Choosing a Non-Toxic Dish Soap
Updated 7/2024
We use dish soap every day - so its one of those items that are worth investigating and making sure wont expose you to nasty chemicals. Yet dish soap is one of the categories that I have had the hardest time finding good, efficient and non-toxic, alternative for.
Adding to the frustration, the industry is filled with greenwashing… this is when companies use all kinds of terms like ‘clean,’ ‘natural,’ ‘non toxic’ ‘ plant based’ that mean absolutely nothing.
What I used and recommended maybe 4 or 5 years ago, we now know arent really the best alternatives anymore (although, to be clear 5 plus years ago they were ‘better than’ the other options). To some this can be disheartening, to me it just means that the market is progressing and its good news that dish soap with better ingredients exists today. While, these are few - full disclosure- they do have some drawbacks…including effectiveness and lack of availability in stores. I recommend trying a couple and finding what works best for you. Maybe it will be using the ‘best’ ones on your baby’s bottles and maybe you use a ‘good but not great one’ on your greasy pans….. or maybe you surprise yourself and one works for all!
Because of this I decided to broaden my usually pretty narrow and strict range and create two categories:
the best list
the “I ran out of dish soap and need to buy one that I can actually find in a store” list
As a reminder, when determining if a product is actually truly non-toxic, you should always look at the ingredient list. This can be super intimidating, but here is a cheat sheet of some ingredients you would try to avoid:
❌ Fragrance
❌ ‘Isothiazolinone’ preservative (Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Benzisothiazolinone) allergens
❌Cocamidopropyl Betaine: allergen
❌Ethoxylated ingredients⠀(Polysorbate-20 and PEG compunds and ingredients that end in etc like sodium laureth sulfate.)
❌Colorants⠀
❌Fragrance
My picks (‘the Best List’):
WHY I LIKE IT: This is my daily go to now a days for these reasons:
the clean ingredient list
completely plastic free (I mean, think of how many plastic dish soap bottles you go through in a year! Thats a lot of plastic pollution that will not get recycled and ends up in landfills or the sea)
Made Safe Certified
BUT…..
I find it works best with a sponge not a dish brush and sometimes leaves streaks on glass
Solid dish soap requires somewhat of a learning curve… My husbands and housekeeper did not like it at first but have finally warmed up to it
Cant find it in stores: I buy it on Amazon
WHY I LIKE IT:
This is a foam option for those who don’t like the solid soap concept.
IT has good safe ingredients
Will work great for baby bottles and basic dish cleaning.
BUT….
I find that one pump of foam doesn’t really last long and so I go through the (plastic) dish bottle pretty quickly….. its not that great with oily sticky messes.
Not widely available in stores near me
WHY I LIKE IT
The purest of the purest ingredients
Relatively easy to find in stores
BUT….
Beyond using it when I travel (convenient travel size!!) and for baby bottles and baby items I don’t find it is that great at cleaning stronger food/ oil stains from plates, pots and pans.
WHY I LIKE IT
While I like their laundry powder I have not used their dish soap- but the ingredient list on their Fragrance Free version looks good.
Why I like it:
Clean, safe ingredients
Cleanse pretty well- less so if you dilute it a lot
Made Safe Certified
BUT:
Not available in stores- only online (shipping is free)
a bit pricey (but it is a multi dimensional product with many uses)
No Tox Life Vegan Dish Washing Block
WHY I LIKE IT
Safe ingredients
Plastic free
BUT
Not available in stores
Solid dish block takes some getting used to.
Attitude Dishsoap ( Amazon affiliate link)
https://amzn.to/3Sa1Dw5
WHY I LIKE IT
Safe Ingredients
Can buy in bulk ( uses less plastic)
bUT
Hard to find in stores
Doesnt work great on super hard core greasy pl
Its/pans ( might need to leave soaking overnight)
The OK LIST (“I ran out of dish soap and need to buy one that I can actually find in a store” list)
ECOS DISHMATE DISH LIQUID FREE AND CLEAR
WHY I LIKE IT:
it works
relatively easy to find in stores
BUT….
Contains Phenoxyethanol: Used as a stabilizer in perfumes and soaps. Exposure to phenoxyethanol has been linked to reactions ranging from eczema to severe, life-threatening allergic reactions. Infant oral exposure to phenoxyethanol can acutely affect nervous system function. While 1-percent or less concentration is considered safe in the US and EU, using several products all containing a low dose could result in overexposure.
because of this I would prefer not to use on childrens/ baby bottles and plates and use sparingly, washing off well (ie dont use this as your permanent dish soap- once in a while would be ok)
Attitude brand
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT :
9 safe ingredients - including safe preservative (SODIUM CITRATE DIHYDRATE) and surfactants and foaming agents
Works well
BUT…
I didn’t love the smell it was a bit too strong for my liking (they have a fragrance free option I have not tried!)
Can never find it in stores, have to buy online
I am waiting to hear back from the company as EWG lists sodium citrate dehydrate as an ingredient that could work as a preservative but their website does not so if their soap was reformulated without preservatives I would add this to list of not great
Poofy Organics
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT
Their ingredient list is actually really good, safe and non-toxic
BUT….
Some companies claim they can use rosemary extract as a natural preservative….while this is not my area of expertise I have read that it seems that rosemary extract is actually good at avoiding certain products go rancid but not necessarily good at avoiding bacteria growth - while other studies have found it can actually inhibit the growth of bacterial
I have not used this one so I cant speak to its performance
Honest Company Honest Dish Soap
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT
Pretty good ingredient list
Available in many large retail stores
Works well
BUT…
- Contains COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE a well known allergen
I get asked a lot about…
Puracy:
Contains Benzisothiazolinone : A Preservative that can cause : eye damage and skin irritation, may cause an allergic skin reaction, and is very toxic to aquatic life”
365 Whole Foods Markets Dish soap, unscented
Contains Benzisothiazolinon (see Puracy)
Contains Cocamidopropyl betaine another allergen
Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid, Free & Clear
To be clear, 10 years ago, and for many years after, I used Seventh Generation and 365 Whole Foods Market unscented dish soaps because they were really the ‘best’ available that worked (and were available in stores). I know a lot of you use these products too and that is fine- but better alternatives exist today.
Seven Generation in recent years has given me skin allergies (I believe this might be the methylsothiazoljinone) so I stopped using it. On occasion if I run our of dish soap ( as I mentioned above I use Meliora most of the time) I will run to the store and usually buy either Ecover or Seventh Gen unscented and try to use gloves
The WORSE alternatives
In case you were wondering, some of the best known brands and most widely available brands in stores are also the worse ones. Many are easily identifiable but strong smells and bright colors (artificial colorants). Among them:
The Laundress Home Cleaning Liquid Dish Detergent
reason: they don’t disclose their full ingredient list listing just “ Plant-derived nonionic surfactants”
Up & Up Target Hand Wash Dish Soap https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/6105-UpUpDishSoapFreeClear/
Contain: PEG-10 MALEATE, BENZISOTHIAZOLINONE, Fragrance, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, Blue Number 1 (colorant), COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE
Palmolive Ultra Oxy Plus Power Degreaser Dish Liquid
Contains: colors, fragrance, METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE
Method Dish Soap, Lemon Mint
Fragrance, ethoxylated ingredients, METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE, METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE
Dawn Ultra Concentrated Dishwashing Liquid, New Zealand Springs
Colorants, Fragrances, Methylisothiazolinone, PEI-14 PEG-24/PPG-16 Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6165352/
https://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/phenoxyethanol/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28093936/