Last updated on April 27th, 2026 at 06:27 pm
Laundry is one of those everyday habits that quietly generates a lot of plastic waste. In the United States, up to 1 billion laundry jugs are discarded each year—most ending up in landfills, and some making their way into waterways and the ocean.
There are many great laundry products available for you to switch to in order to be completely free of plastic when doing laundry. And there’s one additional action you can take to decrease plastic pollution that you likely haven’t ever considered.
Some links in this post may be affiliate links. I only recommend products that meet my standards for safety and sustainability.
Collect your clothes in an eco-friendly laundry basket
Purchasing a hamper or laundry basket made from natural materials will likely cost more than plastic, but this is a worthwhile investment.
If you’re like me, you’ve already tossed a broken plastic laundry basket or suffered through broken handles or misshapen hampers.
One smart purchase I splurged on in the early days of being a poor newlywed is a quality rattan laundry hamper from Pottery Barn; it still looks new after over 20 years. (Yes, I got married when I was 8 years old.)
Natural materials, such as rattan, wicker, seagrass, or bamboo, are durable, attractive, and biodegradable at the end of their life. Make sure to pay special attention to whether the material explicitly specifies that it is natural and not synthetic; many ‘rattan’ or ‘wicker’ baskets are made from plastic.
An additional challenge for a truly plastic-free option is the basket liner. The majority of these canvas liners are often a cotton-polyester blend, rather than pure cotton or linen, so be sure to check the label.
Here are some good options I have found.
Plastic-free hampers
- Etsy has numerous hampers made from natural materials, including a round palm leaf storage basket or wicker laundry hamper with lid.
- Target has a couple of good options.
Plastic-free laundry baskets
Best budget-friendly option: Cherishguard Large Laundry Basket. Made from natural cotton rope, these baskets come in 70 or 90 L sizes; I’ve got one of each. They are very sturdy and hold a good amount of laundry, and are a great price at $24-36.
- Yamazaki Rectangular Wire Laundry Basket from Pottery Barn
- Curved Seagrass Baskets from West Elm
- Best Choice Products Portable Large Hand Woven Wicker Braided Storage Laundry Basket Organizer w/ Handles from Target
Use eco-friendly laundry detergent, sans plastic
As previously mentioned, waste from plastic laundry jugs is significant. In addition, up to 90% of liquid detergent contains water. That increased volume, size, and weight leads to higher emissions in producing and transporting these jugs.
In addition, liquid detergents require the addition of synthetic preservatives to prevent bacterial growth and extend shelf life. Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and Benzisothiazolinone (BIT) are some of the most commonly used, and both are skin irritants. Neither is biodegradable, and both are highly toxic to aquatic life.
Choosing other forms of eco-friendly, zero waste laundry detergent is a big part of achieving a plastic-free laundry room.
Seek laundry detergent powder, tablets, or concentrated liquid formulations with clean ingredients and plastic-free packaging. Check out my post on non-toxic laundry detergents to learn what ingredients to avoid and find recommendations for my favorite planet-friendly detergents.
* Although they have been heavily marketed as eco-friendly options, laundry sheets and pods contain polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a clear plastic-like substance, which is a petroleum-based synthetic polymer, and the jury is still out on its biodegradability.
Go for a plastic-free bleach alternative
We all know that burning feeling chlorine can create in your eyes and throat. Anything that creates those kinds of reactions is obviously not the healthiest chemical to have around. By itself, chlorine bleach fumes can be harmful and exacerbate conditions like asthma, but mixing it with other cleaners or chemicals such as vinegar, ammonia, or rubbing alcohol can create deadly gases. And I don’t know of any bleach that isn’t packaged in plastic.
So what are the natural bleach alternatives for laundry? You probably already have them in your house.
- vinegar
- baking soda
- hydrogen peroxide
- lemon juice
- sunlight
Read more about how to utilize these ingredients from The Spruce.
If these don’t do it for you, there are a few great, plastic-free alternatives to bleach you can purchase. These can be used on both whites and colored laundry in combination with your detergent.
- Meliora Oxygen Brightener – This powder is made from two simple ingredients—sodium carbonate peroxide and sodium carbonate (washing soda)—that act as both a laundry booster and an oxygen cleaner, making it a great bleach alternative. It is packaged in the same paper and steel canister as their laundry powder. Also available at EarthHero
- Blueland Oxi Laundry Booster – You can buy a starter pack that includes a tin to store this booster powder, and subsequent refills come in a commercially compostable pouch. Also available on Amazon
- Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Laundry Booster – Like their detergent, this fragrance-free booster powder utilizes enzymes to help remove stains and odors. It comes in a cardboard canister with a wooden measuring spoon. Also available at Amazon / Whole Foods / Grove
Try a stain remover stick
Stain remover sticks dominate the plastic-free options. Lightweight, packaged in recyclable paperboard, these sticks contain clean but powerful ingredients that really get stains out.
