Best Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Guide (2024)
Written by:
Maia James


1. Mama Suds / 2. Christina Maser / 3. Kind / 4. Eco-Me / 5. Tandi’s / 6. Sonett / 7. Meliora
I admit it: finding a natural laundry detergent that actually works is a challenge. When we had babies in the house, my husband used to joke (more like complain) that he knew we were using the #goodstuff when the bibs came out of the dryer with the spit-up still intact. And every time he came home with a “free and clear” version from the drug store, I would read the ingredients and veto it.
But! Things have changed over the last decade. Toxin-free laundry detergents work better, there are more environmentally friendly options, and the Sneaky Stuff has gotten less sneaky.
In this updated, comprehensive shopping guide for natural, non-toxic laundry detergents, we’ve reviewed over 40 brands of detergent and found powders, pods, sheets, and liquid versions that meet our criteria for Good Stuff.
Read on for more about the best non-toxic laundry detergents we love, what to look out for when choosing a detergent, and the 17 “natural” laundry detergent brands we’d advise you to avoid.
Best Overall Laundry Detergent
Tandi’s Naturals
I used to have a real thing against powder detergent, but then I tried it and it turns out it works just as well as liquid. My absolute favorite is Tandi’s natural laundry soap. I didn’t think I could fall in love with a beef tallow-based powder detergent, but we can all surprise ourselves, right?
Best Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergent
Kind Laundry
If you want to lower your carbon footprint when doing laundry, Kind is the best sheet detergent we’ve found. Each sheet is good for an entire load of laundry, and these are great for kids who are learning to do their own laundry (no measuring and no potential for a mess!).
Toxins in Laundry Detergent
All laundry detergents leave a residue on clothing, which is absorbed by our skin (and inhaled). The ill effects of some of the chemicals in detergents range from skin or eye irritation to possibly much more serious, such as endocrine disruption (some ingredients are even considered potential carcinogens, but I’m not going to suggest that if you don’t give up your Tide you’ll get cancer!).
The following common laundry detergent ingredients can be harmful to human and/or planet health:
- Phosphates: Found in many detergents, phosphates can contribute to water pollution, leading to issues like algal blooms and oxygen-deprived “dead zones” in water bodies.
- Surfactants: Some surfactants used in detergents can be derived from petrochemicals, which are non-renewable and contribute to carbon emissions. Others can be immunotoxins.
- Fragrances: Many conventional detergents use synthetic fragrances, which can contain phthalates and other chemicals linked to respiratory and skin issues.
- Optical Brighteners: These chemicals, like stilbene and coumarin, are designed to make clothes appear brighter, but they can be irritating to the skin and are not easily biodegradable.
- Dyes: Synthetic dyes used in detergents can contain heavy metals and other harmful compounds.
- Chlorine Bleach: This common laundry additive can create harmful byproducts when mixed with other chemicals, and its production and use can contribute to environmental pollution.
- 1,4-Dioxane: This is a byproduct of the ethoxylation process used to make some surfactants, and it’s classified as a probable human carcinogen.
Shop Best Natural Laundry Detergents
Do You Need a Special Detergent for Baby Clothes?

When I was pregnant and setting up a nursery that would never be used (Felix slept with us), everyone told me to wash all of his clothes in Dreft. After a bit of research, I decided against it (see below, under “The Bad Stuff”).
I’m sure there are people who separate baby linens from other household laundry–but if you’re using a nontoxic detergent there is no reason you cannot use it to wash all of the family’s clothing, including your baby’s!
More importantly, if my laundry detergent is an irritant for my babies’ skin (or worse), I don’t want to use it on my clothes! My own health aside, when my boys were infants, I spent about 30 percent of my day snuggling their little naked bodies to my clothed one, so I was determined to find a safe, natural laundry detergent.
Best Laundry Soap For Cloth Diapers & Baby Diapers
Mama Suds
Mama Suds is my favorite baby safe laundry detergent for cleaning cloth diapers and baby clothes. It’s gentle enough for a baby’s skin but tough enough for stubborn stains. And of course, it’s completely non-toxic, so concentrated that the large bottle lasts forever.

best Natural fabric protectors
Proof +
If you enjoy our natural laundry detergents and you want to protect your clothing fabric naturally then look no further. We are excited to introduce Proof+. A collection of non-toxic fabric protectors that are completely natural and free of all PFAs.
The clothing fabric Protector creates an invisible barrier that helps protect apparel from damage caused by liquid stains. Simply spray this treatment on any fabric and watch it magically repel liquids and help protect your favorite clothing from absorbing stains.

