The 3 Things to look for in Sustainable Cleaning Products

If you look at the ingredient list on any cleaning product in your home, you'll most likely find that water is listed first. That’s because it's the most commonly used ingredient in most cleaning products. 

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Most cleaning products are cleaning agents that are mixed with water and packed in single-use plastic bottles. So what if we could just buy the cleaning agent, mix it with water in our homes, and put it in a reusable bottle? Using waterless cleaning products is just one of the ways to choose cleaning products that reduce our household carbon footprint with more sustainable cleaning products.

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Waterless cleaning products reduce packaging and shipping emissions

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Waterless soaps and detergents are sold in the form of powders, sheets, or concentrates. This eliminates the water weight from being packaged and shipped, reducing the environmental impact of the product.

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Brands like Blueland and Naturebee sell concentrated cleaning agents in the form of tablets. You can drop them into your own bottle and fill it with water. All you’re left with is the packaging the tablets shipped in — that’s much less single-use packaging than if you get a new bottle of cleaner every time you need a refill. Blueland also has laundry detergent tablets for eco-friendly laundry.

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Other sustainable brands like Grove Collaborative have a slightly different model where they sell cleaning concentrates in a glass bottle. Similar to tablets, they can be mixed with water at home to create a cleaning solution.

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Etee is taking eco-friendly cleaning up a notch by putting concentrates in compostable pods. After using the backyard compostable pods, you can dispose of them in the compost or garbage, and they will biodegrade.

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Refill your cleaning products from refill shops

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Refill shops like BYO Long Beach and The Refill Shoppe allow you to refill your cleaning products into your own bottles. This means less new packaging being manufactured, filled up, and shipped.

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At a refill shop, you pay by weight. Start by weighing your empty container in the store, filling it up with your product of choice, re-weighing the container, and paying for what you’ve taken.

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Choose eco-friendly cleaning products in bulk

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Buying bulk containers of cleaners usually equates to less packaging per ounce and less waste over time. The ideal way to go bulk is by choosing refill shops. Getting bulk quantities prevents you from making multiple trips to the store, bringing down the emissions associated with the commute.

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If you don’t have a refill store close to where you live, brands like Attitude sell cleaning products in half-gallon refill packs. Dr. Bronners sells refills in 32 oz paper-based cartons with significantly less plastic than their bottles.

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Take small steps to reduce the impact of your cleaning routine . Even minor adjustments add up to a significant impact over time.

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To find more sustainable cleaning products, check out our new sustainable brands feature in the Commons app. Browse hundreds of Climate Neutral certified brands like Blueland and Defunkify that are reducing and compensating for 100% of their emissions.