- Meliora Soap Stick Stain Remover – Simple ingredients: sodium cocoate, glycerin, organic cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, water. Packaged in a paperboard box printed with vegetable-based inks. This product gets clothes clean.
- Mama Suds Laundry Stain Stick – Made from saponified olive oil, and that’s it. Certified cruelty-free and vegan.
- Zero Waste Store Stain Remover Stick – Made with plant-based ingredients.
Skip the dryer sheets
Are dryer sheets bad?
Most dryer sheets are made from nonwoven polyester material (aka plastic) coated with softeners and other chemicals. These leave a film on your clothing in order to achieve non-static or softening properties. There are more eco-friendly dryer sheet options out there, made with plant-based, biodegradable materials, however, they are still single-use. Skip these as well and go with a reusable product.
So what can you use instead of dryer sheets? Wool dryer balls.
Wool dryer balls
Wool dryer balls are exactly what they sound like: round balls made of wool. These reusable balls are hypoallergenic, and in my experience, they work just as efficiently as dryer sheets to decrease static cling and keep clothing soft. They work well to remove pet hair, too. I worried that hair would wrap around the ball and be a pain to clean, but I only occasionally find a few hairs that are easy to remove.
The balls can also help reduce drying time, saving energy.
Tip: Attaching safety pins or adding a ball of aluminum foil can discharge static electricity if you find these balls do not do well enough alone.
For those who are allergic to wool or prefer a vegan option, there are several, but I have only found one option that is not made of plastic: Vove Natural Hemp Dryer Balls.
Others include:
- Full Circle’s Anti-Static Dryer Balls, composed of recycled plastic water bottles.
- These Whitmor Dryer Balls are made of plastic and are very highly rated.
Airing out clothes in natural sunlight is another option that keeps them static-free and smelling fresh.
Hang clothing on plastic-free hangers
Hangers made from metal or wood make great alternatives to plastic hangers.
- Seropy – stainless steel
- Mawa – metal or FSC certified wood hangers
- Also available on Amazon
- Koobay – paper or aluminum
- Cedar Elements – cedar
- Also available on Amazon
- Etsy – all types of natural materials, including rattan
Try a reusable plastic-free lint remover
Say goodbye to those wasteful tape lint rollers and get yourself a reusable lint remover. There are a couple plastic-free lint roller/pet hair remover alternatives you can try.
- Redecker lint brush – beechwood handle with natural rubber bristles
- Ruri’s Portable Lint Remover – copper head and beechwood handle
- Fur-Zoff Pet Hair Removal Tool – made from recycled glass
Go simple to clean your washing machine
I’ve used the Affresh washing machine cleaner tablets, but I don’t like that they are individually wrapped in plastic. The cheap and plastic-free option is to run a full load with hot water and 2-4 cups of vinegar. This also works amazingly for dishwashers too.
And the unsettling surprise…
The clothing you wash creates significant plastic pollution.
Most clothing today is made from fossil fuel-based synthetic fabrics such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, and elastane. These fabrics and the tiny fragments they shed are not biodegradable. With each load of laundry, 700,000 tiny microplastic fibers are shed into wastewater. As a result, it is estimated that 35% of microplastics in the ocean and 71% in rivers come from synthetic clothing. And by 2050, it is estimated that the amount of plastic in the ocean will outweigh the sea life, much of this pollution being microplastics.
So how do you combat this?
First and foremost, do your best to only purchase clothing and linens made from natural materials such as cotton, linen, wool, silk, cashmere, hemp, or bamboo. To learn more, check out my guides to sustainable fabrics and how to find sustainable clothing.
Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, including me, you’ve already got closets and drawers full of synthetic materials. There are several options you can use to trap microplastics and keep them out of wastewater.
- Install a microfiber filter on your washing machine. The PlanetCare microfiber filter is a bit pricey, but third-party testing shows this filter catches 90% of microfibers. When the filter is full, you send it back to the company and they refurbish it to be used again.
- If you can’t install a filter on your washing machine or you use a laundromat or communal machines, you still have options to reduce your impact.
- Wash synthetic fabrics in a washing bag from GuppyFriend. Testing showed it captured about 90% of particles.
- Also available at Grove / EarthHero / Zero Waste Store / REI
- Another option is the Cora Ball, a ball made of recycled plastics that attracts and traps fibers. You simply place in each load of laundry and clean it as needed. Testing shows it traps about 30% of microfibers, but also helps prevent them from shedding in the first place. The company will recycle them for you when they wear out.
- Wash synthetic fabrics in a washing bag from GuppyFriend. Testing showed it captured about 90% of particles.
Learn more about microplastics and their impact on our health and the environment.
Final thoughts on plastic-free laundry
Are you super pumped for your next laundry day? I know I am.
Ok, so maybe laundry isn’t the most fun activity. But it’s something every one of us has to do, therefore making even one of these habit changes can have a pretty sizeable impact. I think it feels pretty good knowing how I can just about eliminate plastic waste in an entire area of my house, because in many other places it feels impossible.
Discover how to do laundry more efficiently to save energy and water.