We’ve highlighted some of our favorite natural laundry detergents above, but a bunch of other brands meet our criteria for Good Stuff. You’ll find those, plus the brands we consider Okay, Bad, and Sneaky in the sections that follow.
I hope you found this guide helpful in your quest to find the best natural laundry detergent. Please comment below with other brands you’d like us to review–and we will include them in the next update of this guide.
Stay sane,

About the Author

Maia, Founder & CEO
Maia grew up in a Vermont household without a TV or microwave. She has been researching and writing about non-toxic products since 2010, and has appeared in a variety of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, New York Magazine, and The Dr. Oz Show. Maia lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons, and you can follow along as she tries to live a less toxic, more planet-friendly life here.
Note: This article contains affiliate links or sponsored content, which means that if you make a purchase, we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that meet our strict standards for non-toxicity and that we use (or want to use!) ourselves. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make Good Stuff!
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372 responses to “Best Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Guide (2024)”
What about Honest Landry detergent?
Honest is not so honest with some of their claims (e.g. “No SLS” but they use sodium coco sulfate which chemically is the same) but their detergent is fine anyway. I would recommend Dapple natural baby laundry pods. They clean better
Ok.. I just can’t stand it any more. I’m a PhD chemist and I formulate laundry detergents. The misinformation that is propagated by posts like this is just mind boggling. I am a mom too and I totally understand that you’re concern with health and safety of your children. Also I’m very “green”. I care deeply about the environment and try to pollute as little as possible. But please, let’s not get obsessed! Everything is toxic- it all depends on concentration. Water will kill you if you drink too much of it.
Let me share with some facts:
– petrochemicals are just as good/bad as “naturally derived” chemicals. It’s the chemical that is good/bad not the source/raw material
– phospahtes are bad for the environment but laundry waste water is a tiny fraction of the pollution. Overdosing and uneducated use of fertilizers is much bigger issue that should be addressed. Besides nobody uses phosphates in laundry anymore anyway (even though they work great!)
– SLS is not toxic/carcinogenic. In fact it is a great surfactant (cleaning agent). If it is applied directly on skin it can cause irritation (because it washes off protective oil on your skin so well) but when used in laundry it will be washed off and will not contact your skin.
– sodium metasilicate is totally safe cleaning agent/pH adjuster/soil redeposition agent. It can have “respiratory effect” if you want to breath it in.. But I wouldn’t recommend to sniff your powder detergent 🙂 And BTW essential oils can cause respiratory effect too if you breath the vapors but again it’s all about concentration.
– bleach is safe! Just don’t drink it or sniff it! And read the instructions about dilutions. The chlorine is there in a form of sodium hypochlorite and not in a form of toxic gas (unless you mix it with acidic toilet bowl cleaner…). It’s like saying eating table salt will kill you (salt contains chlorine and sodium).
In general you’re safe using most of the detergents.
However I have to agree on some of the points the author makes:
– I wouldn’t recommend optical brighteners – they are design to stay on the clothes so they appear whiter that they really are. They can cause some irritation to sensitive skin. Just dry your clothes outside if possible. Good old sun will do the brightening for you.
– avoid fragrance in general. You really don’t need it. Clean laundry should smell.. like nothing. That’s indication of clean laundry. At very low concentrations they are fine if you really want your laundry to smell but they can irritate sensitive skin
– dyes are totally unnecessary. And can be irritating. They add them for purely esthetical reasons.
– make sure ingredients are biodegradable. Just be nice for the environment.
I also recommend to use concentrated powders instead of liquids for two reasons:
1. don’t pay for water and extra packaging
2. to reduce the amount of chemicals. In liquid you have to add special chemicals (that don’t do any cleaning) to keep all ingredients “together” so they won’t phase separate but also won’t deactivate each other.
I can attach references if you ‘re interested. And please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to debunk some of the urban legends circulating around this topic.
Stay happy and healthy!I am curious what detergents you recommend that fit the requirements you laid out?
Hi my name is victor I have exactly what you are looking for SA8 detergent my email is vic.l.more86@gmail.com you can contact me for more information
Hi Maia, Anita and Stephanie,
What are your thoughts on Method’s Baby Laundry detergent (apparently only come in a liquid formula, unfortunately as I agree with you on Powder vs. Liquid Anita)? And in general, what are your thoughts on Free and Clear formulas? While generally I don’t disagree with you, Anita, on SLS it is not suitable for us because of an allergy in our family to SLS and SLES – and Dapple contains Sodium Coco Sulfate, chemically the same as SLS. Any suggestions?
