Let’s take a load off our planet, since we’re headed for more than just flooded laundry. Choosing a natural and non-toxic laundry detergent is one easy way to keep our spin cycles moving in a more sustainable direction.
Conventional laundry products pose a risk to our own health and the planet’s. They’re filled with artificial dyes, dioxanes, formaldehyde, optical brighteners, phosphates, synthetic fragrances, microplastics, and other nasties—not to mention the giant eyesore single-use plastic jug!
Instead, we aim for a non-toxic lifestyle and personally loaded our dirty laundry piles with every natural laundry detergent listed to test each brand on this list.
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. We explain this further in our Terms of Use.
The Best Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Brands to Suds With No Nasties
Certified B Corp Meliora offers a plethora of toxin-free laundry detergent goodness thanks to their powerful, environmentally-engineered plant-based powder. We found it performed brilliantly, and it’s super cost-effective, too.
Long a leader of the organic and fair trade movement, Dr. Bronner’s legendary pure Castile soap remains one of the world’s best, thanks to the all-purpose soap’s decades-old status as one of the safest and most hypoallergenic detergents we’ve ever tried.
Thailand-based B Corp SuperBee will leave your laundry super bee-autiful with their one-of-a-kind Hexawash, a reusable all-natural magnesium-based cartridge that washes 300 whopping loads and is compostable at its end-of-life.
Index: Clean Laundry Detergent Brands
- Meliora Jump to brand
- SuperBee Jump to brand
- Blueland Jump to brand
- Common Good Jump to brand
- etee Jump to brand
- Dr. Bronner’s Jump to brand
- The Good Fill Jump to brand
- ZeroWasteStore.com Jump to brand
Meliora
Price Range: $20
Ameliorate your laundry mountain with Meliora’s Laundry Powder Detergent. Featuring a simple and effective formula of baking soda, washing soda, and organic plant-based soap made with organic coconut oil, every single one of the minimal ingredients is MADE SAFE® Certified, so you can suds up sans toxins or mystery fillers.
No synthetic fragrances, animal byproducts, sulfates, or phosphates here, folks!
Available as Unscented, Lavender-Lemon-Peppermint, or our current obsession: Lemon-Lavender-Clove. They’re all scented with certified organic essential oils, so you can say bye-bye to undisclosed mystery nasties that are hallmark to many conventional synthetic “fragrance” blends.
All this goodness comes bundled in a reusable canister of mostly cardboard with some steel structural end components, so it’s mostly compostable when no longer needed. Refills are sold in a brown paper sack.
Meliora’s mastermind, Kate, developed the brand while studying for her Master’s in Environmental Engineering and feeling disheartened that most household products don’t have to disclose their full ingredients list. Meliora was born to act as a lobbyist for Right-To-Know Acts, including a successful campaign that will soon require ingredient listings on cleaning products in California by law.
The brand is a Certified B Corp, along with MADE SAFE, Leaping Bunny, 1% For The Planet, and Woman Owned-certified, and publishes yearly online sustainability reports. They also manufacture everything themselves at their environmentally conscious factory in West Chicago, which does everything from creating the soap to packaging.
My Personal Review of Meliora’s Laundry Detergent Powder:
“I found it leaves no residue on clothes or inside your eco-friendly washing machine like some powders can, and with one tub good for 128 loads, that’s well over a year of laundry detergent for us for just $20. And for stubborn stains, Meliora also offers stain-removing soap sticks that I apply an hour or so before washing, but even without the stain bar, the bubbling baking soda-based detergent is frankly first-class at stain and dirt removal alone.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
SuperBee
Price Range: $50
Superbly standout SuperBee offers a one-of-a-kind detergent substitute that’s as all-natural as it is pure magic. Their ‘Queen Bee’ detergent is called Hexawash, thanks to its brilliant hexing of grit and grime thanks to its raw magnesium pellets. When mixed with water, they produce an alkaline all-natural solution to clean filthy clothes without filthying the planet.
