The Only 3 Non-Toxic Laundry Products You Need According to Our Expert
Learn why these are the best non-toxic laundry products on the market!
Being clean shouldn’t be a chore.
We don’t want living a non-toxic and eco-friendly lifestyle to feel like a chore or overwhelming. Having personally used this simplified list of non-toxic laundry products in my own home, I can assure you, this is ALL you need! 🙌🏼
*I’m neither a scientist nor a doctor. This information is based on my personal experience, research, and opinion. You should always consult a healthcare professional before making any changes to your current regimen or if you have questions.
Why skip traditional laundry products?
The most popular and eye-catching name brands you see on store shelves contain a plethora of chemicals that may cause hormone disruption, respiratory problems, risk of cancer, and much more.
Your skin is your largest organ and it absorbs every single thing you put on it including the laundry detergent your clothes are washed in. Our skin is a protective barrier for many things, but it cannot protect from chemicals found in laundry detergent.
Here are just a few of the chemicals commonly found in traditional laundry products:
- 🛑 Artificial dyes – May cause disruptions to the immune system.
- 🛑 Bleach – At low levels, it can irritate skin and mucus membranes.
- 🛑 Borax – Toxic to humans, including reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity.
- 🛑 Formaldehyde – Can irritate eyes, nose, and throat.
- 🛑 Optical brighteners – May cause harm to sensitive skin.
- 🛑 Parabens – Commonly cause skin sensitivities and allergies.
- 🛑 Phosphates – Linked to cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and death.
- 🛑 Phthalates – Can impact your natural hormones and lead to serious health issues such as lower fertility, development issues, and a higher risk of cancer.
- 🛑 Propylene Glycol – Reported adverse effects from PG toxicity include central nervous system (CNS) toxicity, hyperosmolarity, hemolysis, cardiac arrhythmia, seizures, agitation, and lactic acidosis.
- 🛑 Synthetic Fragrances, “Parfum”, or “Fragrance” – May cause headaches, breathing difficulties, cardiovascular and neurological problems, mucosal irritation, and contact dermatitis. Higher risk of cancer.
Below are the BEST non toxic laundry products that are safe for you, your home, and the environment:
- Laundry Detergent – Molly’s Suds
- Stain Remover – Mama Suds Stain Stick
- Dryer – Handy Laundry Wool Dryer Balls
1. Best Laundry Detergent: Molly’s Suds Laundry Powder
Molly’s Suds Laundry Detergent Powder – $14.99+ (21¢ per load)
How you can save:
- Subscribe & Save the 10-pound pack and pay just 15¢ per load!
This non-toxic laundry detergent has JUST 5 ingredients (4 ingredients for unscented), rates an “A” on EWG (which is a great way to check for a product’s ingredients if you’re not familiar), and it’s cost-effective too.
With truly natural and organic Earth ingredients, this also makes this product 100% biodegradable, and it’s never tested on animals. It even has thoughtful packing which is recyclable and less cumbersome than big jugs or bottles of detergent. To top it off, they even use non-toxic inks! 👏🏻 Unless you’re buying a clean laundry product from a local zero-waste store, this small recyclable bag is the smallest footprint you could ask for compared to competitors. 🙌🏼
To recap, here are the top 5 reasons why you should switch to Molly’s Suds:
- ✅ Only 5 Earth-derived ingredients (4 ingredients for unscented)
- ✅ 100% Biodegradable product
- ✅ Naturally, stain-fighting
- ✅ Certified cruelty-free (NOT tested on animals)
- ✅ Competitive pricing to large name brands
2. Best Stain Remover: Mama Suds Stain Stick
Mama Suds Stain Stick – $7.50 (Shipping is $10 or FREE with orders $75+)
How you can save:
- Save on shipping by finding it locally or score 15% OFF by opting for Subscribe & Save on MamaSuds.com. MamaSuds is not sold by other online 3rd party retailers.
Don’t let the small size of this stain stick steer you away because it packs a serious punch and it’s very long-lasting and extremely saturated. As a bonus, it smells HEAVENLY! It’s lasted just as long if not longer than competitors that are 3-4x the size of this stick. 🙌🏼
Sodium Olivate (Saponified Olive Oil) is the ONLY ingredient (in addition to water) in this magical Mama Suds stain stick! 😱 They use the finest quality pesticide-free, non-GMO olive oil they can source at a good price making it affordable for consumers too. Every product is packaged with recyclable materials and/or reused materials from their supply orders. With such a minimal footprint and 100% biodegradable ingredients, MamaSuds provides the best environmentally friendly and non-toxic stain remover product on the market.
To recap, here are the top 5 reasons why you should switch to MamaSuds:
- ✅ Just one simple ingredient
- ✅ Long-lasting
- ✅ 100% Biodegradable
- ✅ Never tested on animals
- ✅ Travel friendly
Note that Baking Soda (AKA Sodium Bicarbonate) + Hydrogen Peroxide can be great at getting out stains and is a very affordable alternative, but I opted not to include this as a top stain-removing option because Arm & Hammer, Bob’s Red Mill, and other large manufacturers of baking soda chemically produce their products.
Both MamaSuds and Molly’s Suds use baking soda that is mined in western Colorado by Natural Soda in its purest form nahcolite. Their operation uses an efficient and environmentally friendly solution mining process to recover pure, naturally occurring baking soda without any chemical alteration. Note that baking soda is not used in the above stain stick but is in other products from their brand.