Many thanks,
Terry
Hi Terry-
I don’t like Method–their baby detergent contains synthetic fragrance (although free of phthalates), optical brighteners, and PEG-chemicals. Free & Clear formulas vary by brand–some I think are good, others just pure greenwashing. Have you checked out Tandi’s laundry detergent? It’s made of beef tallow, which sounds weird, but it’s worked very well for us, and developed sort of a cult following.
So it doesn’t matter what time of laundry soap just avoid optical brighteners and make sure it is biodegradable. I have been trying to eliminate toxins in my house and it has been very overwhelming.
Hi Angie-
I know how overwhelming it can be, and it sounds like you’re off to a great start! In terms of laundry detergent, you definitely want to avoid optical brighteners and any synthetic fragrance. I hope the list of Good Stuff above will be helpful!
Thanks for the clarification and alternate perspective. After reading your thoughts/input I’m curious to know, what detergent to you use for your own family?
We use Tandi’s! As do the other Gimme the Good Stuff owners;)
I really respect what you said and how you said it. I’m wondering what resources you have to share for non scientists to review.
I’m also wondering what you think about the EWG.
As for the validity of avoiding “chemicals,” for some it is a matter of health. Chemical sensitivity is real- recognized by the CDC and HUD (requiring housing modifications for section 8 housing recipients who have MCS disorder). Most of us who are researching recommendations such as this site has to give are seeking resolutions after experiencing immune complications.
For me, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. Including not using soaps that remove my skin’s oil because it isn’t meant to be disturbed. Our bodies don’t need soap- they need oil and warm water to be cleaned.
Another interesting tidbit is the New Zealand study that illuminated SIDS by sealing the crib mattresses to illuminate off gassing. SIDS dropped from 150-some odd cases to zero. That is significant. If not for picking a non surfactant laundry detergent, avoiding the things mentioned for mattresses and furniture could be very valid.
And anyway, the way I generally feel about things is that we have choices for a reason. Different bodies respond to different household items the same way they respond to foods differently. It’s ok for someone to find a way of purchasing things that works for them that might be contrary to what chemists think, because scientific opinion changes. Particularly in regard to what’s deemed as safe in our homes and bodies.
Eliminate not illuminate
What detergent is best for flame resistant clothing? Tallow is not supposed to be used at all so they say. I just want my FR clothing to stay FR since I am a lineman. Meaning I work on 4100 KV to 500000KV.
I’m sorry, but this is outside my area of expertise! Maybe someone else will chime in with an answer!
Saponified coconut oil is really NOT THAT SAFE! Look at the research here or google it yourself – genotoxicity… https://academic.oup.com/mutage/article/19/6/441/1053259
“Let’s not get obsessed’…., “Everything is toxic…”, “water will kill you…”
It’s possible you MAY have had some good insights to share but when you start off by spouting the same buzzwords all the other pro chemical gmo people do I shut down. We AREN’T stupid, even natural things like mushrooms can kill you if you eat the wrong one! And who are you to judge how much risk (aka how ‘obsessed) we should or should not take with our health and the health of our families?If you want to have a real dialagoue and didn’t just come here to troll people you should start with some common courtesy and respect. But I caught where you said ‘bleach is safe” and all my monthes of research say otherwise so I wouldn’t trust a word you say. I feel bad for your children; if you don’t care that strongly about your health fine but DON’T risk smeone else’s health unessisarly.
Agree.
Bleach is safe? It’s corrosive, may cause asthma, and diminishes lung function. Not gonna use that in our home.
LOVED finding this site! Question on the detergents… are ALL of the “good” detergents 100% safe for baby skin (minus any allergies / sensitivities per baby)? THANK YOU!!!
Hi Stephanie!
Yes, I would feel comfortable using any of the Good Stuff on baby clothes.
Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into these guides!
I cloth diaper and am wondering if any of “The Good Stuff” Landry detergents would not work well for cloth diapering. Are there a few you think will clean them best? Thanks!
I’m wondering this too.
I need help finding a good cloth diaper laundry soap as well!
