Clean People Laundry Strips Review 2023 | Eco-friendly, plastic-free laundry sheets
The Top Line: Not a buy. While we thought Clean People’s laundry detergent strips worked well enough, we did not see enough of a difference in the product from Beyond Laundry Strips or Sheets Laundry Club to warrant the higher price tag.
Note: This product does include a polymer called Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) — which, while it can biodegrade, it requires very specific conditions in order to do so that most US wastewater treatment facilities in the US are not set up for (study on degradation of PVA in US Wastewater Treatment Plants), which can lead to partially degraded plastic in the environment. TLDR: Biodegradable products that include PVA (which is found in many dishwasher and detergent pods) isn’t quite as clean as it is advertised to be, but still a step up from traditional bottled cleaners.
Quick shout out to Jane A. who reached out a couple of months ago requesting that we review Clean People!
Check out our Big Zero-Waste Laundry Roundup Review on The Reduce Report.
*Review Updated July 2023* to include latest research on polymer Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) that is in this product.
*Review Updated June 2023* to reflect latest pricing.
The Breakdown:
Cost & Products: 15.00 for 32 strips or $55 for 192 strips
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Minimal packaging, concentrated formula, biodegradable and septic-safe formula. However, we did see that there are sulfates in the product.
Packaging: Recyclable cardboard box.
Purchasing & Shipping: We purchased Clean People’s laundry detergent strips on their website. Also available on Amazon.
What’s Your Impact? Traditional liquid laundry detergents are usually packaged in high density polyethylene. 68% of these bottles are not recycled and contribute to the approximately 275 metric tons of plastic waste that goes into our oceans and waterways annually. A family of 4 would typically go through 5-6 plastic jugs of laundry detergent (that can be used for 64 loads) over the course of a year.
The Experience
Context: We have tried many laundry pods, powders and strips/sheets, and currently fairly happy with Dropps (for pods), Meliora (for powder) and Beyond Laundry (for strips/sheets)!
We really like the fresh linen scent!
We ran a few loads of laundry with Clean People’s laundry detergent strips happy to confirm everything came out nice and clean!
Easier to use than powder options like Meliora as the sheets are pre-measured, but not more or less convenient than laundry pods
Very similar to Beyond Laundry Sheets, Tru Earth, and Sheets Laundry club, Clean People’s clean just as well — and we’re a fan of anything with a smaller footprint!
Overall, we liked the ease of use and the linen scent! No residue afterwards that we could find.
The Cost
There are A LOT of options out there for laundry — we compiled both powder and pod options for comparison, as well as another laundry sheet brand to get a well rounded comparison. Brands included in the comparison analysis below include Sheets Laundry Club, Meliora, Blueland, Dropps, Gain, Method, Seventh Generation:
Money Report: Not the most expensive option but the second most. Beyond and Sheets both come in at a lower price point.
The Good:
✔ Ease of use - no messes or spilling
✔ Recyclable Packaging
✔ Light linen scent - we love it!
✔ Sensitive skin friendly
✔ No Harsh Chemicals, no bleach and no added dyes
✔ Biodegradeable
✔ Simple ingredients: coconut oil, polyvinyl alcohol, essential oil fragrance
✔ Plastic free!
✔ Lightweight, no water means less energy used in transpory
The Bad:
✗ The price is on the higher side
Our Recommendation: Not a buy. While we thought Clean People’s laundry detergent strips worked well enough, we did not see enough of a difference in the product from Beyond Laundry Strips or Sheets Laundry Club to warrant the higher price tag.
Note: This product does include a polymer called Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) — which, while it can biodegrade, it requires very specific conditions in order to do so that most US wastewater treatment facilities in the US are not set up for (study on degradation of PVA in US Wastewater Treatment Plants), which can lead to partially degraded plastic in the environment. TLDR: Biodegradable products that include PVA (which is found in many dishwasher and detergent pods) isn’t quite as clean as it is advertised to be, but still a step up from traditional bottled cleaners.
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!
