We are two friends living on opposite coasts (Brooklyn, New York and Santa Monica, California) that share a passion for living a minimal, zero waste lifestyle and on a mission to help others do the same.
Harper. Lives in Brooklyn with a +1. Sassy pup. Matcha. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Proscuitto.
Charley. Lives in Los Angeles with a +1. Doofy pup. Coffee. Wine. Whiskey. Cheese. Pasta.
All tagged Natural
BUY. We love using Meliora’s Dish Soap Bar along with our kitchen brushes, particularly when we clean pots and pans. We love that there is an unscented (and lemon) option so that we only taste and smell our food when our dishes are clean and dry. The Meliora soap cuts through grease effortlessly, with ingredients that are non-toxic. And of course, we love how affordable the dish soap is: a little goes a long way and switching from a liquid soaps to solid soaps really is cost efficient.
BUY. We have loved ❤️ using Lulu Organics Hair Powder over the last few months. Made with only 4 ingredients, and virtually plastic-free, we like that the powder keeps us neat between washes. Also, Lulu Orgranics is budget-friendly, comes in a travel-sized option, and has 6 different scent options.
Better, but not great. Given how much we liked Blueland's cleaning products, it is disappointing to report that we wish Blueland Dishwasher tablets worked better. Even though they are zero-waste dishwashing tablets with no chemicals or strong smell, they are too pricey to not work as well as other options. However, given the update regarding PVA in other brands, we believe that it might be worth revisiting Blueland dishwasher tabs. We had previously rated them a NOT buy given the product did not dissolve and was on the pricey side. Since then, other brands prices have increased faster than Blueland’s. Most importantly, Blueland is a PVA-free, convenient tablet option.
Its a STRONG BUY! We really loved the experience of using Evolved by Nature’s Hand Soap. It smelled incredible, felt amazing on our hands (they really do feel more moisturized after!) and you really can’t beat this price. This product is really a win-win in almost every regard. This will likely be our go-to non-foaming hand soap from now on!
This was tough because there are so many good brands minimizing harmful ingredients, emissions, and plastic: Ecover, Dropps, and Thrive Market dishwasher powder were some of our best picks. Based on ingredients that were phosphate free, fragrance-free (optional), hypoallergenic, and chlorine-free. Dirty Labs is great runners up given their limited ingredients and super concentrated powder but it is on the pricy side.
Not a buy. We found the experience of using Grab Green’s Automatic Dishwasher Pods to be pretty good (no complaints on the pods themselves). Our two biggest complaints - the plastic pouch isn’t really recyclable and the price is pretty darn high 😔
Probably not a recommend on NOICE Toothpaste. We like that it’s a refillable toothpaste that comes in a gel form and that the ingredients are super clean. NOICE uses licorice extract to help remineralize teeth. If you do not care for nHap or fluoride, then maybe NOICE is for you. For us, we like ingredients that re-mineralize teeth to keep them healthy (like nHap or fluoride). Lastly, like the other zero waste toothpastes, this one is on the pricey side.
Overall, MAYBE buy. The small garbage bags are good if used for composting — they are also cheaper than the composting competition. HoldOn uses much better materials that consume less energy, which is great. Additionally, we expect the trash bags to compost, even in landfill conditions. The kitchen zipseal storage bags are great to use - especially for marinating when tight on time (which is often). We like that you can toss them in the compost when you are done with them rather than the trash and that they compost in weeks. More expensive than typical plastic zip bags, but cheaper than the alternative composting one. The trade-off for all of the products is worth it if you can afford it.
Ethique, as a company, is pretty great - a b-corporation with zero plastic packaging who plants trees and donates portions of their sales. Additionally, their ingredients tend to be limited, with mostly natural and those that have low impact on the environment. We loved their solid shampoo and solid face cleanser. We liked their solid conditioner bar and their zero waste deodorant. If we’re using them at night, we don’t mind the solid face and body moisturizers, but the thickness of them are just a bit much for daytime.
BUY (Definitely for the toothpaste!). Huppy: zero-waste, plant-based toothpaste! (We did it, we rhymed.) We really like the ingredients of Huppy - all natural and contains a fluoride alternative called nHap. The bamboo toothbrush is ok - just based on cost while the floss is probably a skip from us. Note: zero waste toothpaste is just going to be a lot more expensive than drugstore brands. However, we like that the active ingredient is nHap, so if your budget allows, we think the switch could be worth it.
