Cleaning. I’m doing a lot more of it and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I know that not everyone is into the idea of DIYing everything so I wanted to round up a few of the best all-natural and eco-friendly cleaning products on the market.
You can order many of these products online, but you can also find a lot of them at your local grocery store, but before we even get into the brands, I want to identify what makes an eco-friendly cleaning product? Terms like “eco” and “natural” aren’t regulated by the government so how can you be sure that you’re getting a product that’s good for your health and the health of the planet?
In the US, cleaning companies aren’t legally required to disclose the ingredients in their products. Which is a HUGE issue, especially seeing that many conventional cleaning products can emit volatile organic compounds (vocs the building blocks of smog) which can trigger asthma and allergy symptoms.
And, if a green cleaning product is equally effective as a conventional cleaning product (which they totally are!) why would you want to clean your home with products containing harsh chemicals with labels like ‘Warning!’ or ‘Toxic Chemicals!’ anyways?
For me, an eco-friendly cleaner is one that’s non-toxic, derived from natural and organic ingredients, and most importantly is biodegradable so it doesn’t negatively impact the environment.
Biodegradability is really important when it comes to cleaning products because many of our products get into our waterways, think dish soap and laundry detergent, and I want to make sure that my products are going to breakdown quickly and not hang around forever.
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1. dropps:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Very minimal packaging. Dropps are delivered to your door in a cardboard box. The product itself is wrapped in membrane is a water soluble film made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH). When the film dissolves in your washer and enters the water stream micro-organisms (including bacteria, yeasts, and fungi) that commonly exist in water treatment plants are capable of breaking down polyvinyl alcohol to water and carbon dioxide.
- eco friendly initiatives? Dropps was awarded the 2017 EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Dishwashing and laundry detergent
They’re very transparent they have 3rd party testing on their website. Dropps ships completely carbon neutral, they’re manufactured in the U.S., and never tested on animals.
All Going Zero Waste readers can get 25% off their first purchase with the code ‘GOINGZW‘ until 12/31.
2. frosch:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? All of their products are packaged in 100% recycled PET
- eco-friendly initiatives? Frosch has and entire tab on their website dedicated to their sustainable missions from closing the loop with their packaging to supporting education through sponsoring the International Ocean Film Tour which has screened films like Plastic Ocean.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Their original and most versatile product – Frosch Neutral Cleaner
Frosch is EU Ecolabel Certified which is a label of environmental excellence that is awarded to products and services meeting high environmental standards throughout their life-cycle.
All of their products are vegan and never tested on animals. Their formulas are dermatologically tested and free of harmful chemicals such as Phosphate, Borate, Formaldehyde, NTA, EDTA, halogen organic compounds.
You can get 10% off the Neutral Cleaner with the code ‘GOINGZEROWASTE’ until 8/31.
3. earthhero:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? All of their products are packaged mostly plastic-free shipping with paper tape, recycled and reused cardboard boxes
- eco-friendly initiatives? EarthHero is a certified B Corporation, 100% carbon neutral and they’re members of 1% for the planet donating portions from every purchase to environmental organizations!
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? EarthHero is the one-stop shop for everything sustainable. They’ve got a HUGE selection of cleaning products for anywhere in your home including all sorts of eco friendly cleaning tools like dishcloths, scrubber brushes, unpaper towels etc.
One of my favorite things on the EarthHero website is how transparent they are.
Under each cleaning product like the Eco Laundry Powder, they’ve called out a lot of the important information like paraben free, phthalate free, sulfate free, leaping bunny certified and more.
You can get 10% off your order with the code ‘GOZERO‘!
4. pur home:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is a mix of both plastic, glass and paper, but they’re going to be adding more refill options.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Naturally fragranced with essential oils, this biodegradable formula is made without parabens, sulfates, dyes or dioxanes and is never tested on animals. Safe for humans and safe for Planet!
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? PurHome has a little bit of everything, but I’m most intrigued by their scouring powder and their organic castile soap which is made without palm oil!
PurHome is woman owned business! The CEO Angela is also the formulator and product developer of their natural cleaning products which are made in the U.S. They’re also cruelty free and leaping bunny certified!
RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Zero Waste Cleaning
5. clean cult:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Cleancult uses a refillable model to reduce single-use plastics. Their refills come in a carton like a milk or juice carton which might be tricky to recycle depending on where you live.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Their products are naturally fragranced with essential oils, they’re incredibly transparent with their ingredients and they ship carbon-neutral in partnership with carbonfund.org.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? When I think about cleancult I think about their ingredients like using coconuts and their refill model. They have a wide range of products from refillable hand soap to all-purpose cleaner.
Cleancult was one of the first zero waste options to offer refillable bottles. All of their products are cruelty-free and they’re leaping bunny certified.
6. blueland:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Blueland uses a refillable model where you add the water at home.
- eco-friendly initiatives? The number one ingredient in a lot of our cleaning products is water, which can be pretty heavy and create more emissions. Their signature tablets are a great way to reduce the overall footprint of your cleaning products!
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Blueland is known for their signature cleaning essentials trio.
Blueland is a woman owned business! Their products are also vegan and leaping bunny-certified cruelty-free. They also have certifications for USDA Biobased Preferred and EPA Safer Choice.
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7. veles:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is glass and they sell refills in glass bottles.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Veles’ water and active ingredients come from food waste meaning each bottle saves four pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and two cups of water.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Their all prupose cleaning spray which comes with a refillable spray bottle.
