When it comes to cleaning your home, sometimes you forget just how toxic and synthetic material based many of the common products are. Whenever you’re in a supermarket and you look at all the different cleaning supplies, majority of the items will be packaged or made with plastic!
Affiliate disclaimer: Where possible I have added links to products to help you find them – they may be affiliate links and if you buy through them I might get a commision – just so you know! Thanks!
Although sometimes it can feel impossible to escape the endless aisles of plastic containers in shops, there are ways of bringing less plastic into your home while increasing the demand for more environmentally friendly alternatives.
Why should we buy eco friendly cleaning products?
With plastic pollution being everywhere, it’s important to notice the amount of bottles that get thrown out on a daily basis around the world, and cleaning products are apart of this. With over 400 million tonnes of plastic waste being produced every year, cutting down on how much we buy and throw away is a huge step.
As well as the plastic pollution matter, many cleaning products damage the environment too. Many conventional cleaning products can emit VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which are often used in products such as paints and adhesives, and these can often be a trigger symptoms of allergies or asthma. Plus, who wants to buy products for cleaning their home which have the words ‘Toxic to wildlife!’ or ‘Warning!’ are on them!?
Whenever buying eco products, I like to find ones that are not only nontoxic, but are made of natural ingredients and leave as little impact on the planet in the sense of biodegradability. Just because these products clean our homes doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider their impact and if they actually biodegrade – if the products are made of natural materials then they’re obviously more likely to biodegrade in the waterways!
Eco friendly cleaning brands to check out
Below I’ve curated a list of different brands that have little impact on the planet when it comes to cleaning. Some brands are available in both the UK and the US, so make sure you check them out!
Ecover
Although mainly known for laundry and dishwashing products, Ecover also make home cleaning products – from multi action surface cleaner, to bathroom cleaner and window cleaner. Their bottles are made of 100% PCR plastic (post-consumer recycled plastic) and are fully recyclable, as well as their ingredients being plant based and biodegradable.
Although they’re not certified vegan, they don’t use any animal or animal-derived ingredients in their products and they’re completely cruelty free with the Leaping Bunny certification. Make sure you check out your local zero waste or bulk store to see if they stock their refill products too! They also have a map on the ecover website of all the places that have the refills, if you’re unsure where to look.
Type of refill Liquid concentrate for spray surface cleaner, which comes in a PCR plastic bottle
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Post-consumer recycled plastic bottles
Where is it available? In the UK, US, and Europe – Most supermarkets, as well as their online store
Price range £2.50 for spray bottles, £5 for refills (which is enough for 3 500ml bottles)
Fill
Fill do a wide range of different refillable products for your home, both household cleaning and bathroom products like body wash and hand soap. Fill package their products in glass bottles which you can then refill by either finding a local refill store (which you can find on their website) or you can by refill bags than you can send back to them when you’re finished for another refill!
All of Fill products are designed to be in a closed loop and constantly reused and refilled. They’re completely vegan and cruelty free with certifications from the Vegan Society and the Leaping Bunny, as well as being a Certified B Corporation and 1% for the Planet! They’re biodegradable as well as being eco friendly, and all of their products come fragrance free too.
Type of refill Bag-in-box refills which you can send back to be refilled, or many eco stores stock Fill
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Glass bottles with either a metal screw cap, plastic pump or spray attachment. Sent in 100% recyclable paper and card.
Where is it available? In the UK from their online store or from a local eco store
Price range Around £7.50 for 500ml bottles, between £18 and £35 for 5L refill bags and £30 – £60 for 10L refill bags.
Blueland
If you’re looking to find refills for your bottles or even subscriptions, then you should definitely check out Blueland. If you’re in need of a new spray bottle for your home, Blueland has a selection of bottles and refill tablets available for different parts of the house – when buying one of their Forever bottles you also get three refill tablets, which is enough for three full bottles of cleaner. As well as their selection of spray cleaners – multi purpose, bathroom, and glass & mirror, Blueland also make dishwasher tablets, dish soap, toilet cleaners, and hand soap.
