11 Body Wash Refills For A Zero Waste Wash
Body wash refills are the best solution for a clean body and clean conscience.
The fact of the lather is that we throw away more than 1 billion plastic bottles of body wash. Every. Single. Year.
It’s time to clean up our act by swapping our soap to refillable body wash containers.
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The Best Refillable Shower Bottle Brands To Sustainably Scrub Up
There’s Plaine Products, who sends zero waste body wash refills straight to your door with a prepaid return label so you can send back the empties.
Blueland chases away the single-use plastic blues with their body wash concentrate powder that comes in a compostable pouch.
Ethique’s solid bars and concentrates are a sweet-smelling and organically certified soap solution.
These days, the market is awash with better body soaps, so to see how we found these body wash refill brands, head to the end of the article.
The Full List Of Refillable Body Wash Brands
1. Plaine Products
Plaine Products’ Refillable Body Wash Bottles
Price Range: $30–$35
Hands (and body) down, Plaine Products has some of the best body wash refills around.
Offering both a dedicated Body Wash and a 2-in-1 Hair + Body Wash, Plaine’s offerings are vegan, cruelty-free, non-GMO, and biodegradable.
They’re also color-safe, and free from sulfates, silicone, and palm oil.
Like the brand’s other products, the first aluminum body wash bottle comes with a pump, but subsequent ones will not.
Instead, they come with a prepaid return label for sending back the empty bottle.
We personally use this refill model for all our shower essentials and love how easy it is—and of course how effective and clean the products are.
In a pinch, the infinitely recyclable aluminum bottles can be tossed in a recycling bin, too.
About Plaine Products
With natural face washes and those for the body and hair, we’d happily welcome Plaine Products into our bathroom.
The sister-owned company was among the first to take the refill model online, having since prevented more than 472,000 plastic bottles from entering landfills and oceans.
They’re all made in the USA with largely organic, Leaping Bunny-certified, and non-toxic ingredients that meet EWG’s Skin Deep criteria.
Plaine Products is also a Certified B Corp, Carbon Neutral, and a member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Plastic Pollution Coalition, and 1% for the Planet.
2. Blueland
*Note: Some products use RSPO-certified palm oil.
Blueland’s’ Eco-Friendly Body Wash Refill
Price Range: $8–$12
Say goodbye to single-use plastic with Blueland’s concentrated body wash powder made with gentle plant-based ingredients.
Choose between three scents: Coconut Milk, Sandalwood Sage, and Waterlily Dew. All are vegan, Leaping Bunny-certified, gluten-free, nut-free and hypoallergenic.
Each Body Wash Starter Set comes with a transparent LDPE reusable body wash bottle and a paper-based compostable packet of the powder.
Simply fill your forever bottle half full with cold water, add the powder, give it a good shake, and after one hour, it’s shower-ready.
We found this creamy body wash lathered up nicely and washed off without leaving any greasiness behind. We also love that we can order a plastic-free compostable refill when we run out.
About Blueland
This ‘Best For The World’ Certified B Corp brand believes “a cleaner planet starts at home”.
Their non-toxic cleaning and personal care products make it easy for you to continue adding to the over billion+ single-use plastic bottles they’ve so far helped prevent.
They’re also Cradle to Cradle Certified™, Climate Neutral Certified, offset their shipping emissions, and packaging is compostable and/or recyclable.
3. Greatfill
*Note: Greatfill uses SLES (sodium laureth sulfate) as a mild coconut-derived cleanser, and two biodegradable preservatives, Methylisothiazolinone and Benzisothiazolinone.
Greatfill’s’ Refillable Body Wash
Price Range: $12–$55
We’re grateful that Greatfill makes it easy to ditch single-use plastic with its Body Wash Starter Kit.
It comes with a large refillable body wash bottle made of stainless steel and a reusable pouch full of their vegan and cruelty-free formula.
Each standard pouch will refill your forever bottle once while the large refill pouches fill them a whopping four times.
Once you collect five empty pouches (across any of their refillable products), you can send them back to Greatfill for reuse in the prepaid envelope provided.
The biodegradable formula is naturally scented with essential oils and is available in two delectable scents: Citrus + Fir and Sage + Lavender.
The latter is our favorite lather of theirs, since it makes our shower smell like our own sustainable garden all year long.
About Greatfill
Greatfill is on a mission to clean up the planet via a closed-loop refill and reuse system that takes single-use plastic out of the equation.
Their Leaping Bunny-certified cleaning and personal care products are made in small batches in California.
The stainless steel bottles (which have a life-time warranty) and refill pouches are ethically made in China.
Orders are shipped in recyclable boxes printed with soy-based inks.
