Dropps Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent: Clean clothes for two weeks. Here is our review.

The Top Line:

OK Buy. Dropps Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent work well in cleaning and freshening up our laundry. The Clean & Crisp scent is very light and the laundry felt clean when taking it out of the wash. The product is 100% plastic-free and the glass bottle is quite sturdy. The only hang-up is the enzymes that may cause problems for factory workers but the unscented option does not contain enzymes. Overall, we thought Dropps Concentrated Laundry that replaced the small loads is a decent product that avoids the PVA.

The Breakdown:

• Cost & Products: $20 for the starter kit, which includes a glass bottle and pump. Refills in the form of subscriptions are $15.

• How ‘Clean’ Is This? Just clean. For the average user, there should be limited concern. However, there are enzyme ingredients that may cause lung damage to detergent factory workers, such as Subtilisin.

• Packaging: 100% paper and cardboard!

• Purchasing & Shipping: Straightforward on the Dropps website; shipping is free for purchases > $45. Otherwise the cost varies.

• Good to know: There is an unscented option that sort of hides on the website.

• What’s Your Impact? Other than the pipe for the pump, 100% plastic-free experience means less trash in the landfill. Higher concentration liquid means fewer emissions, BUT some of that is countered by the glass. But the glass is recyclable! This is hard.

The Good:

✔ Aside from the pump, 100% plastic free packaging and composition

✔ Less mess AND control the amount of detergent with the pump

✔ Sturdy and pretty amber glass bottle

✔ Lightly scented AND comes in an unscented refill option — which is enzyme-free

✔ Price is reasonable

✔ Dye-free, Phosphate-Free, phthalate-free, Paraben-free

✔ Never tested on animals

✔ PVA-Free

The Bad:

✗ Some enzyme ingredients in the scented versions that might be toxic to factory workers

The Experience

Review: Prior to going even greener, we have used the normal Seventh Generation (powder and liquid), Tide, and Method for all of our clothes. For stains, we had been using OxiClean’s stain remover here and there. We have washed mainly clothes with Dropps Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent and here’s our experience with the Clean & Crisp scent::

• Because the pump is very long (to make sure you get every last drop 💧 of detergent), assembling the pump onto the bottle is a small ordeal.

• Once the pump is fastened on, life becomes easier.

• Pump is very smooth and we were able to control how much liquid was going into the washing machine’s dispenser with no mess!!

• Clothes came out smelling lightly fresh.

• Clothes were clean and soap washed out in cold water, so our items did not feel sticky coming out of the wash.

• The glass bottle is very nice, and sturdy. Refills also come in the same bottle.

• With sturdiness comes weight, and with weight, more emissions.

• We have not hand washed with this product, but given the pump we think the usability is great.

The Cost

Context: We assumed that the average household of 4 will generate 7 loads of laundry per week or 365 loads per year! We will compare Dropps Concentrated Detergent to a other detergents, including Grove Collaborative, Charlie’s Soap, Ingredients Matter, and Meliora. We also included the original Dropps as well as a number of drugstore brands like Tide, Gain, Method, and Seventh Generation.

Money Report: Dropps, once you look at the subscription price, has a fighting chance of breaking into affordable ranks. It’s the plastic-free option that is on par with Charlie’s Soap — though Meliora is always a tough challenger. Overall, not bad in the cost department.

Our Recommendation:

OK Buy. Dropps Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent work well in cleaning and freshening up our laundry. The Clean & Crisp scent is very light and the laundry felt clean when taking it out of the wash. The product is 100% plastic-free and the glass bottle is quite sturdy. The only hang-up is the enzymes that may cause problems for factory workers but the unscented option does not contain enzymes. Overall, we thought Dropps Concentrated Laundry that replaced the small loads is a decent product that avoids the PVA.

We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!