Truly clean laundry detergent? An Earth Breeze review

I tried Earth Breeze laundry detergent sheets so you don’t have to — and here are my thoughts. I wanted to write this since so many folks ask about laundry sheets. They’re a mainstay in the zero waste community, but haven’t quite made it into the wider world’s consciousness.

So let’s talk about laundry sheets, and Earth Breeze in particular.

FYI: this Earth Breeze review is unbiased! I paid for these myself to give them a try. That said, I do use affiliate links in the post that earn me a small commission at no cost to you.

Earth Breeze laundry sheet review

First off: Earth Breeze detergent comes in a laundry sheet. This is unfamiliar to some folks, but it’s basically exactly what it sounds like… it’s a small sheet that dissolves in the wash.

The benefits of laundry sheets are basically that it’s super-concentrated (most liquid detergent is a majority water!) and their light weight makes it a lower-impact shipping option.

Before we get to the use test, let’s take a deeper look into Earth Breeze laundry sheets and their potential drawbacks.

What is Earth Breeze detergent made out of?

Laundry sheets have the benefit of being pretty low ingredient, making it easy to understand exactly what you’re putting in your water. From their website:

• Glycerol

• Primary Alcohol Ethoxylate

• Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

• Sodium Acetate Trihydrate

• Protease

• Polyvinyl Alcohol (100% water soluble)

• Deionized Water

• Starch

The scented version also has a fragrance added. But… pause… let’s take a closer look at one of those ingredients real quick.

Does Earth Breeze have plastic in it?

Remember that Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)?  LEARN MORE ABOUT PVA

Well, I do want to do my due diligence and note that this is a synthetic plastic polymer – often used to make thin layers like the outside of dishwashing pods! While Earth Breeze claims their PVA 100% water soluble, it may be in name only.

Why? Because it’s not safe to assume your wastewater treatment plant has the exact specifications needed to fully break down PVA — most plants in the US do not have that capacity.

That said, other highly esteemed products like Tru Earth also use this so it’s tricky to avoid if you prefer laundry sheets. This may be an argument against laundry sheets and if it’s something that concerns you, you may consider clean laundry powders or tablets like:

• Meliora (meliora | earthhero | thrive market | grove co. | amazon)

• Blueland (blueland | amazon)

Having considered all this, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Do Earth Breeze laundry sheets actually work?

My experience using Earth Breeze laundry sheets

First off: you can buy Earth Breeze directly from their website or Amazon. Please buy directly from them, though. Screw Amazon.

I’m always a little wary of “clean” or “eco-friendly” laundry detergent since we have incredibly hard water — even with a water softener! I sometimes find the more natural cleaners simply aren’t enough to overcome our mineral-rich well water.

Needless to say, I went into the test with low expectations. But I went ahead and threw a load in and let it go. Note that for front-load washers you place the sheet in the detergent dispenser just like any other detergent!

Note: we don’t use a dryer so we don’t get ultra-soft clothes like you might with a dry cycle, but they dry exactly the same as with any other detergent. No issues there.

At the end of it all, our clothes dry with a very subtle scent of “fresh” that’s perfectly pleasant. No overwhelming fragrance, but enough that they seem clean.

Does Earth Breeze leave a residue?

No! Even with super hard water like I mentioned, there was no residue left on the clothing or the machine after several test washes.

I suspect even die-hard Tide folks will find this a seamless transition from mainstream to eco-friendly laundry detergent!

Does Earth Breeze really get your clothes clean?

Yup. I would say there was no real discernible difference between my clothes washed with Earth Breeze laundry sheets versus any conventional powder or liquid I might use.

I also will note that I always use a half sheet, even with a more full load, and it works perfectly well. Remember: lots of us overuse detergents and cleaners; often, less is more.

Is Earth Breeze worth it?

Earth Breeze has a subscription model which greatly brings the price down, which we’ll talk about in a second. But let’s say you — like me — just want to buy a single pack to test it out. That’ll set you back $20 (as of Nov 2023) which works out to $0.33 per load.

But to the subscription model: you can save 40% on your eco-sheets when you sign up for reoccuring deliveries. That brings the price down to $12 or $0.20 per load.

How does that stack up against mainstream brands? Well, I checked out a Tide High Efficiency Liquid Laundry Detergent at my local target which runs $12.99 for 64 loads, or $0.20 per load. Pretty bang on!

I’d say Earth Breeze runs about on par with conventional laundry detergents and offers additional benefits in being carbon neutral, plastic-free, and generally more environmentally-minded than most mainstream brands.

My Earth Breeze review recap

Will I rebuy Earth Breeze laundry detergent sheets? It’s a solid maybe ???? I actually really like how they work, but I will likely go for a product that doesn’t have PVA in it. That being said, I’ve bought a full pack and will certainly continue to use them up.

Earth Breeze positives

• No real change from a conventional product. I think this is the biggest hurdle for folks, but truly you won’t notice any major difference from the conventional brands you already use. Seamless transition to eco-friendly laundry!

• Leaping Bunny certified & 1% for the planet. It’s always good to see outside certifications to show that a brand is vetted beyond their own biased internal structures.

• Septic and grey water safe. Because we live in the country on septic, this is always important for me. Very cool that it’s even safe if you do grey water reclamation!

• Carbon neutral. Earth Breeze is carbon neutral by donating money to ensure the entire supply chain is carbon neutral. This is theoretically a good thing, but you may want to read up on why carbon credits are kind of a scam.

Earth Breeze negatives

• People complain about the lack of smell. As a smell hater, this is a bonus but I actually think the scented version gives off enough of a “clean” smell to please most.

• Earth Breeze forces a subscription to make its price competitive. This is not an issue if you end up loving it and want to rebuy, but I personally don’t love a subscription service. You may think otherwise!

• All that PVA. We talked about the synthetic plastic polymer. It’s up to you to do your due diligence re: whether it’s a good fit for you or not.

So if you’re ready to give eco-friendly laundry a go, try Earth Breeze laundry sheets. If you have — or have alternate suggestions — I’d love to hear!

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