SuperBee became unbee-lievably well known for their excellent reusable beeswax wraps, and then expanded the business to include all otherwise vegan personal and home care products, like their much-loved cruelty-free toothpaste.
The female and family-run social enterprise and Certified B Corp runs from the mountains of northern Thailand where they champion their community and all-Thai female workforce by paying 20% higher wages than the Fair Trade Association’s suggested wages and donating to local volunteer fire crews.
My Personal Review of SuperBee’s Hexawash:
“To use Hexawash, we simply toss the pouch on top of clothes in the machine, then hang the pouch to dry after every wash cycle. I was pleasantly surprised at how cleansing this detergent is in both hot and cold washes, though I find it’s a bit more effective with smaller loads than really soiled ones. Pro-tip: if you like a little laundry scent, add a few drops of your favorite essential oils into the wash cycle, since this detergent is fully scent-free.
“It comes as a reusable pouch that can wash a whopping 300 loads (working out to only $0.16 per wash!) and is fully compostable at its end of life (I’ve yet to get that far yet—I’ll keep you posted).”
Review by Lyall Mabin, SJ’s Co-founder
Blueland
Price Range: $11–$47
Say “so long” to the laundry day blues with Blueland’s tablets. Sold as the ONLY PVA/ PVOH-free tablets available on the market, these pods are also free of any nasties like ammonia, chlorine bleach, parabens, phosphates, phthalates, fake fragrances, and VOCs. This detergent is hypo-allergenic and scent-free, so add in essential oils if you want a light scent.
The groovy starter ‘Forever Tins’ they sell as a Laundry Starter Set come with 60 tablets, and all refills are packaged in home compostable envelopes.
Blueland’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Tough on dirt and gentle on the planet is how Certified B Corp Blueland approaches all their cleaning product development. The brand is Climate Neutral, Cradle2Cradle, EWG Verified, USDA BioPreferred, EPA Safer Choice, and Leaping Bunny Certified to demonstrate just how conscious they are about their support of our big blue land.
Since 2019, Blueland has prioritized efficient energy and water use, eliminated over 1 BILLION single use plastic bottles, and offered all compostable and/or recyclable product packaging.
My Personal Review of Blueland’s Safe Laundry Detergent Tablets:
“To use, simply drop a single tablet directly into the washing machine drum and let it work its powerful magic. I can confirm that despite their astonishing small size, these tablets work amazingly (and residue free) in both hot or cold water. For large loads, we suggest doubling up with two tablets. For a deeper clean when clothes are extra soiled, I add in some of their Oxi Laundry Booster for a prewash to loosen hardcore grime.
“And in the winter when line drying my clothes isn’t an option, I adore their reusable dryer balls that reduce drying time significantly and keep clothes soft and fluffy.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Common Good
Price Range: $18–$65
Laundry day just got a whole lot cleaner thanks to Common Good. Launched by working mom and former stylist Sacha Dunn after she grew tired of her family’s excessive single-use plastic and harsh cleaning chemicals, you’ll find their laundry detergent without carcinogens, optical brighteners, harsh chlorine, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, dyes, synthetic perfume, MIT/BIT preservatives, or CA Prop. 65 chemicals.
Made for sensitive skin, it’s powered by enzymes and 100% pure essential oil scent that make it septic and greywater system-safe, cruelty-free, and vegan, and easy to use. Just add 20 mL into your front loader detergent or 40 mL for top loaders.
All other non-toxic cleaning products are 100% vegan, biodegradable, and Leaping Bunny-certified cruelty-free. All products are also sold in refill pouches that can be used to top up their chic reusable glass bottles. While the pouches are unfortunately not returnable, you can cut off the pour spout and recycle them with plastic bags (and here’s hoping your local system isn’t bunk).
