Thrive Dishwasher Powder Review | Sustainable Dishwasher Detergent Powder

November 4, 2021 Charley Pav

The Top Line:

BUY. Thrive Dishwasher Powder has limited ingredients, the citrus scent is light, there is a fragrance free option, and our dish cleaning experience was pretty good. Each bag (con: it’s plastic, but at least it’s thin plastic compared to the big liquid jugs) contains 75 standard washer loads. The biggest pro yet is that even at the regular price of $6.99, Thrive Market has the most affordable dishwasher powder on the market. At the current sale price, it’s a total steal.

Note: We also reviewed Thrive Market’s Laundry Detergent Powder, which was also a screaming BUY.

Note Two: We did a Thrive Market HAUL roundup here.

The Breakdown:

Cost & Products: $6.99 regular price (though it’s on sale for $3.37 as we speak!) for 45oz bag or 75 dishwasher loads loads
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Clean! The ingredients are minimal and generally on the safe side.
Packaging: Unfortunately, the powder is in a plastic (zippable) bag.
Purchasing & Shipping: Thrive works on a membership basis, with free shipping over $49. Website is relatively easy to navigate.
Good to know: The Laundry detergent comes in a Fragrance-Free option!
Note: Thrive Market is a B-Corporation. We at the Reduce Report LOVE B-Corporations. Read more about b-corporations here. Normal corporations have a goal to make more money for their owners. B-Corps do that too, but they also set specific, social and ethical goals such as governance, environment, and workers.
Also - Thrive Market has a membership fee. We did not include that in our calculation in this article. The cost is $59.95 per year or $9.95 if you decide to participate only on a monthly basis.
What’s Your Impact? Much fewer questionable ingredients compared to the standard dishwasher detergents, and much thinner/less plastic use compared to liquid laundry detergents. Also - powdered dishwasher detergents means there is no PVA.

The Good:

✔ Clean ingredients

✔ Light citrus scent, plus a fragrance free option

✔ 75 loads in one bag

✔ Cheapest dishwasher detergent we’ve reviewed (not including membership fee)

The Bad:

✗ Comes in a thin plastic bag for the powder

✗ Might be messy given the bag - might want to put it in a reusable container

The Experience

What we typically use: Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Powder had been our mainstay until we decided to check out other sustainable brands. Before this, we tried Blueland’s dishwashing tablets, which didn’t dissolve all the way, as well as Seventh Generation’s tablets, which have caused phosphate stains on the dishes and dishwasher.

We been using Thrive Market’s Dishwasher Powder on all kinds of loads in the dishwasher — coffee, food stuck on the plates and grease everywhere.

We are impressed at the clean, given it’s a natural dishwasher.
Much fewer white stains when compared to Seventh Gen tablets, but still some white stuff.
Barely a scent, even though it’s technically citrus (we don’t mind).
Comes with a little scoop to measure out the pour.
Option to put it in a reusable container.

The Cost

We compared the Thrive Market Dishwasher Powder to other zero-waste or greener options like Dropps, Blueland, Public Goods, Cleancult and Grove Collaborative as well as traditional grocery store brand, Cascade Complete and Cascade Pure. Pro/Con: Powdered dishwasher detergent will remain cheaper given less processing that needs to occur for its formulation, but pods/tablets are easier —less mess and measuring.

Money Report: Run! Hurry! Holy Moly! Thrive Market Dishwasher Powder is the cheapest dishwasher detergent we have on record!

Our Recommendation:

Note: We also reviewed Thrive Market’s Laundry Detergent Powder, which was also a screaming BUY.

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!