I’m struggling with the same thing. Unfortunately, all the detergents on this list seem to be “not recommended” for use with cloth diapers. According to the website Fluff Love University, they don’t recommend detergents if it “does not contain a sufficient concentration of surfactant to clean human waste from multi-layered cloth diapers when used at up to three times the manufacturer’s recommended use amount, uses a formula that is known to cause burns to users, uses a formula that will cause damage to cloth diapers or impede their function (as by coating fibers to trap soil or cause repelling of liquids), has been consistently shown to be ineffective among users in our Facebook troubleshooting group.”
Here’s a site I use to check: http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com/how-to-wash-cloth-diapers/detergent-index/
Personal results may vary, but in the mean time, I’m still searching!
I’m struggling with this exact same issue! The best detergent I’ve found that fluff love university recommends is Attitude, but I’m not sure if it would be considered “Good Stuff”….
I am in the same boat. Have always wanted to use a eco friendly, non toxic detergent for diapers and came here for recommendations, but we have VERY hard water and the only thing that doesn’t leave strong ammonia smells and funk is TIDE free and clear powder. Before reluctantly switching to TIDE, I was using Mighty Bubbles and adding Calgon to manage the build up and it still didn’t solve my washing problems. I fear that cloth diapers and hard water are incompatible for finding a safer detergent if you don’t want to be dealing with build up and bad odors.
What about Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda?
Nellie’s is Sneaky Stuff:(
What Ingredient in Nellie is considered sneaky? I want to go with tandi but it’s so incredibly expensive for a small amount and I am trying to find a detergent for my ezcema baby ?
Here are the ingredients the concern me in Nellie’s:
ttp://www.ewg.org/guides/substances/3124
http://www.ewg.org/guides/substances/5615
http://www.ewg.org/guides/substance_groups/55
http://www.ewg.org/guides/substances/1380
You mention that both Sonett & Eco-Me are your favorite. I’m not sure when this post was written, but I’m curious if you still like them both equally or if your opinion has changed on either. Thanks!
Sonett is my favorite:)
Thanks for this post…I was surprised to find my usual clothing detergent (Seventh Generation) on the ‘Sneaky’ list. I use ‘Rockin’ Green’ powered detergent on my cloth diapers and it does an excellent job. Would you recommend it?
Hi Anna-
Yes, Rockin Green looks good!Hi, did you ever hear anything about the detergent brand attitude for little ones.
Is saponified coconut oil really THAT safe? What about research studies on its genotoxicity? https://academic.oup.com/mutage/article/19/6/441/1053259
Rockin green will not effectively clean diapers. I use to use it and ended up with ammonia which caused ammonia burns on my LO.
what do you use instead? I am trying to get rid of the ammonia smell in my cloth diapers.
Hi. Have you been able to find anything to get rid of the ammonia smell? I’m having the same problems, and they smell just down right funky once my little one urinates in them. I currently use Tandis, and it’s not working well. 🙁
OK, I am old school being over 70, but I used to use a diaper pail full of water and add a cup of Borax . I would immediately throw rinse diapers and stained clothing into soak until laundry time. The whole thing plus my laundry soap got dumped in the machine for super soft stain freeand fresh smelling baby clothes.
I had the same issue with our cloth diapers. First i did a cold rinse then I added 3/4 cup of white vinegar to the bleach compartment (HE front loader) and washed with hot water. Problem solved!!
If possible, dry cloth diapers outside in bright sunshine. Will get rid of the ammonia.
I throw in a little vinegar and it seems to have done the trick. I also hang outside and it helps.
I am having a baby soon, wondering which detergent I should get to wash all her stuff in and that would be easy to get and supply….
looking at the Tandi’s, the Greenshield, or another company not sure if you have researched them yet, they are fairly new they are called MYGreenfills laundry detergent…. Let me know what you think.. and if any of these or if one you think works better than another.
My vote is for Tandi’s, and it’s what we use ourselves. I haven’t heard of MyGreenfills but will add it to the list for when we update this guide!
Have you heard of Lion Bear Naked Soap? Funny name I know, it’s a company based out of Denton, TX. Not very known, but I tried out their unscented laundry powder after seeing they had high EWG ratings. Makes our clothes smell fresh! I love it but I hate that shipping costs as much as the product..
Also what are your thoughts on Dapple?I am not familiar with Lion Bear soap, but will add to my list for a future investigation! Dapple is mostly okay, although there are other brands that I prefer.
Hi, Thanks for all the valuable information! I’m stocking up for a new baby and your site has been really helpful. Any thoughts on the GO by Greenshield Organic Laundry Detergent for Free & Clear for baby or regular? https://www.greenshieldorganic.com/product/organic-laundry/
DO you know much about Whole Foods lavender detergent ?
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