11 Harmful Ingredients in Your Laundry Detergent & How You Can Avoid Them

One of the first things I switched over when going “non-toxic” was my laundry soap. Why you might ask? Well, because we wear our clothes all day and night, which means whatever chemicals/ingredients are used to wash them touch our skin and we breathe them in for long periods of time.

Conventional laundry detergents (even those marketed for babies) have ingredients that can post significant health hazards. Did you know that Dreft scores an “F”, meaning they are of the highest concern, in the EWG database?! Many other free and clear options do as well. Ouch!

Additionally, I wanted to have a detergent that was good to go for the whole family. No trying to figure out what is “safe” for the baby and what isn’t. All about ease of use over here.

Are there Toxic Chemicals in Laundry Detergent? Yup.

Conventional laundry detergents contain some pretty harmful ingredients that you’ll want to avoid. Here are 11 of them:

Which Type of Laundry Detergent is Best?

Ones that have clean ingredients and none of the yucky ones above. This is what I look for when searching for a laundry detergent:

The Safest Non-Toxic Laundry Detergents:

The good news is that many brands have great options for you to swap your toxic laundry detergent over to a clean alternative!

Branch Basics Laundry Kit

Ingredients: Purified Water, Decyl Glucoside, Chamomile Extract, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Phytate

Where to Buy: Branch Basics (Get $10 off Branch Basics*)

Pure Natural Laundry Detergent (Baby)

Ingredients: USDA Organic Berry Saponin Concentrate™, Alkyl Polyglucoside, USDA Organic Aloe Vera, NON-GMO Vegetable Glycerin, NON-GMO Saponified Coconut Soap, NON-GMO Sodium Gluconate, Natural Phenethyl Alcohol, NON-GMO Xanthan Gum

Where to Buy: Amazon*

Molly Suds Unscented Laundry Detergent Powder

Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate sourced from the Green River Basin in Wyoming, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate), Unrefined Sea Salt

Where to Buy: Amazon* | Thrive Market* (25% off your first order) | Vitacost* | iHerb*

Aspen Clean

Ingredients: Water / Eau, Decyl Glucoside (sustainable Coconut, Palm Kernel Oil derived), Sodium Chloride (Salt), Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Citrate, Organic Glycerine (Vegetables derived), Lauryl Glucoside (sustainable Coconut, Palm Kernel Oil derived), Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Gluconate, Coconut Acid, Potassium Hydroxide

Where to Buy: Aspen Clean (Get $10 off Aspen Clean*)

Meliora Unscented Laundry Powder

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Vegetable Soap [Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Water]

Where to Buy: Meliora* | Amazon* | Thrive Market* (25% off your first order)

What laundry detergent are you thinking about switching to? Not sure? Ask below and I can help you decide! 👇🏼