Todd There are a lot of eco-friendly laundry detergents on the market, and they are not all created equal. Many plant-based laundry detergents have come into the market over the past five years. Some are produced by large companies, and others are made by small businesses.
Finding the best eco-friendly laundry detergent is more than just finding the detergent that cleans the best. Factors that we take into account when determining the best eco-friendly laundry detergents are how well it cleans, how environmentally friendly the ingredients are, the packaging, and the weight of the product.
Ingredients
Many conventional laundry detergents contain chemical surfactants, BPAs, or phthalates that can be harmful to the environment. Some synthetic ingredients are also hard on fabrics and can irritate the skin. The Environmental Working Group is a third-party organization that gives household products a health and environmental safety rating.
Non-conventional laundry detergents are marketed under a variety of names, including eco-friendly, green, plant-based, and bio-based. There is no standard definition for those terms, and just because a product uses them does not mean that they are environmentally friendly. The Environmental Working Group’s ratings are helpful in determining how truthful the environmental claims that a laundry detergent makes are.
Packaging
The three components of packaging that are important to consider are the size, weight, and what the packaging is made from.
The more a product weighs, the more significant the environmental impact of the product to get the product to you. Ultra-concentrated liquids often weigh the least amount per load among liquids, pods, and powders.
Not all liquids are the same concentration. The more concentrated a liquid, the less volume per load. That means less shipping space is needed to deliver the product
What the packaging is made from is also is important to consider. Most, but not all, manufacturer’s packaging is recyclable. Liquids almost always come in plastic bottles, but some are starting to come in cardboard containers.
Other Factors
There are other factors that we take into account when determining the best eco-friendly laundry detergent. One important one is the measuring device. Many liquids require you to pour the product into a cap, which often leads to using more product than is required.
Another important factor is cost. We are a deal blog and try to get the best price per load. The prices that we used in the comparisons are the normal, everyday price of the product.
We have used all of the detergents listed in our best eco-friendly laundry detergent review and have only included the products that do a good job getting laundry clean.
Best: Puracy Liquid Laundry Detergent
Packaging: Plastic and 0.5 oz per “regular” load
Environmental Working Group Grade: A
Price: high per normal load
Puracy Liquid Laundry Detergent is exactly what we are looking for in an eco-friendly laundry detergent. It is easy to dispensed via a pump mechanism with 5 pumps for a high-efficiency load and 10 pumps for a regular load. The advertised number of loads is 96 per bottle, but those are high-efficiency loads and it equates to 48 normal loads.
The Environmental Working Group gives Puracy Liquid Laundry Detergent an A in its safety and environment ratings. Only two of the detergents in our review achieved an A rating. The container is all recyclable plastic, but it is more concentrated than most of the products in the test, requiring a smaller bottle.
The advertised price is slightly more expensive than some of the competitors, but the reliable dispensing method does ensure you get the advertised number of loads.
Runner Up: Dropps Stain and Odor Laundry Detergent Pods
Packaging: Cardboard box, plastic-free packaging. 0.35 oz per load according to total package weight.
Environmental Working Group Grade: B
Price: medium per normal load
Dropps Laundry Detergent Pod was a close second place for the best eco-friendly laundry detergent. The packaging was the best out of any in the test, not using any plastic and being tied for the lightest per use. Since it is a pod you will get the advertised number of uses per package. A slight downside of the product being a pod is that if you have a high-efficiency washer or are running a small load, you will use the same amount of detergent as running a normal load.
The Environmental Working Group grade of B is a solid rating and receives a low rating for environmental concerns. The price is lower than most per use if you do not have a high-efficiency washer. We are a deal website and have noticed that this product does not go on sale as often as other eco-friendly laundry detergents.
Biokleen Natural Laundry Detergent
Packaging: Plastic and 1 oz per “regular” load
Environmental Working Group Grade: B
Price: low per “regular” load
This product is also available in recycled cardboard packaging that has 70% less plastic than an all-plastic bottle. The downside with this packaging is that they charge a premium for it, ~$0.30 per “regular” load.
I really wish that Biokleen did not charge almost double to get the product in the more eco-friendly product. Biokleen Natural laundry detergent in the conventional packaging is the cheapest per use product in our test. It does not come with an easy to use dispenser and I find that the pour in the cap method often leads to fewer doses than advertised.
The product got a solid B from the Environmental Working Group and is worth considering using. There are products on the market that are better for the environment if you consider shipping and packaging components, but this is better than most of the products on the market.
Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent, Ultra Concentrated EasyDose
Packaging: Plastic and 0.35 oz per “medium” load
Environmental Working Group Grade: C
Price: high per medium load
I have to admit that this was the first environmentally friendly detergent that I used prior to the test and I thought that it would come out the winner. It did not.
Seventh Generation Ultra Concentrated EasyDose laundry detergent is the most concentrated of all the liquid detergents. The problem is the EasyDose system. We found that over half the time using it, the detergent did not stop coming out like it is advertised. A sharp squeeze we found was the most effective way to get the EasyDose system to work. The manufacturer calls for one squeeze for a medium load and two for a large load. I used a medium load for the pricing.
The Environmental Working Group rating was a C, which was tied for the lowest in the test. The cost per use is tied for the highest in the test, but we found that we did not get the full number of advertised squeezes per bottle due to the faulty EasyDose system. This made the cost per load even higher. These negatives did not outweigh the product being the most concentrated.
Earth Friendly Products Ecos 4X Ultra Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent
Packaging: Plastic and 1 oz per “regular” load
Environmental Working Group Grade: C
Price: high per normal load
ECOS 4X Ultra Concentrated laundry detergent is better than regular detergents, but there are better eco-friendly laundry detergents on the market. A positive for the product is that it has a pump, allowing for accurate dosing. It is more concentrated than a normal detergent but tied for the least concentrated detergent that we tested.
Mrs. Meyer’s Laundry Detergent
Packaging: Plastic and 1 oz per “regular” load
Environmental Working Group Grade: C
Price: medium per normal load
Mrs. Meyer’s laundry detergent is very comparable to ECOS 4X Ultra Concentrated laundry detergent, except it does not have a reliable dosing method. It requires the standard, pour into the cap method.
Wrapping up Best Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergent
What do you think is the best eco-friendly laundry detergent? You can check out our current household deals to see if there are currently any good deals on any eco-friendly laundry detergents.