3. Best for Drying: Handy Laundry Wool Dryer Balls
Handy Laundry Wool Dryer Balls, 4-Pack – $8.89+ ($2.22 each)
How you can save:
- Opt for a larger 12-pack to pay just $1.49 per wool ball.
Wool dryer balls are the most environmentally responsible alternative to dryer sheets (next to air drying) and can be used endlessly. They’re sustainable, and earth-safe, and they reduce drying time by up to 25%. To add some scent to the wool balls, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oils (I prefer Plant Therapy’s Certified Organic Peppermint Oil).
Handy Laundry Balls offer a competitive price point, easy accessibility, and they’re cruelty-free. Plus, I love that they use 100% New Zealand premium wool (the world’s leading producer of wool) with no synthetic fillers and they’re rolled into tight, extra-large balls and felted for a natural, long-lasting product.
To recap, here are the top 5 reasons why you should switch to 100% wool balls:
- ✅ Endlessly reusable
- ✅ 100% Biodegradable
- ✅ Saves money and energy with faster drying time
- ✅ Baby and animal-safe
- ✅ Made of sustainable and renewable resources
Hip Tip: How to avoid static: Some people who have tried (or currently use) dryer balls have complained that they make laundry more static, so to avoid this you can place safety pins on your dryer balls which provide conductivity and help dissipate built-up static charge. Of course, do this at your discretion especially when drying delicate clothes.
As you may have seen, we announced a new non-toxic series! Every week we’ll be sharing a helpful guide to replacing products in your home with the best non-toxic products on the market.
Read more about our Clean Series to ditch more toxins in your home.
The stain stick you listed sounds like just what I need. You mentioned that Mama Suds uses a environmentally friendly mining of baking soda, but I want to be sure, baking soda is not in the stain stick product, correct?
Also do you know of a safe way to get dingy laundry bright again, like tees and towels?
This is a great new feature of Hip2save. Thanks!
Hey, ihearthip! Sodium Olivate (Saponified Olive Oil) is the ONLY ingredient in the stain stick – so there is no baking soda in that product. 🙂
I don’t currently have a toxic-free process I use to make whites brighter, but I will let you know if I hear of anything.
Thanks for the info! I was hoping you would do a post on laundry products. It is the one thing I was having trouble with converting over to natural.
You’re very welcome, Carol! I hope you enjoy these products as much as I do. 🙂
The EWG is not a reliable source of information. They are heavily funded by an organic lobby and sell their “certifications” at at hefty price to companies. Then they turn around and sell those products through their affiliate links. Sound kinda scammy? Exactly. You can find more in the article here: https://www.theecowell.com/blog/a-case-against-the-ewg.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Dee. We do value everyone’s opinion here at Hip. I just want to mention that aside from the EWG rating mentioned in my post, these products were thoroughly vetted in various other ways to ensure they’re the safest and most environmentally safe laundry products on the market.
Of course, we all want the facts and so I shared factual information. We should all learn more about the ingredients in the products we use. For instance, the Glyceryl Undecylenate in the Molly’s Suds can cause minor skin irritation. Without knowing the concentration in the product, it’s not a given that it would cause irritation or that it wouldn’t. Every product contains chemicals; it’s the concentration that matters. Even “safe” and “natural” ingredients can be toxic depending on the concentration. Apple seeds are natural, but eating enough of them (200 or so) is a fatal dose.
Yes, I agree, it’s always good to know the facts, Dee. I just want to confirm that the only ingredients in the laundry detergent I shared above are Sodium Carbonate (sourced from the Green River Basin in Wyoming), Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate), Unrefined Sea Salt, and Peppermint Essential Oil. So there’s no Glyceryl Undecylenate in this product.
Yes, the Glyceryl Undecylenate is in the Molly’s Suds stain remover spray, which isn’t the detergent itself, but a companion product.
Personally, I would avoid the peppermint oil in the laundry soap if I was doing laundry that included baby clothes, but that’s just me being cautious.
Thanks for the link! That was interesting.
I’ve switched to all not toxic cleaning in an attempt to reduce symptoms from neurological conditions I have. I haven’t tried Molly’s Suds but I have read excellent reviews. Currently using Sal Suds for laundry and some cleaning, along with castille soap and baking soda. I love them both! I use vinegar as a fabric softener in the wash and with a few dryer balls. I look forward to other posts like these.
It sounds like you’ve already made some great swaps, amyh! Thanks so much for following along with our series.
I tried the safety pins in the wool dryer balls hack and the safety pins opened and/or fell out of the dryer balls. The last thing I need is a sharp point rolling around my dryer poking holes in my clothes. Any other suggestions.
Exactly! When I complained about the dryer balls and static, safety pins were suggested. I don’t want holes in my clothes either! I do not use dryer sheets. Have stuck with the balls but they just become frustrating to find.
So sorry to hear the safety pins opened/fell out, Lori! I checked with Sara and she hasn’t had any issues with hers. She did say that they were in there pretty good and she uses the larger heavy duty safety pins if that helps. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any other hacks that might be helpful! 💕
Sara and Team – thank you for the info!
I much appreciate your research and knowledge 💕
I love my wool dryer balls, have been using them for years and rarely experience static, certainly not enough to need to add safety pins. Perhaps it’s geographical. We live in NC and Florida.
You’re so welcome, Julie! Thank you for following along with our Clean Series. 🙂 I do think you’re onto something with the geographical differences as the air is super dry where I live during the winter and during warmer months I don’t experience static at all. Maybe I should move south. 😉
If you’re vegan, try HEMP or BAMBOO dryer balls.