All of Blueland’s refill packets are compostable, and their spray and soap bottles are recyclable – but if you don’t have anywhere near you to recycle them, you can send them back and they’ll recycle the bottles! All their products are cruelty free and vegan, and they’re also a certified B Corporation, Climate Neutral and Leaping Bunny certified.
Type of refill Dissolvable tablets
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Their forever bottles are made of Tritan, tablet wrappers are compostable
Where is it available? The US, and on their online store which ships to the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
Price range Refill tablets – £8, £15, or £26 (for 3, 6, or 12 packs), Starter sets – £18 (bottle and three tablets), Essentials bundle – £38 (three spray bottles and soap bottle + one tablet for each bottle)
OceanSaver
OceanSaver is another brand that makes concentrated cleaning solutions – though these are made as sachets rather than tablets! Their EcoDrops are liquid concentrates that are wrapped in a water soluble and biodegradable PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) film which dissolve in the spray bottle!
Each EcoDrop is readily available to buy on their own without a bottle, so you can reuse any old spray bottles you have at home – some are better suited for either a 500ml or 750ml bottle, just make sure you check. Although they’re not certified yet, OceanSaver is both cruelty free and vegan, and you can start to find them in supermarkets as well as local eco shops!
Type of refill Liquid concentrated sachet
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging The sachets dissolvable and are made of PVOH, and are packaged in a cardboard box with a paper sticker
Where is it available? In the UK, on their online store and in eco stores
Price range Sachets are £1.75 each, or also available in packs of 5 at £8.50, or available with a plastic spray bottle for £5.99
Neat.
This UK brand makes a selection of cleaning sprays that you can readily refill at home. With their passion to reduce single use plastics, Neat. make 500ml reusable aluminium spray bottles with their refills coming in small glass bottles. You can buy either a starter pack (which comes with a spray bottle and refill) or you can buy just the concentrated refills – either on their own or as bundles.
Neat. have a range of multi surface sprays (three different scents and an unscented), a bathroom spray, a daily shower spray, and a glass and mirror spray. They also offer a couple of scents in their hand wash range too! I really like the fact that Neat. sell their refills in glass bottles, because although it’s not perfect, it’s a great alternative for those who don’t have access to a food waste collection service or a compost bin! They’re also completely cruelty free and vegan, as well as being a certified B corp.
Type of refill Liquid concentrate in a glass bottle
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Refills come in glass bottles, Spray bottles are made of aluminium, and come packaged in cardboard
Where is it available? In the UK, on their online store and in some supermarkets
Price range Refills are £2.50 – £3, soap bottles starter packs are £8, and spray cleaner starter packs are £7
If you’re interested in living more low waste, make sure you check out my beginners guide to living zero waste!
Bide planet
Bide is another UK based brand which not only tries to help battle climate change, but they also employ marginalised people like refugees and people dealing with addiction, helping people get back on their feet and earn a living. Bide already has many different sustainability aspects in play, including using Leaping Bunny certified raw materials, their packaging being made of recyclable and home compostable materials (including their compostable pouches and cornstarch packing peanuts), and they don’t use any palm oil in their products.
They make a small range of home cleaning products, including laundry powder, toilet cleaners, dishwasher powder and washing up liquid concentrate, as well as body wash and hand soap, and glass pump and spray bottles for your refills. They’re completely vegan, cruelty free, palm oil free, and a certified B Corp.
Type of refill Liquid and powder concentrate
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Pouches are made of kraft paper, plant cellulose, and plant based starch – All products are recycle and home compostable
Where is it available? In the UK, on their online store
Price range Between £3 and £10
Smol
You’ll probably recognise Smol from their letterbox dishwasher and laundry pods, but they now also make an all purpose spray too! When signing up for a free trail to their refill subscription you’ll get sent a lifetime bottle and a refill tablet – you only have to pay for the postage fee.
