Laundry Detergent

Ultra-concentrated and totally plastic-free, our refillable natural laundry detergent is about to be your new can't-live-without sustainable home essential. With just four all-natural ingredients, this eco-detergent is safe for babies, sensitive skin, and septic systems but cleans like an absolute champ. Tough enough to handle the grime but gentle enough for delicates, your laundry will come out smelling fresh but not overpowering thanks to our light essential oils, with zero residue (even in cold water) and no plastic containers or pods in sight.

Refillable Laundry Detergent Quick Details:

• All-natural and biodegradable ingredients
• Safe for babies, sensitive skin, and septic systems
• Ultra-concentrated (just 1 tbsp or less per load)
• Plastic-free and truly zero waste with closed-loop refills
• Vegan, cruelty-free, and palm oil free

✨ Round out your sustainable laundry routine with our reusable wool dryer balls and natural oxi-booster pods.

Size

16oz = 32-64 loads
32oz = 64-128 loads
64oz = 128 - 256 loads

Ingredients

Castile Soap (Coconut Oil, Distilled Water, Sodium Hydroxide), Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Tetraborate, Sodium Carbonate, Pure Essential Oils* (not included in unscented)

* A note about rosewood: Did you know that rosewood (Aniba rosodora) is classified as an endangered species due to urban development, agriculture, and logging? But don't worry - you can still enjoy the floral, earthy delight of rosewood in our natural laundry detergent, because it doesn't actually contain rosewood! Our rosewood detergent is scented with a blend of essential oils created to mimic the smell of rosewood, without harming endangered species.

To Use

For machine washing: Sprinkle the laundry detergent directly into the drum before adding laundry (yes, you can do this with high-efficiency machines, too!). For regular machines use just one tablespoon of detergent, or 1/2 tablespoon for high-efficiency machines.

Pro-tip: For machines without an agitator, add the detergent in a donut shape to the drum. Thank you to EcoWarrior Jessica for this sustainable laundry tip!

For hand-washing: Fill your sink or a bucket with warm water, and sprinkle in ½ or 1 tablespoon of laundry detergent and stir until it’s dissolved. Add your delicates and gently wash as you normally would by hand. Rinse clean with fresh water.

As a stain releaser: Mix a small amount of our laundry detergent with a bit of water to create a watery paste. Apply the paste directly to stains and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then add to your washer and wash as normal.

Read our guide to a fully sustainable laundry routine.

Packaging + End of Life

Our refillable natural laundry detergent is packaged in a glass jar with a metal lid or in a reused plastic bag.

When you’re running low on detergent, order another jar here, but choose “Refill Jar” or "Refill Bag." When you order a Refill Jar, we’ll include a return label for your old jar so you can send it back to us at no cost. We’ll sanitize and reuse the jar. (If you're in our local delivery radius, just leave your empty jar on your porch on delivery day!)

* What's up with the plastic bag?

Our caps and pumps come to us in plastic bags. It's one of those things that's out of our control. We've been saving these bags since we launched in 2019, trying to figure out what to do with them. In November 2021, we took to Instagram to find out how you, our EcoWarriors, would feel about using them for shipping laundry detergent. Overwhelmingly you all voted to reuse them. So we've added this as an option!

Now here's what you need to know...

• These bags are intended for shipping only, not delivery. The bags reduce weight in shipping and therefore cut costs for both you and us. We also only have a limited amount of these bags. If you are within our delivery radius, we kindly ask that you please choose a jar option, as that is the most sustainable option for delivery.
• We will not be taking these bags back for reuse. We do not have a way to wash and sanitize them effectively.
• We will never purchase plastic bags for this purpose. If we run out, we run out. At that point, then, the only options will be the jars.

We're so grateful to have a community of EcoWarriors that values progress over perfection, and reuse over new. Thank you for helping us give these bags another life!

Origin

Handmade in La Conner, Washington.

Ethical Guarantees

Made in the USA
Palm Oil-free
Vegan
Washington local
Woman-owned

🌎 You care about the planet. So do we.

Look. I get it. It’s HARD to be an EcoWarrior. Someone who cares about the planet and wants the most sustainable products available - from the ingredients to the packaging to the way that product gets to your hands.

It seems like everywhere we turn, someone, somewhere, is greenwashing us.

But our superpower at A Drop in the Ocean is sorting through the BS, calling it out, and making sure our products are the absolute most sustainable and truly zero waste products we can find.

So on top of all the things we mentioned above about what makes our zero waste laundry detergent so sustainable, here’s a few other things you should know:

• We’re actually practicing what we preach behind the scenes. In 2022, we saved all of our trash for four months, and wrote a whole blog post on it. The tl;dr version is this: in four months, we only produced two pounds of trash. Everything from the packaging our products come in down to the Sharpie we use to write “Fragile” on your box is zero waste to its core.
• We’re an online-only zero waste store - which is highly intentional. It may seem counter-intuitive, but online shopping is actually more sustainable than in-person. I’m a data nerd at heart and I love diving into the research, and there are countless studies that have shown that online shopping is the most sustainable way to get your everyday essentials. Don’t believe me? Check out our whole blog post on the sustainability of online shopping.
• We ship ugly boxes. Your order from A Drop in the Ocean is not going to arrive in a pretty, branded box. It’s gonna show up in a reused tea box, or a donated Amazon box, or maybe even an inside-out Girl Scout Cookies box. All of our shipping materials are always 100% plastic-free and reused as much as possible, with curbside-recyclable paper tape and a post-consumer recycled paper shipping label. It won’t be pretty, but it will be zero waste.

Got more questions about our zero waste products or our practices behind the scenes? Just send us an email! I’m always happy to chat all things eco.