Like you, consumers around the world are ready to ditch conventional laundry detergents, with their heavy plastic jugs, toxic ingredients, and harsh chemicals. But which brand do you go with? And how do you know if any claims of eco-friendliness are true?
In your search for the best eco-friendly laundry detergents, you’ll likely see Earth Breeze and Tru Earth cropping up. Both of these brands advertise that they don’t contribute to plastic pollution, that they offset their carbon footprints, that they are environmentally friendly, and that they offer a great cleaning performance.
To help you navigate these claims and choose the safest detergent for you and your family, I’ve investigated and compared the ingredients, performance, and other features of Earth Breeze and Tru Earth.
Tru Earth vs Earth Breeze: At a glance
| Tru Earth | Earth Breeze | |
| What’s in it? | Fresh Linen: cornstarch polyvinyl alcohol glycerin sodium c14-16 olefin sulfonate aqua glyceryl cocoate cocamidopropyl betaine caprylyl/capryl glucoside sodium gluconate fragrance paraffinum liquidum potassium sorbate lauryl glucoside c10-16 olefin sodium chloride sodium sulfate | Fresh Scent: cornstarch glycerol primary alcohol ethoxylate sodium dodecyl sulfate sodium acetate trihydrate polyvinyl alcohol polyethylene glycol deionized water essence |
| Where is it made? | Canada | China |
| How much does it cost per load? | $0.62 ($0.45 with subscription) | $0.33 ($0.20 with subscription) |
| How many washes? | 64 loads | 60 loads |
| Free shipping? | ✔ | ✔ |
| What varieties are there? | Fresh Linen Lilac Breeze Fragrance Free Baby Platinum Fresh Linen Platinum Fragrance Free | Fresh Scent Fragrance Free |
| Is it tested on animals? | ✘ | ✘ |
| Is it hypoallergenic? | ✔ | ✔ |
A closer look at Tru Earth
Pros
- Phosphate-free, bleach-free, and dye-free ingredients
- Recyclable and plastic-free packaging
- Reduces carbon emissions and plastic waste
- Cleans effectively in an HE washing machine
- Long-term bulk subscriptions save you money
- Safe for gray water and septic systems
Cons
- More expensive than Earth Breeze
- More ingredients than Earth Breeze
- Sneaky marketing of varieties
- Slow shipping speed
- Poor customer service
Ingredients
Tru Earth Eco-Strips use a combination of vegan, biodegradable, and hypoallergenic ingredients. Most importantly, these detergent sheets do not include any ingredients that typically contribute to environmental problems, such as phosphates, which can lead to deadly algal blooms that have long-lasting effects on aquatic life, fishing communities, and tourism, and parabens and dyes, which frequently irritate sensitive skin and pollute drinking water.
Most of the ingredients are plant derived and all are considered eco-friendly, with little to zero impact on the environment, with the exception of polyvinyl alcohol.
Polyvinyl alcohol is a biodegradable synthetic polymer used in detergent sheets and detergent pods. It has little effect on the environment after its use, since it degrades completely, but polyvinyl alcohol is still a petrochemical, which means it’s derived from petroleum. The petrochemical industry is responsible for releasing a great deal of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere and producing a great deal of toxic waste.
If avoiding plastic- and petroleum-based ingredients completely is important to you, you should probably aim to use a powdered detergent packaged in cardboard.
Performance
Users report that Tru Earth Eco-Strips clean clothes well. They dissolve easily in hot or cold water and work well in all kinds of washing machines, including high-efficiency (HE) washing machines.
Eco-Strips are also easy to use compared to powdered and liquid laundry detergent, which requires measuring and often results in mess. You can even cut or tear them in half for small loads. For machines with a detergent dispenser, it can help to tear the sheets into small pieces before inserting, but it’s not necessary and still not as annoying as measuring out liquid.
Eco-friendliness
While Tru Earth says it’s an eco-friendly laundry detergent manufacturer, that doesn’t necessarily apply to all of its ingredients. But while polyvinyl alcohol isn’t perfect, it is considered by many to be eco-friendly because it doesn’t impact the environment through gray water, only in its production. Outside of polyvinyl alcohol, however, Tru Earth does what it can to be eco-friendly. The packaging is plastic free and compostable, and each of the company’s other products are vegan and cruelty free.
