Truman's Get a Load of This Laundry Bars 2020 Review - Sustainable, Compostable Laundry Detergent Pods
The Top Line: While we like Truman’s marketing (who doesn’t need a laugh when they’re doing their laundry?), the cost was too high to get us to switch from our current favorite, Dropps — read our review here.
The Breakdown:
Cost & Products: $14.50 for 30 laundry bars. 25% off if you purchase in a bundle.
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Really clean. Recyclable packaging, toxin free, synthetic fragrance-free, dye-free, and compostable. Pre-measured pods reduce overuse of detergent (which most people are guilty of!)
Packaging: Minimal packaging, all recyclable or biodegradable.
Purchasing & Shipping: OK eCommerce experience. We did have an issue with setting up our account and had to reach out to customer support — lightning fast responses (we heard back from them in a couple of hours). Took a little while for them to ship our product out as well (about a week).
Coupons: Discounts offered for bundles and membership.
Whats Your Impact? Traditional liquid laundry 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 5-6 plastic jugs of laundry detergent (that can be used for 64 loads) over the course of a year.
The Efficacy:
Context: We liked Truman’s humor and the packaging gave us a chuckle. Good job Marketing team! And it did its job — our laundry came out clean. We also appreciate how organized the pods were in the box.
The Cost:
Context: A typical family of four probably generates 8-10 loads of laundry a week — that’s 364 loads of laundry a year!
We took a look at cost when compared with the many options for laundry pods out there: Public Goods, Dropps, Method, Cleancult, Meyers, Tide, Persil Pro Clean, Grab Green and Grove Collaborative.
Money Thoughts: Definitely a pricier option, and we’re not sure the humorous packaging is worth the premium.
The Good:
✔ Pre-measured pods reduce overuse of detergent (which most people are guilty of)
✔ Zero waste packaging and product
✔ We love the humor, brand and packaging!
✔ Non-toxic formula
✔ Septic safe, with non-GMO enzymes
✔ Synthetic fragrance and dye-free
The Bad:
✗ One of the more expensive options
✗ No scented option for those that like a little scent
✗ Unclear if the formulas are actually green
✗ Mixed eCommerce experience (difficulty setting up an account, slow(er) to ship
Our Recommendation:
While we like Truman’s marketing (who doesn’t need a laugh when they’re doing their laundry?), the cost was too high to get us to switch from our current favorite, Dropps — read our review 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!