My Personal Review of Common Good’s Laundry Detergent:
“Clothes end up smelling fresh and clean, and I absolutely adore their bergamot scent, although it also comes in unscented or lavender if you prefer. Clothes also look and feel clean, with no leftover residue. If I want to pretreat a stain, I’ve had success lifting out just about any non-oil stain by dabbing some detergent onto the stain 5–10 minutes before washing.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
etee
Price Range: $30
etee’s Super Concentrated Laundry Detergent is one of the most powerful—and affordable—options to lighten the laundry day load with absolutely no PVA / PVOH dissolvable plastic, sulfates, parabens, harsh chemicals, plastic of any other kind, or harm to animals by testing.
According to the brand, their solution was to take an old technology (laundry powder) and give it a modern boost by concentrating it down to just a tablespoon required per load. One small pouch is concentrated enough for a whopping 180 loads. And for $30, or $0.17 per wash, that makes it one of the most cost-effective options we’ve tried.
Thanks to their vast offering of plastic-free dental care, home cleaning, personal care items, and more, etee has stopped more than 100 million pieces of single-use plastic. They also hand make all products using almost entirely organic ingredients (in a Toronto-based HQ lab-meets-factory fueled by renewables), never use plastic or test on animals, sustainably source everything, and donate profits to numerous local organizations.
My Personal Review of etee’s Least Toxic Laundry Detergent:
“Just one small dollop of this stuff truly whitens, brightens, and lifts stains as well as the household brands, but without leaving nasties or plastic of ANY kind behind. Since the pouch it’s sold in isn’t super durable, I suggest transferring it into a reusable glass jar for long-term storage. You can then easily compost the pouch after removing the label. I just love how little room this powerful powder takes up compared to those awful detergent jugs!”
Review by Lyall Mabin, SJ’s Co-founder
Dr. Bronner’s
Price Range: $10–$65
Long the magical unicorn of the non-toxic soap world, Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap is still some of the best all-purpose laundry detergent-meets-shampoo-meets-hand soap-meets-dishwashing detergent there is.
OG’s of the corporate responsibility game, Certified B Corp Dr. Bronner’s are also OG’s of Fair Trade principles and provide employees with free healthcare, annual bonuses, and profit sharing. That’s on top of their decades of championing ethical supply chains, animal rights, regenerative farming, solar-powered operations, and real-deal sustainable palm oil harvesting.
They also hold a slew of other certifications, including USDA Organic, Fair for Life, OTCO, Leaping Bunny, NSF, Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC), Vegan Action, Non-GMO, and OL Kosher.
In addition to their several green initiatives like renewable energy and sustainable shipping materials, they also give back to countless organizations to support communities where they farm, animal rights, at-risk youth, drug reform, and wage inequality.
My Personal Review of Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Soap:
“This dioxane-free laundry detergent (and all-in-one cleaning miracle) is truly one of the most hypoallergenic and gentle detergents I’ve ever tried, and the only stuff I’ll touch if I’m doing any of my chemical-sensitive clothing upcycle or craft projects. Free from artificial fragrances, phosphates, or sulfates and composed of only fair trade, plant-based, and mostly organic ingredients, it has long been my go-to detergent well before I began to trial the other brands seen here.
There’s a slew of different scents (via essential oils) available, and my favorite is the Hemp Lavender for its subtle earthy, floral notes.
Although it widely still comes in a 100% post-consumer-recycled plastic bottle, fortunately, they now sell refills in recyclable milk paper cartons, which I’ll be jumping on once my current bottle finally empties—whenever that may be since this ultra-concentrated formula requires a mere tablespoon per full laundry load. Since I typically run smaller loads, I use even less.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
The Good Fill
Price Range: $13–$20
As a fan favorite zero waste online store, The Good Fill offers a plastic-free version of iconic, industrious Nellie’s Laundry Soda in a compostable paper refill bag or large 32oz refillable mason jar.
