The Top Line:

Grove Collaborative Dishwasher Pods are not a buy. Even though the free and clear option leaves no scent (like) and cleans our dishes really well (also like), since there is no cost savings or waste reduction, we do not see a benefit to switch here.

Check out our Big Zero Waste Dishwasher Roundup on the Reduce Report.

The Breakdown:

• Cost & Products: $5.95 for a pack of 20

• How ‘Clean’ Is This? Meh - mixed. It’s not Cascade, but it’s not pure baking soda either.

• Packaging: Plastic bag. There’s not much about this that screams ‘green.’

• Purchasing & Shipping: We have now ordered twice on the mobile site. The mobile site is so finicky that we ended up not ordering exactly what we wanted. The desktop site is a little better, but still not intuitive to navigate, since they have duplicate products listed.

• PSA: The subscriptions is automatically applied, but there is a ton of flexibility - but it’s on you to remember. If you try to order before your next due shipment, all of the items are pre-loaded into your cart. We like the thought behind it, but would prefer opt-in versus opt-out.

• Coupons: None that we know of, but there are freebies when you order the first time. After the first time, orders have minimum spend amounts for perks, which include additional products and free shipping. A lot of free gifts with purchases: A bonus that may make up for being a bit more pricey than Blueland.

• Good to Know: Grove Collaborative is a B-corporation. Normal corporations have a goal to make more money for their owners. B-Corporations do that too, but they also set specific, social and ethical goals such on governance, environment, and workers. Read about Grove Collaborative’s goals here.

• What’s Your Impact? Less toxic chemicals than Cascade, but it still comes in a plastic puch.

The Experience

Context: After Cascade, we switched to Seventh Generation several years ago. Not without its faults, we love that there are no toxic chemicals and that it comes in a paper box.

• Pods dissolve fine - as long as your water is hot.

• We got free & clear, so no scent (we like that - we like to taste our food, not the soap).

• Comes in Lemon Eucalyptus and Mint - all from natural sources. Cool.

The Cost

We compared Grove Collaborative Dishwasher Packs to Cascade and Whole Foods brand dishwasher pods with online brands like Public Goods, Cleancult and Dropps. We assume that a family will run their dishwasher 6x per week, for a total of 312 times per year.

Money Report: Unless you have space and money for upfront bulk Dropps subscription packs, all of the other online brands coast roughly the same. Since we have limited space, we would rather either go with Dropps or stick with Seventh Generation powder over pods. Grove Collaborative Dishwasher Packs are in line.

The Good:

✔ Free and Clear - no scent option available!

✔ Natural scent option available in Lemon, Eucalyptus & Mint

The Bad:

✗ Not a money saver

✗ Not that green since it comes in a plastic bag

Our Recommendation:

Grove Collaborative Dishwasher Packs are not a buy. Even though the free and clear option leaves no scent and cleans our dishes really well, we do not see a benefit to switch here.

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!