Greatfill gives back to environmental non-profits via their 1% for the Planet membership.
4. Oneka
Oneka’s’ Refillable Shower Gel
Price Range: $16–$367
Go big with Oneka’s pH-balanced, plant-based body wash, available in various sizes from 500 ml to 20 liters.
The refill duo comes with a 500ml bottle, which has a dispensing cap, and a 4 liter refill bottle, (which doesn’t come with a pump, but these can be purchased separately).
Choose between three botanical scents: Angelica & Lavender, Cedar & Sage, and Goldenseal & Citrus, made with organic plants grown on the brand’s family-owned organic permaculture farm.
The biodegradable, vegan, and gluten-free formula also doubles as a hand wash.
About Oneka
Based in Quebec, Canada, Certified B Corp Oneka was born from “a deep love and respect for our natural habitat and fellow living beings”.
Everything grown on Oneka’s farm is Ecocert-certified organic, and they follow permaculture principles to help look after nature and their community.
To offset their plastic use, Oneka has partnered with Plastic Bank. For each 500ml bottle sold, they fund the removal of 3 plastic bottles worth of ocean-bound plastic.
The brand also partners with Taking Root and Arbre-Évolution to offset its carbon emissions.
They support Water First, an NGO working to ensure all indigenous communities have access to clean, safe drinking water.
5. Ethique
Ethique’s Concentrated Body Wash
Price Range: $6–$13
Packaged in a compostable, recyclable cardboard sleeve, Ethique offers several easy, breezy ways to lather up.
Their original plastic-free body wash bars in various varieties like the Uplifting Sweet Orange & Vanilla or an Exfoliating Pumice, Tea Tree, & Spearmint if your dry and flaky skin needs a little extra scrubbing power.
They also offer soap-free solid cream bars (ideal for sensitive skin) and bars of body wash concentrate that you mix with boiling water.
Liquid body wash in a plastic-free cardboard box. Who knew?!
About Ethique
Ethique only uses ingredients that are vegan, cruelty free, palm oil free, and ethically and fairly sourced.
Through their zero waste skin care and cleaning products, the New Zealand company and Certified B Corp has prevented the manufacture and use of more than 30 million plastic bottles.
They’re also Climate Positive, plant a tree for every order, pay all staff living wages, and donate 2% of sales to planet-friendly organizations.
6. Public Goods
Public Goods’ Body Wash Refill Pouch
Price Range: $9–$17
Featuring a blend of cleansing, nourishing, and refreshing essential oils, the refillable body wash from Public Goods is fragrant and light—on your skin and our planet.
Made in the USA and Canada, it contains zero gluten, cruelty, parabens, SLS, synthetic fragrance, sulfates, or animal-derived ingredients, though palm-derived glycol stearate is used.
A 12 oz bottle, made from 100% recycled, post-consumer plastic, can be purchased for the first order (or use your own), after which you can top up with a refill pouch.
The plastic pouches can currently only be recycled via specialty programs like Terracycle.
About Public Goods
Public Goods is one of the public’s good ethical alternatives to Amazon.
In addition to refillable body wash and other refillable beauty, wellness, skin, and hair care products, they’re a go-to for eco-conscious and affordable grocery, household, and pet items.
Everything is sold at wholesale prices, providing members with some of the cheapest yet sustainable online shopping.
Shipping is carbon offset, and a tree is planted for every order.
They do further good by donating soon-to-expire products to Valley View Community Foods Bank and The Campaign Against Hunger.
7. Dr. Bronners
*Note: Dr. Bronner’s uses palm oil that is sustainably harvested in Ghana.
Dr. Bronner’s Women’s & Men’s Refillable Body Wash
Price Range: $8–$93
Washing your dog and your body?
No problem. Dr. Bronner’s biodegradable, organic, and Fair Trade Castile soap ticks both.
The tiny ingredients list includes (recognizable!) ones like organic jojoba, olive, palm kernel, and essential oils—all non-GMO. Over 70% of ingredients are Fair Trade-certified, and over 90% are USDA/Oregon Tilth certified organic.
The “normal” size is a relatively large 32 oz recycled plastic bottle.
Larger refills (up to 1 gallon) are available, but they also just introduced a new line of cardboard refill cartons so those will be our new go-to when we need to top up our soap—which has had a staple place in our house for years.
Better yet, check your local bulk shop or Whole Foods, which may have Dr. Bronner’s on tap.
Alternatively, you can opt for their soap bars. Just grate and melt them into boiling water to create your own plastic-free body wash.
About Dr. Bronner’s
Useable as body wash, dish soap, organic laundry detergent, and so much more, Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is, as they say, ‘magical’.
