Blueland Refills Review 2020 | Eco-Friendly, Zero Waste, Tablet Based Cleaning Supplies
The Top Line: After buying the initial Blueland set, we decided to stock up on refill tablets — this review is about that refill experience. You can read more about our initial review of the overall Blueland Essentials set (TLDR, it is a BUY!). While we still LOVE Blueland, the refill experience would probably be a little bit better.
We break it down for you:
Cost: $2 per refill tablet (which equates to a fill size bottle of cleaning solution!) if you purchase in a pack of 3 tablets. If you go to a pack of 9, it is $1.56 per tablet
Products Included: Each cleaning solution only has 1 scent option on Blueland, so you get refills of that scent — for the hand soap you can choose between 3 scents, but if you want the lower cost of the 9-pack, it needs to be all the same scent (eg there is no variety pack for the 9-pack, which we were disappointed with).
Coupons: None, but at $1.56 per tablet we’re not sure you need any discounts!
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Blueland products are non-toxic, kid-safe, pet-safe, cruelty-free, hypoallergenic, vegan, gluten-free, pH-balanced. Clear labeling of each product and breakdown of ingredients — all of which are naturally derived or a synthetic that is identical to naturally derived ingredients. Their reusable bottles are 100% BPA-free and non-leaching. They are certified by a number of environmental agencies.
Packaging: Everything was either 100% recyclable or compostable, including the wrappers for the refill tablets.
Purchasing & Shipping: Very easy purchasing experience. They text with shipping updates, which I personally prefer over getting more emails. Shipping is also free if you spend over $35 — though this means you need to a lot of refill tablets!
Good to Know: Despite this product is all about the refills to save you money and make an impact for the environment, we LOVE that they do not lock you into auto refills.
Whats Your Impact? The biggest impact here is a major reduction in plastic. Blueland estimates that an average household will go through 30 single-use plastic bottles of cleaners a year — by using their refill tablets you’re able to cut plastic completely of your your everyday cleaning.
How was the refill experience?
For context, we purchased the overall Blueland Essentials set a few months ago, you can read the full review here where we broke it down product by product. We decided we liked it so much that it was time to order refills! Here are our thoughts on that experience:
Price: At $1.56 per refill (if you’re able to go for the 9-pack of any particular refill — which probably equates to a 6-8 month supply), the price cannot be beat.
Sustainability: We love the sustainable packaging, and the implications on overall supply chain given how small the tablets are (much lower carbon footprint!)
Experience: This is where we were very disappointed. We ordered a 9-pack of every cleaning solution (all-purpose, glass, bathroom, and hand soap) and received it all of it jammed into a small pack. Took time for us to organize it all (and found it somewhat stressful to receive), and also verify that we got everything we ordered. For busy consumers, this could be a turn off.
We also would have appreciated the ability to order a 9-pack variety pack (vs having to order 9-pack in just one scent for the hand soap).
What We Liked:
✔ Drastic reduction of plastic—while Cleancult and Grove Collaborative helps to achieve this in their offering as well, Blueland certainly takes the cake with their tiny refill tablets packed in compostable wrappers.
✔ You’re not locked into a auto-refill subscription.
✔ Most cost effective eco-friendly option out there given their $1.56 refill tablets if you’re up for purchasing 9 at a time!
✔ Packaging is all recyclable or compostable. We especially appreciate the design of the kit box, built to make it extremely easy to break down and recycle.
✔ Non-toxic, kid-safe, pet-safe, cruelty-free, hypoallergenic, vegan, gluten-free, pH-balanced.
What We Didn’t Like:
✗ You have to commit to 1 scent for the 9-pack option (would love a variety pack!)
✗ No organization to refills when received in the mail — not a big deal if you are order a few refills, but if you are ordering 20+ refills it would be nice if it came with a little more organization
✗ Hand soap tablet did not easily dissolve—despite using hot water (see photo above). Rest of tablets dissolved very well.
✗ Not Sulfate-free (contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate). Worth noting that other eco-friendly brands like Meyers and Seventh Generation products also use SLS.
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!