The Eco-Strips themselves are shipped in lightweight and compact packaging, reducing the carbon emissions Tru Earth is responsible for. Tru Earth even goes as far to say its laundry detergent has removed the equivalent of nearly 30 million cars. That’s about the same as the company planting nine million trees.
Tru Earth has also launched the #TruEarthMovement initiative, a social media movement that encourages consumers to be more eco-friendly. Most of this focuses on switching to its laundry detergent and other Tru Earth products, though.
That’s not to say that Tru Earth’s brand initiatives are just lip service. Since launching in 2019, the campaign has helped Tru Earth consumers prevent close to 3.6 million plastic jugs from making their way to landfills and the ocean by replacing them with a more eco-friendly, plastic-free, and compostable laundry detergent packaging.
With each subscription, Tru Earth gives 32 free Eco-Strips to various causes, including food banks, homeless shelters, and frontline workers. According to the company, through these programs Tru Earth has donated 10 million Eco-Strips to people who desperately need them.
Tru Earth also conducts community and nonprofit fundraising that consumers can participate in. All you need to do is contact a Tru Earth fundraising specialist, fill out a quick form, and you’ll receive a unique fundraising link. Sharing the link online and with friends and family lets people who click on it buy Tru Earth products and contribute 20% of their purchase to a charity of your choosing.
Cost
Tru Earth Eco-Strips cost $39.95 for a box of 64, leading to a per-wash price of $0.62. A subscription discount brings that down to $0.45.
Despite this considerable subscription discount, Tru Earth is still twice as expensive as Earth Breeze
Product line
Tru Earth offers quite a few more products than Earth Breeze, although the latter has recently begun branching out to more varied household products. Tru Earth’s product range includes the following essential items:
- reusable grocery bags
- stainless steel straws
- bamboo cutlery
- bamboo makeup removing cloths
- storage tins
- dishcloths
- reusable cotton laundry bags
- beeswax food wraps and snack bags.
Each of these products is designed to be plastic free, cruelty free, and eco-friendly.
Tru Earth’s most well-known—and popular—product remains its laundry detergent. The company’s Eco-Strips have been popular among eco-conscious consumers for several years. Tru Earth Eco-Strips are available in scented Fresh Linen or Lilac Breeze options and a Fragrance-Free option.
Tru Earth Eco-Strips also come in a variety the company claims is specifically designed for babies. But if you look at the ingredients list for the Baby variety and compare it to the ingredients for the regular Fragrance-Free option, the ingredients are exactly the same. Is this a case of marketing or is there really a difference? Hmm…
Tru Earth offers a Platinum version of its Eco-Strips, and apparently they are a step up from the standard Tru Earth Eco-Strips in several ways. Additional ingredients in these strips include sodium c14-17 alkyl sec sulfonate, peg-20 glyceryl cocoate, and propylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate. These ingredients have less favorable ratings with the Environmental Working Group than those in the standard Eco-Strips, so you may want to avoid them if you have sensitive skin, even if they do have a cleaning boost quality. I do wonder, if the standard sheets already perform well enough, why you would need a version with additional, potentially harmful ingredients.
For a more comprehensive look at Tru Earth, read my Tru Earth review.
A closer look at Earth Breeze
Pros
- Highly affordable
- Recyclable, plastic-free packaging
- Safe for sensitive skin
- Minimizes carbon emissions and plastic waste
- Gluten free, cruelty free, and vegan
- Scented and fragrance-free options
- Phosphate free, paraben free, and dye free
- Safe for delicate fabrics
- Works great in an HE washing machine
- Free worldwide shipping
- Money-back guarantee
Cons
- Some dubious ingredients
- Limited product range
Ingredients
Earth Breeze aims to be eco-friendly, and this comes through in its Eco Sheets, which have fewer ingredients than Tru Earth. The company also aims to make its laundry detergent as safe as possible for the environment and sensitive skin. It does so by avoiding using any toxic ingredients in either of its varieties, listing only eight in its basic formula, with the addition of something called “essence” in the Fresh Scent variety. Bit vague.