The rest of their range—oral care, hair care, hand sanitizer, vegan toothpaste, and more—is just as special, being 100% vegan, cruelty free, and natural.
Their palm oil is sustainably sourced from small farms in Ghana.
The Certified B Corp is behind some impressive activist efforts regarding regenerative agriculture, wage equality, drug reform policies, plant medicine, youth services, and animal advocacy.
8. The Good Fill
The Good Fill’s Zero Waste Soap
Price Range: $6–$32
The Good Fill’s biodegradable body wash makes it easy to wash responsibly.
Choose between an Unscented, Green Tea, or Peppermint scent—which is our favorite since it also doubles as shampoo.
All are made with organic and natural ingredients and are palm oil free.
Your first order will come in a pre-filled amber glass container or a refill (pick the latter if you have an existing container to use).
The refills come in a pouch that’s BPA-free and made with 93% less plastic than a conventional bottle.
The refill pouch can be emptied and shipped back to be refilled or recycled via the prepaid envelope.
About The Good Fill
If you want to buy it in bulk, there’s a good chance The Good Fill can fill your need.
With harder-to-find items like baking soda, hair spray, witch hazel, and dental floss, they’ve gone the extra mile to make refills good again.
Since they’re vegan, cruelty-free, and 99% palm oil free (the other 1% being sustainable palm), they’re doing a good job.
They offer refill options for typical personal care and cleaning products, and ship in recyclable or compostable packaging. Products are also available in-person at their Nashville brick-and-mortar location.
The Good Fill donates a percentage of each sale to One Tree Planted.
9. Zero Co.
*Note: Their home cleaning products contain RSPO MB certified palm oil, meaning some is sustainable palm oil but not all.
Zero Co’s Body Wash Refill Australia
Price Range: $20–$27
That moment when you realize that it smells as good as it is sustainable.
A rare one.
Zero Co is exactly that in equal measure.
The Aussie-inspired scents include Mandarin, Finger Lime & Chamomile, and Saffron & Tallowood Blossom.
What’s inside is just as noteworthy: coconut-derived cleansers, biodegradable surfactants, aloe vera extract, and essential oils.
All of this in a 500ml refillable forever bottle made from 50% recycled marine plastic or a body wash refill pouch made from 40% recycled materials, which can be returned to Zero Co for reuse.
About Zero Co
Zero Co is here to help us “give single-use plastic the flick”.
Their range of zero waste cleaning, laundry, kitchen, and eco-friendly bathroom products comes in refillable forever bottles filled with vegan, cruelty-free, plant-based, and greywater-safe ingredients.
The Australian-made company also uses carbon negative deliveries and organizes ocean cleanups.
Check out our podcast episode with founder Mike Smith to find out more.
10. Local Bulk Store
Your Local Bulk Store’s Zero Waste Body Wash Refills
Where can you refill body wash near you?
Potentially right down the street!
Sustainable body wash is often cheaper and they avoid the carbon emissions associated with shipping. (You also get to do a sniff test first).
If you don’t have a bulk store nearby, you can buy body wash refills online. Some of our go-to bulk stores online include:
- ZeroWasteStore.com: One of their best zero waste body washes is from Fillaree, and doubles as hand soap.
- A Drop in the Ocean: Scented to be both women’s and men’s zero waste body wash, the Salt Scrub Body Bar is totally unpackaged and doubles (triples?) as hand soap and a shave bar.
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How We Found The Best Body Wash Refills
We’re dreaming of a day when refills—like refillable cleaning products and other refillable beauty products—will be as commonplace as the plastic bottles we’re used to.
To find the best refillable body wash, we looked at these brands through the lens of our sustainable beauty criteria:
- Non-toxic: In other words, free of those nasty ingredients to avoid in skin care.
- Vegan and cruelty free: We want body wash without bunnies, both in terms of animal testing and animal byproducts.
- Palm oil free: Or containing RPSO or otherwise sustainable sourced palm oil.
- Ethically sourced ingredients: Ideally through fair trade channels.
- Thoughtful packaging: Soap without packaging (a la naked bars) is the zero waste ideal, but we know there are those who prefer a zero waste shower gel—which is where refillable bottles step into the shower spotlight.
Final Thoughts On Plastic-Free Body Wash
Isn’t it ironic (cue: Alanis Morissette) that the same products we use to clean ourselves are dirtying our planet?
That’s one reason we’re full of love for anything that can be refilled and reused instead of replaced or even recycled.
Help us spread the body wash refill love by sharing this article with anyone who has a graveyard of half-empty shower gel bottles in their bathroom.
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