BUY - if you can afford the extra cost (about $110 per year, per person), then the products are great. Our only issue with Bite is how expensive the products are — particularly the toothpaste bits. All of the pros are: a fluoride alternative (nHap), cruelty-free (not tested on animals), zero-waste (cardboard, paper and glass packaging), compostable bamboo toothbrush, compostable vegan floss, and toothpaste bits that taste like berry vitamins. From a quality perspective, Bite is a great product.
It’s a BUY! - we like Thrive Market and think its worth the membership. As a B-corporation, it houses organic, sustainable pantry (and frozen food!) items with some home goods like TP and laundry/dishwasher detergent powder.
We’ll hit you with the bad now: it seems pricey. Membership is $59.95/year and prices look expensive. That said, it is a delivery service that charges nothing for delivery >$49. We compare to Whole Foods in this review, and we think over the course of the year, you can get out ahead by just switching the dishwasher detergent to Thrive Market (details below!).
BUY. Thrive Dishwasher Powder has limited ingredients, the citrus scent is light, there is a fragrance free option, and our dish cleaning experience was pretty good. Each bag (con: it’s plastic, but at least it’s thin plastic compared to the big liquid jugs) contains 75 standard washer loads. The biggest pro yet is that even at the regular price of $6.99, Thrive Market has the most affordable dishwasher powder on the market. At the current sale price, it’s a total steal.
Note: We also reviewed Thrive Market’s Laundry Detergent Powder, which was also a screaming BUY.
Maybe — it’s on the price. Hammond Herbs deodorant is not only natural but zero waste and leaves no marks. We liked it way, way more when compared to Schmidt’s, whose texture is like rubbing gritty sandpaper against your skin. Comparing to Public Goods Natural Deodorant was unfair; their deodorant is so smooth that it’s like silk caressing your underarms. Hammond Herbs does have a major plus over the two - it’s zero waste.
Proverb Deodorant, an eco-friendly deodorant is a ‘no’ from us. This is entirely based on price! As one of the most expensive options, we just can’t recommend it. We like the packaging, we like the texture and the scent. Even the ingredients are pretty good and the bar doesn’t leave white streaks. Our favorite part is that the refill has ZERO plastic. If you can spend the extra bucks, we think this is a good choice.
MIXED buy. We enjoyed using the Papr deodorant. All natural ingredients, 100% paper packaging, a pleasant smell, lovely texture, and of course limited white residue. The only snag with Papr Deodorant is how much more it is even compared to already expensive deodorants like Myro, Native and Hammond Herbs. Note: given this is a deodorant and not an antiperspirant, so Papr is aluminum-free.
NOT a haul we recommend. The recycled loofah was a highlight, but unfortunately not enough for the whole haul. We liked using almost everything in this haul (zero waste dish soap, natural sponges, laundry sheets, laundry sheet), but we were confused at the hand soap sheets. Moreover, many items were on the pricey side - the biggest reason for our overall no recommendation
Not a buy. While we thought Grab Green’s Liquid Dish Soap worked fine, we have some pretty major complaints. We don’t love that it comes in plastic bottles, certainly not plastic free, or even an attempt to reduce plastic here. There are some pretty questionable ingredients, including sulfates and benzisothiazolinone that we really don’t want in our dish soap. The scent (we got the Tangerine with Lemongrass) was too sweet for our taste - smelled too ‘artificial-soapy’ in our book. Finally, the price is pretty darn high 😔
BUY. We think Terra Beauty Facial Bars are a great option for a clay-based facial cleanser that is also zero waste. No more plastic tubes for your general face wash. We have been using it every day for about a year, and we still have well over half the face bar left! Combined with lavender that both smells nice and is antibacterial - we think that’s a win.
100% a BUY from us. The DEET-free, natural Protector Mosquito and Insect Repellent is a steal when it comes to price and effectiveness. It is also made up of all-natural ingredients, relying on very pleasant-smelling essential oils to repel pesky bugs. The one drawback is that the vessel is plastic and not aluminum.