Still, the short ingredient list sets it apart from other laundry detergents, which usually have relatively long lists of indecipherable chemical cocktails. As eco-friendly as Earth Breeze’s ingredients are, the polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene glycol are dubious. These are both petroleum-based and aren’t rated highly by the Environmental Working Group. Polyethylene glycol, in particular, may result in nervous and digestive system issues in high concentrations, and may also result in acute aquatic toxicity.
Despite these two questionable ingredients, Earth Breeze’s ingredients are still safer than most traditional laundry detergents.
Performance
Earth Breeze laundry sheets work great, no matter whether you’re using hot or cold water. They’ll dissolve quickly and completely, regardless of water temperature.
Many modern washing machines are HE machines, which require an appropriate laundry detergent. Many laundry detergent pods fail in this department, as do some powder detergents, because they can’t dissolve properly in lower water levels.
Earth Breeze works great in HE washers, so you’ve nothing to worry about there.
Eco-friendliness
Earth Breeze aims to be as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible, putting effort into various practices to achieve this. Its laundry sheets are shipped in plastic-free and compostable packaging, and the laundry detergent is almost completely plastic free. There are few carbon emissions related to shipping because of the lightweight and compact design, and they don’t take up much space in a laundry room.
Earth Breeze also puts a lot of effort into environmental and social causes, and has been recognized by Green America and the Organic Consumers Association for these efforts. The largest of these is the company’s involvement in 1% for the Planet, through which it donates 1% of its annual revenue to environmental efforts. Earth Breeze is also involved in tree planting and ocean cleanup efforts, making it an eco-friendly and cruelty-free laundry detergent company that actually goes out of its way to help the planet.
To counteract any greenhouse gases emitted during production or shipping, Earth Breeze is also a We Are Neutral partner, committing to reducing its carbon emissions and offsetting the rest through environmentally friendly projects. As an eco-friendly brand, it really puts in the effort.
Earth Breeze also makes a noble attempt to improve the lot for people and communities. Meeting individuals’ basic needs is one of the most difficult areas for homeless centers, disaster relief shelters, veterans’ organizations, women’s shelters, and similar nonprofits. While food and clothing are frequent sources of donations, laundry detergent normally isn’t.
Earth Breeze combats this need with its Buy One, Give Ten program, one of its most impressive brand initiatives among its many. With this, Earth Breeze donates 10 boxes of laundry detergent to charitable organizations with each purchase. Since launching this program in November 2020, Earth Breeze has donated over 10,000 boxes of laundry detergent to people who need it the most.
Cost
An eco-friendly laundry detergent doesn’t need to cost a fortune, and Earth Breeze is a great example of that. Each pack of 30 laundry sheets costs $20 and cleans 60 laundry loads (cut them in half except for large, heavily soiled loads), making the per-load wash $0.33 at the regular price. Earth Breeze offers a subscription discount that brings the per-load price down to $0.20.
That makes this the most affordable eco-friendly laundry detergent on the market, even cheaper than many traditional laundry detergents. Earth Breeze Eco Sheets can be delivered once a month, every two weeks, or three times a year.
Product line
Earth Breeze used to only offer one eco-friendly and cruelty-free product, the Earth Breeze laundry sheets. These come in one scented option and one fragrance-free option, both of which are equally effective at cleaning clothes. You can order these in packs of 30 laundry sheets, which clean 60 loads, or in a 12-pack of 30, suitable for 720 loads.
Earth Breeze laundry sheets are delivered in plastic-free packaging, small compostable cardboard sleeves that help the company reduce the amount of plastic waste that makes its way to landfills. The non-plastic packaging is completely made out of compostable cardboard.
Earth Breeze has recently branched out to include a larger range of household products. Here’s a list of the household cleaning products you can get from Earth Breeze:
- The Hope Cloth paper towel replacement
- Power Pebbles dishwasher tablets
- Regeneration Tote Bag
- Multi Surface Cleaners
While it’s great that Earth Breeze is branching out to products beyond the Eco Sheets laundry detergent, this is still a smaller product line than Tru Earth. No doubt you’ll continue to see Earth Breeze introduce additional household cleaning products that help promote a healthy planet.
For a more comprehensive look at Earth Breeze, read my Earth Breeze review.
