The Top Line:

Maybe… if you want the cute retro looking tin. We think Nellie’s dishwasher powder works just fine as far as cleaning goes. We like that it’s Leaping Bunny Certified, phosphate free, hypoallergenic, and only uses a little bit of plastic for packaging. Unfortunately, there are 100% plastic-free options available and other dishwasher detergents at a much lower cost.

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

The Breakdown:

• Cost & Products: $18.99 on Amazon for 2.2lbs (80 scoops) of Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder that comes in a metal canister

• How ‘Clean’ Is This? Pretty clean. Ingredients are simple and largely safe per EWG.

• Packaging: Comes in a metal tin (super recyclable!) but unfortunately, to keep the powder dry, it has to comes in a plastic bag inside the tin.

• Purchasing & Shipping: Amazon!

• What’s Your Impact? Traditional liquid dishwasher detergents are usually packaged in high density polyethylene. 68% of these bottles are not recycled and contribute to the approximately 275 metric tons of plastic waste that goes into our oceans and waterways annually. A family of 4 would typically go through 6-12 plastic jugs of dishwasher detergent over the course of a year.

  Rather than plastic jugs, Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder comes in a metal tin, lined with a thin plastic. Less plastic = better.

The Good:

✔ No scent, hypoallergenic

✔ SLS-free, SLES-free, and Phosphate-free

✔ Septic Safe

✔ Leaping Bunny Certified

✔ Biodegradable

The Bad:

✗ No Scent, if you’re into that

✗ Left a few spots/bit of white film

✗ Pricey for a powder!

The Experience

What we typically use: Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Powder has been our mainstay, and we’ve recently tried their Dishwasher tablets from their Zero Plastic line as well as Blueland’s dishwashing tablets, which didn’t dissolve all the way. Here are our thoughts on Nellie’s:

• There is zero scent, which we don’t mind

• Powder is 1 scoop per load

• We have used and preferred powder in the past, though we know it can be messier

• Most dishes were clean - left film on a couple of glasses

The Cost

We compared the Nellie’s to other zero-waste or greener options like Dropps, Blueland, Seventh Generation, Public Goods, Cleancult and Grove Collaborative. Note: Powdered dishwasher detergent will remain cheaper given less processing, but we get that dishwashing pods and tablets are easier —less mess and measuring.

Money Report: Not bad when comparing to most pods and tablets, but way more pricy than the Seventh Generation Powder.

Our Recommendation:

Maybe… if you want the cute retro looking tin. We think Nellie’s dishwasher powder works just fine as far as cleaning goes. We like that it’s Leaping Bunny Certified, phosphate free, hypoallergenic, and only uses a little bit of plastic for packaging. Unfortunately, there are 100% plastic-free options available and other dishwasher detergents at a lower cost.

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!