Veles‘ main goal is to be resource negative. Resource negative is a term they coined to describe products that avoid the use of raw material and using renewable or waste materials instead.
The water and active ingredients that make up the base of the product are 100% derived from food waste. They are also cruelty-free; the product and its ingredients were not tested on animals.
8. grove collaborative:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? They have all sorts of different packaging options, including some refillable options.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Grove Collaborative is a certified B Corp, they’ve partnered with seedling to plant 1 million trees by 2022, and their facilities and shipments are carbon neutral.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Grove Collaborative is a market place so they have many different types of cleaners and cleaning supplies available on their website from a dish soap block with a scrubby to refillable all-purpose cleaners.
Grove Collaborative is also 100% plastic neutral which means for every ounce of plastic you receive from Grove, they’ll divert the same amount of plastic from the ocean through their partners at Plastic Bank with a goal of being plastic-free by 2025.
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9. Seventh genereation:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? They have a mix of recycled paper and recycled plastic.
- eco-friendly initiatives? They’re a certified B Corp, Rainforest Alliance Certified, FSC Certified, USDA Certified Bio Based Product and more. They also have a whole tab on their website dedicated to Climate Justice where they’re involved in many eco-friendly projects and policy.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? When I hear the name Seventh Generation, I typically think about laundry detergent, but they have a whole range of products.
I’ve always been impressed by Seventh Generation’s social commitments and transparency with their ingredients.
Seventh Generation products do not contain any animal ingredients or byproducts, but they are not vegan certified. They do not test on animals and are Leaping Bunny certified.
10. common good:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is made from glass and plastic, but they offer refills and have refill stations so you can BYOC.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Common Good products are made with gentle, plant-based ingredients and scented with 100% pure essential oil. Their mission is to reduce plastic packaging by offering beautiful, refillable bottles.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? They’re known for their laundry detergent, but they have several other products like all-purpose cleaners and hand sanitizer!
Common Good is not tested on animals and are Leaping Bunny certified.
They don’t use any animal-derived raw material for their liquid products. Their lactic Acid is derived from plant sugars and all corn-derived ingredients, come from non-GMO sources.
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11. ecos:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is plastic
- eco-friendly initiatives? ECOS is the first company in the world to have achieved the “trifecta” of sustainable manufacturing: carbon neutral, water neutral, and TRUE Platinum Zero Waste certified (highest level, >95% waste diversion in all four of our US facilities.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Their dishsoap.
I really couldn’t find out much information about ECOS’ packaging, but their manufacturing and commitment to sustainability and clean ingredients earned them a spot on this list!
ECOS is leaping bunny certified, US EPA Safer Choice, and grey water and septic safe, and their facility is run on 100% renewable energy.
12. ecover:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is made using Plantplastic® which is made with sustainably harvested sugar cane that’s Bonsucro certified to ensure the sugar is grown on existing croplands to protect biodiversity, using as little water as possible and incorporating fair labor practices.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Ecover was started in 1979, and created the world’s very first phosphate-free laundry detergent! Their factory in Chicago was the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-certified plant in the industry. They’re also a certified B Corp.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Ecover is known for their original laundry detergent, but they have a wide range of products from dishwasher powder (sold in a cardboard box) and stain removers.
All of Ecover’s products are Leaping Bunny certified. I also like that the have a full ingredient glossary on their website for complete transparency on the ingredients that they use.
RELATED: DIY Homemade All-Natural Bleach
13. jr watkins:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is plastic, but they do have refill options.
- eco-friendly initiatives? They avoid using harmful ingredients in their formulas, like parabens, dyes, phthalates, and formaldehyde.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? JR Watkins is actually known for beauty products, but they just started to get into the cleaning space with dishsoap and an all purpose spray.
What I like about JR Watkins is that they’ve been around since 1868 creating products with natural ingredients that aren’t tested on animals.
RELATED: Eco-Friendly Cleaning
14. the laundress:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is mostly plastic, but my favorite stain bar is wrapped in paper.
- eco-friendly initiatives? The Laundress was started because 90% of clothing that says dry-clean only can actually be washed at home if you do it properly! Dry cleaning isn’t super great for the environment so use your washing machine at home instead.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? All things laundry!
The Laundress is woman owned, they’re cruelty-free, and formulated in the USA. They have a huge selection of products specifically for delicates, wool, stains, upholstery and a great alternative to chlorine bleach that’s free from harmful chemicals.
15. fillaree:
- biodegradable? Yes
- packaging? Their packaging is a mix of glass, aluminum, plastic and they have a bunch of refill options both online and in stores across the US.
- eco-friendly initiatives? Fillaree was one of the very first closed-loop and zero waste brands on the market, and their shop where they make the soap, is also zero waste so more than 90% of their waste is diverted from landfills.
- natural, organic, and/or plant-derived ingredients? Yes
- known for? Their clean plate dish soap which is one of my favorite products!
Fillaree is a woman owned business and they don’t test their products on animals!
I really hope that you enjoyed this post! If you have any green cleaning brands or a green cleaning service you think should be added to the list, let me know in the comments down below.
But, before I go, I do just want to shout out creating your own DIY cleaning products is MUCH easier than it might sound. Check out a few of the resources on my blog.
Here’s my ULTIMATE Guide to Zero Waste Cleaning around the home where I go over how you can finally stop using a paper towel for every spill, the tools I use on a regular basis, and craft my own cleaning products for pennies using safe ingredients like baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and more.
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