco-friendly brands that were able to skip the bottle by creating detergent sheets or pods that are packaged in slim, recyclable (or even compostable) packaging. For those who prefer to use liquid detergent, we've chosen brands that offer recyclable, compostable bottles.
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