9 Zero Waste Laundry Detergent Brands Taking Loads Off Landfills

Price Range: $10–$65

This multi-use all-purpose castille soap maintains legendary status, and although Dr Bronner’s still comes in a 100% post-consumer-recycled plastic bottle, they now sell refills in recyclable milk paper cartons, which we’ll be doing once we run out of our current stash.

Which may take a while since this super-concentrated formula only requires a maximum of one tablespoon for a full load.

As one of the safest and hypoallergenic detergents we’ve ever tried, it’s free from artificial fragrances, phosphates, or sulfates and instead made up of entirely plant-based, fair trade, and mostly organic ingredients.

A counterculture icon since the 1970s, Dr Bronner’s is a leader of the organic and fair trade movement—being a Certified B Corp, Fair Trade, EWG Verified, Leaping Bunny Cruelty Free, Non GMO Verified, and Certified Vegan.

They also feature progressive business practices like 100% free health care for all employees AND their families, plus a 5-to-1 cap on executive salaries, and generous full-time bonuses and profit-sharing. That’s on top of supporting ethical supply chains, regenerative farming, solar-powered operations, animal rights, and truly sustainable palm oil harvesting.

My Personal Review of Dr Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap:

“This is the ONLY detergent I use for some of our chemical-sensitive clothing upcycle projects—as I know it won’t react poorly with the dyes—and I’ve been using it for years. In fact, it was my go-to detergent long before I started trialing the other brands on this list.

Out of all the different scents, Hemp Lavender is my favorite, and I find that the bottles last for ages as you only need one tablespoon of the ultra-concentrated formula per full laundry load (and as I tend to run smaller loads, I use less than that).”

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content