The Best Natural Laundry Detergents in 2023, Tested by TheHouseWire

Enjoy clean clothes without the chemicals

A natural laundry detergent is free from harmful ingredients. Thanks to its green formula it won’t pollute the environment, damage your clothing or irritate your skin.

If you opt for a concentrated laundry detergent, you’ll need less packaging – that’s another way to go green.

We spent hours testing and researching different laundry pods, powders, and liquids. We used our own insight along with real user reviews and expert advice to help you make the right choice for you.

Here is our list of the best natural detergents.

Imagine a laundry routine that feels like a stroll through a flower garden. Well, that’s what Mrs. Meyer’s laundry detergent brings to the party.

We love how the gentle honeysuckle scent leaves clothes smelling fresh for days. But if you want another scent, you can. Mrs. Meyer’s offers an entire line of laundry products.

Thanks to a powerful formula, this concentrated laundry detergent gives clothing a thorough clean, too. It contains plant-based enzymes that tackled all the stubborn stains we tested. And without parabens or phthalates, it’s still gentle enough not to cause any skin irritation.

You can use it both in regular and high-efficiency machines. The packaging isn’t biodegradable – still recyclable. It’s not vegan either but isn’t tested on animals.

Read Also The Best Laundry Detergents to Get Out the Grime

Read Full Review: Method Concentrated Laundry Detergent Review

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Method laundry detergent uses a biodegradable and hypoallergenic formula that’s tough on dirt and stains.

Certified by the Cradle-to-Cradle institute, we were super impressed by how clean, soft, and fresh clothes came out of the machine. The plant-based ingredients pack a powerful punch, on food stains in particular.

And the smell! It’s worth using Method detergent for that alone. The lavender and cypress we tested smelt beautiful, but there’s a huge range of scents.

The formula is concentrated. In other words, less is more. With a small bottle, you’ll be able to wash about 66 loads.

It’s also non-toxic, biodegradable, cruelty-free, and zero waste.

ECOS detergent is a non-toxic laundry detergent that cleans well while being climate positive.

It’s packed with green credentials, including a Safer Choice label, vegan, and carbon neutral. And it’s made with only 6 ingredients – no phthalates, phosphates optical brighteners or paraben. It’s hard to find anything as simple and eco-friendly as this.

Yet, it’s still super tough on stains and dirty laundry. There’s even a built-in fabric softener to keep your clothes feeling super soft.

You don’t have to splash out megabucks on a natural detergent. This offering from Persil is the new King of stain removal on a budget.

The concentrated formula is designed to remove tough stains at low temperatures. You don’t even need a long wash to get a thorough clean.

And since it’s concentrated, for a bottle, you’ll wash about 38 loads. For a normal load or washing in soft water, you’ll just need two tablespoons. Larger loads or washing in hard water, require three.

We did find a few stains survived a cool wash, but it’s simple to treat them with the stain eraser ball. Pre-treating clothes like this was way more effective than our regular laundry detergent.

And we loved the fragrant smell on the clothes – too.

Plant power is a popular choice. And it’s easy to see why with this liquid detergent from Gain Botanicals.

As the name suggests, the scent of lavender essential oil gives a nice fresh smell to your clothes.

According to the manufacturer, the formula is made with 65% plant-based ingredients, making it gentle on the skin. This simple detergent contains any dyes, brighteners, or phosphates neither.

Certified by the USDA as a biobased product, it’s safe to use for both high-efficiency and regular washing machines. And if you’re not completely satisfied, you can benefit from the money-back guarantee.

These handy Grab Green powder pods are easy to grab and go.

Available in different scents, each dose is packed with plant and mineral-based ingredients. No chlorine, no phosphate, and dye-free!

And since it’s a pod, it delivers the perfect amount every time. Simply place a pod in the drum before adding clothes and set the temperature to low, and let the detergent work.

It’s also effective with cold water cleaning, so you can lower energy consumption at the same time.

Read Full Review: Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent Review

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Made with 96% of plant-based ingredients, this Seventh Generation Free and Clear makes clothes feel so good.

The unscented plant and mineral-based formula is super gentle, so we recommend it if you’ve got any skin sensitivities. But it still does a decent job of cleaning clothes and removing stains.

Everything felt and smelt clean in our tests, just without the lingering perfume. It cuts through odors and stains, especially if you dab a little straight onto clothes.

It also has several green certifications, EPA Safer Choice or USDA certification, you name it.

It’s hard to find laundry detergents gentle enough for sensitive skin when so many contain dyes and perfumes. But Dropps is designed for the softest baby skin and the most delicate of fabrics.

According to the manufacturer, it’s formulated to prevent skin irritation, eczema, or psoriasis. You can use it on your fragile garments, baby clothes, or pet bedding.

But that’s not to say it’s soft on dirt. Each pod is loaded with enough cleaning power to shift tough dirt and odors.

You can use it in both high efficiency and standard washers. And because the packaging is made from cardboard, it’s recyclable and compostable.

If you’re a powder detergent kind of person, fear not. You can still enjoy natural cleaning with Biokleen.

It’s a bit pricey. But one box of powder handles a whopping 150 washes thanks to the super-concentrated formula. And less packaging means less waste and energy, so it’s kinder to the environment.

With just 10 ingredients, this unscented version is also free from a wide range of harmful ingredients like chlorine, ammonia or artificial fragrances.

The mineral-based cleaning agents also leave colors looking bright and whites looking white.

What to Look For in Green Laundry Detergent

How We Tested Natural Laundry Detergents

When testing products, we check label information for ingredients, directions, and certifications.

We also look at how much detergent is recommended to use on large or medium loads.

From coffee to wine stains, we test the detergent in a whole range of conditions to see how it performs in a real home. We also make sure to test the product on different types of fabrics such as cotton, polyester, white and colored cloths.

During our tests, we try several machine settings (cold, delicate, warm etc…) and we load our washing machine with other items such as sheets or towels.

Finally, we look at everything from ease of use to the amount of suds produced, and if it leaves any residues.