The packaging for the 6-pack tablet refills are completely plastic free and compostable, and are sent in fully cardboard boxes. They’re also completely vegan and cruelty free with the Leaping Bunny certification. The only downside I have with the Smol spray bottles is that you cannot buy the refill tablets on their own, you have to sign up for the free trail and then continue with a subscription service. You can purchase bathroom and glass tablet refills too, but these are only available once you have purchased the starter kit.
Type of refill Dissolvable tablet – only available to purchase with the bottle
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Their bottles are made of PCR plastic, tablet sachets are home compostable, subscription boxes are made of cardboard
Where is it available? The UK and Germany, on their online store
Price range Free trails are £2 (for postage), 6 pack refills are £6
Raindrop
If you’re looking for cleaning brand that comes with a full set of sprays for around the house, you should definitely check out Raindrop. They make a small selection of dissolvable refill sachets (powders and tablets) that each go with a reusable glass bottle, for both their spray cleaners and foaming hand wash.
Raindrop also offer a subscription service, so you can make sure that all your refill bottles stay topped up – but you can still buy the refill sachets on their own. Each spray has a specific scent – multi surfaces is lavender, kitchen is grapefruit, and bathroom is lemon, while their soap refills have 7 different scents to chose from. Along with their sprays, Raindrop also make a zero waste spray mop, which comes with its own refill tablet, so you can keep floor cleaning as eco as possible!
Type of refill Dissolvable powders and tablets, with glass spray and pump bottles
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Sachets are plastic free and dissolvable, shipping boxes are recycled cardboard
Where is it available? The UK, from their online store
Price range Refills are £6.99 – for 3 spray refills or 4 soap refills, starter kits with three spray bottles is £29.99 and £26.99 for two soap bottles
Spruce
Completely free of single use plastics, Spruce is a great place to look when finding out eco cleaning products. All of their refill powders come packaged in compostable paper sachets, which you can get on their own or as a set with their aluminium Eternity spray bottles
Spruce make both a bathroom and multipurpose spray, as well as a floor cleaner. They use 100% organic essential oils for their cleaning products, which includes geranium for their multipurpose spray, eucalyptus for their bathroom spray, and geranium, patchouli & bergamot for their floor cleaner. They’re also certified by the Vegan Society as well as being a certified B Corp.
Type of refill Dissolvable powder refills, with aluminium spray bottles
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes – they are certified by the Vegan Society
Packaging Their refills come packaged in compostable paper sachets
Where is it available? In the UK, from their online store
Price range Refills – £9.99 – £21, Starter kits – £8 for one bottle, £15 for both bottles
Iron and Velvet
Iron and Velvet was actually the brand that introduced me to cleaning refills, so it would be rude to not include them! They are completely plastic free, meaning that none of their sachets contain or are packaged with plastic, nor are they sent in plastic packaging either!
They have so many different scents available, and sachets for pretty much any kind of cleaner you can think of – antibacterial cleaner (for either bathroom or kitchen), floor cleaner, kitchen surfaces, oven cleaner, glass and mirror, bathroom cleaner, and a daily shower spray. Their concentrated liquid sachets are made of PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) so they completely dissolve and don’t leave any micro plastics behind either.
Type of refill Liquid concentrated sachet
Vegan and cruelty free? Yes
Packaging Sachets are made of PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) which is dissolvable, and they’re sent in 100% recycled cardboard boxes with paper tape
Where is it available? In the UK, on their online store and other eco stores
Price range £2 per refill, £10-£15 for bundles
These are just a few brands that you could switch to when considering eco cleaning alternatives, let me know if I missed your favourite! Although it doesn’t feel like a huge step, something as simple as cleaning products helps more than you’d think.
Looking for more sustainable ideas? Check out my other posts!
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