What others are saying about Tru Earth and Earth Breeze
Trustpilot
With 3.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, Earth Breeze has gotten praise for its cleaning performance and quick shipping. Many reviews detail how customers switched from a liquid laundry detergent to the sheets and were delighted with the difference. This was also reflected by people who switched to Earth Breeze from powder detergents and laundry detergent pods. The Eco Sheets dramatically out-performed many of these mainstream options.
Customers also praised how affordable Earth Breeze laundry sheets are, their lack of a mess, and how they save water. The reduced water consumption applies not only to when the laundry strips are used, but also in the manufacturing and shipping.
While there’s a Tru Earth page on Trustpilot, this is unclaimed and unowned, so it doesn’t appear to be tied directly to the brand. Despite this, consumers have left reviews on the page as if it were the official Tru Earth page. Based on nine reviews, it has a rating of 3.3 out of 5.
Some of the reviews spoke positively about Tru Earth’s detergent sheets and additional products, while others highlight how effective the laundry detergent is. One review even suggested a single Tru Earth Eco Strip was enough to clean a load weighing between 11 and 15 pounds.
There were multiple negative reviews, but these were limited to Tru Earth’s customer service and didn’t even mention how the laundry strips performed.
Google My Business
There aren’t currently any Google reviews for Earth Breeze laundry sheets.
With 16 reviews on its Google My Business page, Tru Earth has an average rating of 3.5 out of 5. The more positive reviews highlighted how little space the sheets took up, as well as how efficient they were at cleaning. One load only needs one sheet.
The negative reviews all complained of the same issues, namely the poor shipping times and disappointing customer service.
There isn’t a recommendation or review section for Eco Sheets on the Earth Breeze Facebook page, so I had to dig through general comments to find out what customers thought. Most comments were positive, with commenters wondering why they hadn’t switched to detergent sheets sooner. These comments easily come in at a 4.5 out of 5 stars, with few negative remarks.
The Tru Earth Facebook page mainly has positive reviews as well. Customers focused on how eco-friendly the laundry sheets are, while many mentioned how easy the strips were to use compared to a liquid laundry detergent.
There were multiple complaints about Tru Earth’s delivery time, which reportedly really lags behind Earth Breeze.
Better Business Bureau
While Earth Breeze isn’t accredited by the Better Business Bureau, the laundry detergent does have an average rating of 4.71 out of 5 stars. Most comments were positive and praised Earth Breeze for its dispute resolution process and customer service team. The ease of use and quick—and carbon neutral—shipping were also repeatedly praised by Earth Breeze’s customers.
Tru Earth got an amazing 4.49 out of 5 with the Better Business Bureau, as well as a C- rating, but it’s worth noting the company’s listing here is unverified. Most of these reviews praised the laundry detergent.
Specifically, they highlighted how the eco-friendly detergent left clothes with a fresh scent and got rid of stains effectively. It was noted that it’s great for families with pets.
Tru Earth vs Earth Breeze: Wrapping it up
Tru Earth and Earth Breeze have a lot in common. They don’t ship in plastic jugs, in fact their shipping is completely plastic free. They don’t waste water like liquid detergents, they don’t get stuck like detergent pods, and they dissolve better than powder.
Neither has a perfect ingredient list, but Earth Breeze has fewer ingredients to worry about.
Where Tru Earth has more scent varieties and products to choose from, Earth Breeze is much more affordable and has better customer service.
Earth Breeze and Tru Earth both donate to nonprofits and benefit the environment in various ways, but Earth Breeze does seem to go the extra mile in its pro-environment initiatives.
With that in mind, Earth Breeze laundry sheets take the title of the better laundry detergent, especially for someone who wants to reduce plastic waste and save money on laundry expenses. Switching to Earth Breeze from a conventional liquid laundry detergent cuts out your laundry-related plastic pollution, reduces shipping emissions for the products you use, minimizes water and soil pollution from toxic chemicals, and cleans your heavily soiled laundry with ease.
Earth Breeze Eco Sheets are the best eco-friendly detergent sheets on the market, thanks to their low cost, excellent performance in high-efficiency washers, and great customer service.
If you want more than just eco-friendly and plastic-free laundry sheets, the phosphate-free, cruelty-free, and dye-free option offered by Earth Breeze leads the way among its competitors.