Nellie’s has some powerful clean packed into her powder, and this highly concentrated formula calls for just 1 tbsp per full load, with even less needed in smaller HE machines.
It features just four ingredients: sodium carbonate, linear alcohol ethoxylate, sodium chloride, and sodium metasilicate, and it’s vegan, cruelty free, plus free from SLES, SLS, gluten, phosphates, chlorine, fragrance, and optical brighteners.
Nashville’s The Good Fill is thankfully also available online, and the fill is truly good thanks to their shipping, which uses 100% plastic-free up-cycled, recycled, recyclable, and compostable materials, including plant starch water-soluble packing peanuts. They also ship via USPS since they already come to your home on a daily basis, which reduces extra trips from other carriers.
Megan first started the shop after she returned back to the US after living abroad in less developed countries. Realizing how much of the planet is exploited for the American way of life, their mission became helping Americans discover conscious consumerism.
My Personal Review of The Good Fill’s Laundry Detergent & Stain Remover Spray:
“My favorite part of this powder is that it dissolves quickly in cold and hot water alike, is septic safe, and rinses totally clear. If you’re hand washing laundry, this comes as my most recommended detergent, thanks to needing such a small pinch. For all those with sensitive skin like myself, it’s also great for delicates and lingerie since it’s unscented. If something is a little extra stained, I also tested out their stain remover spray, which I spray on a little bit before washing and leave to sit.
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
ZeroWasteStore.com
Price Range: $20
ZeroWasteStore.com’s in-house line ZWS Essentials offers dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic laundry detergent sheets made from 100% plant-based ingredients.
These have only five plant-based ingredients in total, along with dissolving plastic PVA—as even the best laundry detergent sheets all still do. They contain no palm oil, parabens, phthalates, or phosphates and come packaged plastic-free in a compostable sturdy brown cardboard box.
ZeroWasteStore.com features a game-changing selection of all things plastic-free ranging from cleaning supplies to personal care items like shampoo bars from both their in-house label and other low-impact brands. If you find yourself in La La land, be sure to stop by their brick-and-mortar outpost, which is one of LA’s best zero waste stores.
The brand is also Climate Neutral, ships plastic-free and carbon neutral, and donates to countless environmental causes through 1% For the Planet.
My Personal Review of ZeroWasteStore.com’s Clean Laundry Detergent Sheets:
“With a light fresh linen scent, these smell delicious without the headache or allergies, and they’re also pet-safe. Unscented sheets are also available, which are my preference since the scented ones do contain a “fragrance” which I’m not sure is synthetic or not. And don’t worry, the unscented variety still leaves my laundry smelling fresh and stink-free!”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Molly Willows is a Thailand-based writer for sustainability and purpose-driven publications and brands. She has a BA in Philosophy from the University of King’s College and an MA in Anthropology from Freie Universität Berlin. With a strong background in TV and advertising, she’s held top-tier roles such as Director and Executive Producer. Really, Molly loves being a semi-nomadic writer most of all. Today, she happily spends her days writing, researching, teaching yoga, meditating, and attempting to surf. Molly’s words are published by Huffington Post and The Guardian, and some of her previous film projects can be seen on Hulu, Apple TV, or at the iconic Onassis Stegi in Athens.
What are your thoughts on Dropps?
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What are your thoughts on soap nuts? I purchased some at Ten Thousand Villages and I love the thought they are biodegradable after they have run its course (usually about 10 loads for 4-5 nuts). Not to mention the facts they support fair trade which helps workers in Nepal the chance to earn a livable income.
Hi Christine, I used soap nuts for quite some time and found them to work perfectly well for ordinary daily washing – especially with a couple drops of essential oil to make the clothes smell better. But they didn’t stack up for washing cloth diapers which has been my life for 3 years now so the soap nuts have been put to the side. But I’d say they are a great option from a sustainability and toxicity perspective – give them a whirl! Would love to hear your thoughts.