Rethink the way you clean your home to create a safer environment.
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
Rethink the way you clean your home to create a safer environment.
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
It won’t be a huge surprise for avid cleaners, but baking soda really is a miracle cleaner and a naturally occurring substance. You can use it to deodorize your fridge, clean kitchen counters, remove stains from carpets, polish silverware, and even whiten your teeth. You can use baking soda to make your own cleaning products at home too.
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Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap is made with all plant-based materials and is fully biodegradable—and the packaging is 100 percent recyclable too. Note that it’s three times more concentrated than most other liquid soaps, so you’re definitely getting the best bang for your buck, but always remember to dilute it. You can use it as an eco-friendly laundry detergent, for washing pets, mopping, and more. Wojenski even uses it as a produce wash!
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Grove Co.’s Multi-Purpose Cleaner is heavily concentrated, so you can use a one-ounce bottle of concentrated solution to produce 16 ounces of cleaner. “Most cleaners are primarily water and create extra waste both in packaging and distributing,” Wojenski says. This, in part, makes the concentrate a more sustainable choice. This two-pack of concentrate comes with a reusable glass spray bottle, so next time, you’ll only need to purchase the concentrate. The formula is 92 percent plant-based and biodegradable.
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Aunt Fannie’s Vinegar Wash Floor Cleaner is EPA-certified and healthy for both pets and children, so you can clean wood, stone, and tile without fear. The formula, comprised of vinegar, essential oils, and plant-based ingredients, boasts great grime-lifting powers. One verified Amazon reviewer was even wowed by its amazing ability to get rid of pet odors. Just remember to dilute it before using.
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This carpet and rug shampoo is EPA-recommended and the perfect product to use if you’re sensitive to strong scents. Made with a mixture of plant-based ingredients, it’s safe to use not just on carpets but for all washable fibers. Biokleen ensures that all their products are free of chlorine, phosphate, ammonia, and artificial color. This cleaner is specifically great for getting out tough stains.
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You might think it would be easy to find an eco-friendly dish soap, but that’s not always the case. Common Good Dish Soap fights germs and breaks through grease, as well as using biodegradable ingredients and a recyclable bottle. It’s paraben- and phosphate-free and contains essential oils that won’t dry out your hands.
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We can’t talk about cleaning your dishes without also mentioning your pots and pans—they’re notoriously hard to clean, and it can be time-consuming to let them soak. But Grab Green’s Cookware & Bakeware Cleaner Pods solve this issue because they easily remove burnt-on food messes without a ton of scrubbing, plus they’re formulated to work on stainless steel, enameled cookware, glass, and aluminum. To use, you’ll drop one of the plant-based pods in your cookware and fill it with warm water. Wait five minutes, then rinse. Reviewers have also used the pods to successfully clean air fryers and Instant Pots. Grab Green also makes cleaner pods for garbage disposals, dishwashers, laundry detergent, and more.
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When talking about eco-friendly cleaning supplies, you may not have thought about your sponges, but they’re easily one of the most-used cleaning items in the home. Not surprising, the bright yellow and green sponges you see on supermarket shelves aren’t made with natural coloring and are full of plastics, dyes, and chemicals. This walnut scrubber sponge is all-natural, with a tough scrubbing side made from walnut shells and recycled plastic, and a sponge side made with plant-based cellulose. Plus, it’s non-scratch, so it’s safe for most cookware.
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While they don’t create the suds in your washer you’d normally see with a liquid or a pod, these laundry strips are hypoallergenic, entirely plant-based, and come in plastic-free packaging. With one ultra-concentrated strip, you can clean a whole load, or split it in two for smaller loads. Verified Amazon reviewer Aro wrote that not only were they powerful at cleaning up dirty tablecloths and napkins, but “I was pleased that the clothes simply smelled clean, no perfumes. Also the little bag the strips come in takes up much, much less space on the shelf than the old plastic jug. I was using a concentrated laundry soap, but these take up even less space.”
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If you’re more of a pod person, Dropps Detergent Pods are here to help. They’re made of natural, plant-based ingredients and can help eliminate odors, even on soiled workout gear—in fact, the formula is made specifically to break into the tight-weave of performance fabrics. They can be used in any washing machine, and the packaging is recyclable, compostable cardboard. Win-win!
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Method has long been a go-to source for natural cleaning solutions, and this antibacterial toilet cleaner is no different. Typically, toilet cleaners have strong scents that are nearly as bad as the smells you’re trying to get rid of. This one smells like spearmint and uses ingredients like citric acid to fight off grime and germs (it kills 99.9 percent of them).
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It’s actually pretty tough to make bathroom cleaning products super eco-friendly. The EWG has given only four shower cleaning products “A” recognition, and Lemi Shine Shower & Tile Cleaner is one of them. You can use the plant-based formula on glass, tile, tubs, and fixtures, plus it includes their special GunkGuard formula, which helps keep surfaces cleaner longer. Verified Amazon reviewer Celine Kate noted that, “I had a stubborn shower stain. I was about to give up hope. My shower stall material is that stubborn cheap stuff that doesn’t clean easily. It took about five to six treatments, but now my shower is SPARKLY CLEAN! The bottle sprays foamy and thick. I am extremely pleased.”
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What exactly makes a cleaning product eco-friendly? According to Samara Geller, a senior science analyst at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the term is unregulated and has no legal definition.
While we generally have an image of an eco-friendly product being one that’s good for the environment, unfortunately, the term is sometimes used by companies trying to mask hazardous ingredients in their formulas. According to Geller, those ingredients will likely be referred to in super generic terminology, like “cleaning agent,” “colorant,” or “preservative.” Geller says “shoppers should look for a product with complete ingredient transparency so they can reduce their exposure to chemicals or avoid a particular substance they may be allergic to.”
While they may be labeled in a number of ways on a bottle, Geller suggests avoiding these ingredients:
For more information, check out EWG’s label guide to how to read ingredients properly.
“Eco-friendly” isn’t the only vague label—the same goes for the term “natural,” which also has no legal definition and isn’t regulated. However, items that tout the term “plant-based” have formulas containing a certain percentage of bio-based ingredients, rather than ones that come from petrochemicals. However, the “plant-based” label doesn’t guarantee that all the ingredients in a formula are plant-based, so it’s another one to watch out for. In terms of regulated labels:
There are so many reasons to use eco-friendly cleaning products, but among the most important is health and safety. Geller notes that some products, like oven cleaners and toilet bowl cleaners, are made with corrosive chemicals that can burn eyes, skin, and even your respiratory tract. Products with hydrochloric acid or sodium hypochlorite (bleach) can also cause severe skin damage.
Environmentally friendly products also focus on producing less waste. They often have ingredients that can break down naturally and are packaged in recyclable or biodegradable materials. The key is to recycle cleaning product containers when you can so that they don’t end up in a landfill.
Did you know that 91 percent of plastic isn’t recycled and just ends up as pollution? Here’s what actually happens to the nine percent of plastic items that are recycled.
Aside from the packaging, it’s important to look at where products are made. Locally sourced goods create fewer carbon emissions, use less energy, and have a smaller carbon footprint than items that have been shipped from across the globe—especially those using fossil fuels, as opposed to natural resources. Those emissions (also known as greenhouse gases) contribute to climate change.
To get the skinny on sustainable cleaning, we asked Geller and Alexandra Wojenski, a team lead and sustainable cleaning expert at Grove Collaborative, to tell us about their go-to eco-friendly cleaning products.
We reached out to two green cleaning experts to explain the meanings of eco-friendly terms and to choose their favorite products in this category.
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