Fed up with piles of laundry? If you’re close to throwing in the towel, disguise your never-ending mound of dirty clothes and sheets in style with a sustainable laundry basket.
It’ll help take a (laundry) load off your mind, and by reducing plastic waste, a load off the planet, too.
There’s a lot on the (clothes) line for the planet when it comes to choosing the products we fill our homes with. From sustainable furniture and appliances to textiles and home decor, it’s important to choose those that are healthy—both for our homes and the environment.
And one item that is often overlooked when considering sustainability is the humble laundry basket. So we’re bucking that trend and spotlighting those that are made with responsible materials and ethical labor.
It’s also worth mentioning that we’re soon to launch a new Brand Rating System that will assess brands that make baskets (and everything else) against a number of factors, like climate impact and green business practices. You can read more on our rating approach here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
Non-Plastic Laundry Baskets That Won’t Hinder The Planet
Add a natural vibe to your home and help preserve indigenous craft traditions with an eco-friendly laundry basket from fair trade company Swahili African Modern.
Lighten the environmental load and your haul to the laundromat, with not PERFECT LINEN’s low-impact pure stonewashed laundry basket.
Index: Eco-Friendly Laundry Baskets
- Not PERFECT LINEN Jump to brand
- Ecoliving Jump to brand
- Swahili African Modern Jump to brand
- The Citizenry Jump to brand
- Will & Atlas Jump to brand
- Mbare Jump to brand
- Food52 Jump to brand
Not PERFECT LINEN
Price Range: $62
Family-owned and operated brand not PERFECT LINEN embraces the beauty of linen’s natural ‘imperfection’ and uses it to fashion a range of clothing and homewares. From sleeveless dresses and oversized tops to curtains, sustainable aprons, and laundry baskets, the entire process, from design to shipping, takes place in-house at the brand’s Lithuanian studio.
They adopt slow fashion practices (including working on a pre-order basis to reduce waste) and support local seamstresses with fair wages and safe working conditions. All products (including their non-toxic laundry baskets) are made from OEKO-TEX 100-certified European linen.
For laundry, they offer hanging laundry bags, perfect for hanging in kitchens, bathrooms, or bedrooms (and keeping floors uncluttered in the process), and large laundry bags with a drawstring closure. The latter are ideal for travel or storing spare bedding and towels at home. Both styles are available in over 30 gorgeous earthy colors.
Ecoliving
Price Range: $25–$40
Ecoliving’s storage baskets not only look good, but because they’re made of recycled cotton, they’re good for the planet, too. The Made-By Environmental Benchmark for Fibers puts recycled cotton in Class A alongside organic flax, organic hemp, and recycled wool. In other words, it’s one of the most sustainable materials out there.
Each sturdy basket is handmade by artisans in India, though we’ll be reaching out for more specifics regarding pay and working conditions. The tallest basket measures 15” x 15” x 17.7″ and is perfect for laundry. They also offer a shorter 15.8″ x 15.8″ x 13.8″ basket (a useful size for storing all manner of things, from soft toys to eco-friendly yoga accessories) and a set of three smaller 11″ x 11″ x 11″ baskets.
Available in neutral tones and brighter color combinations, these thick cotton baskets are ideal if you’re looking for a non-plastic laundry basket. Their durable design means they should last a long time.
Swahili African Modern
Price Range: $72–$492
Swahili African Modern is a female-founded company based in the USA. They work directly with artisan partners in Africa and offer a range of fair trade African baskets, sustainable hampers, home decor, accessories, and gifts that ship from their warehouse in Eugene, Oregon.
A member of the Fair Trade Federation, the brand develops long-term relationships with artisan producers in 15 African nations.
Disguise your wash pile in style with a handwoven laundry hamper available in neutral tones as well as funkier colors and patterns. The Senegalese baskets are made from a combination of natural cattail stalks and upcycled plastic strips, the Kenyan baskets are handwoven from sisal, and the Tanzanian baskets are made from Milulu grass. Note that some baskets and hampers have leather handles and/or a leather trim, but these are easy to avoid.
The Citizenry
Price Range: $99–$567
Fairtrade artisan collective The Citizenry offers a selection of handmade furniture, bedding, towels, kitchenware, and sustainable home decor. All of their products are certified by the World Fair Trade Organization, and they pay wages twice the fair trade wage requirement.
The Citizenry’s hand woven baskets come in various shapes and sizes, so whether you have a mountain of laundry to deal with or wear the same pair of jeans all week, you can find one that suits. From Bangladeshi Holga leaves to Peruvian totora reeds, each plastic-free laundry basket is woven from plant materials and takes one to four days to complete. Note that the Mexican Mercado baskets and hampers feature leather handles, and we’re uncertain of how this leather is processed..
The age-old basketry techniques have low carbon emissions and zero waste, making them a good choice for the planet. They’re also a good choice for people, as 10% of all proceeds are directly invested back into artisan communities through Entrepreneur Development Grants.
Will & Atlas
Price Range: $70–$245
Shipping from the US, Will & Atlas is a women-owned company specializing in rugs, baskets, and bags made from natural fibers. They work with artisans around the globe who are paid living wages and work in environments that adhere to fair trade standards.
Their main fair trade partners are Bangladesh-based NGOs that support women artisans (and their families) with childcare, healthcare, education, training, and loans.
Eachlaundry basket is made from jute, palm leaves, or hogla grass and combines traditional weaving with contemporary design. Some are lined with recycled material (though they don’t specify what it is). For a change from the usual hues, check out the charcoal-colored jute baskets colored using a natural seed dye.
Mbare
Price Range: $78–$210
Founded by Robbie Stewart, who grew up in Zimbabwe, Mbare (pronounced “im-bah-ree”) offers an eclectic collection of handcrafted products made from natural and recycled materials. They support over 2000 artisans across Africa with living wages and most of their partners are fair trade certified.
Each eco-friendly laundry hamper and basket is handwoven using natural materials. The Iringa baskets are handwoven in Tanzania from Milulu grass, the Malawi lidded baskets are made from mulaza palm leaves, and the patterned hampers are woven by Senegalese women using either cattail grass or millet grass combined with recycled plastic.
If contemporary, minimalist decor is your vibe, the Flat Lid Floor Basket, woven from millet grass and black plastic threads, provides a stylishly sustainable laundry solution.
Food52
Price Range: $50–$385
Food52 is a well-known name in the foodie world. Originally a food blog, they launched their online store in 2013 offering kitchenware like eco-friendly cutlery, cookware and dinnerware. Today, they also stock all kinds of products for the home, including bedding, bathroom accessories, rugs, home decor, storage solutions, and gifts.
From space-saving collapsible bins and hampers to a steel-framed modular design on wheels, Food52 offers a selection of laundry-containing solutions. These include the clever ‘snap and separate’ modular laundry bag system by Italian brand Uashmama. Available in seven colors, each bag is made from AGGO® washable paper with partially recycled cotton straps and joins to other bags via press studs.
There are also several options from USA brand Steele Canvas Basket Corp, including an elevated eco-friendly hamper on a wheeled frame that’s made-to-order in Massachusetts.
