Behind the scenes: Earthwise laundry liquid review

Members often ask us to recommend plant-based, fragrance-free or sensitive detergents. The more options we can recommend, the better for our members. Unfortunately, many on the market are underwhelming at best. 

When we discovered that Earthwise Laundry Liquid was recently reformulated and now contains enzymes, we were hopeful. We wondered, is Earthwise 2.0 up to the task of cleaning cloth nappies?

Boosted with plant powered ingredients and naturally derived stain fighting enzymes, to clean deep into fibres.

~ Earthwise

Cloth nappy cleaning performance

Let’s start with our verdict: this is a solid clean!

✋ Note: the following paragraphs contain glowing superlatives usually reserved for product placement and advertorials. Rest assured, we bought and paid for this detergent ourselves. We never recommend products unless they are proven to work in our own laundries. 

Earthwise is currently available in three scents: Orange & Eucalyptus, Floral Fields and Sensitive. All three varieties are the same formulation; the only difference is the fragrance.

The Sensitive variety is truly unscented. This makes Earthwise Sensitive a unicorn detergent: plant-based, fragrance-free and widely available. 🦄

We found the detergent washes well at 40°C and can lift the majority of soiling. It only struggled with particularly stubborn soiling, such as oil, grease and stainy poo. 

If you have multiple children in cloth, use night nappies, or wash very dirty laundry, you’ll benefit from 60°C washes, at least in your first wash. This holds true for all detergents, so it isn’t something we hold against Earthwise.

The reformulated Earthwise contains a mix of anionic and non-ionic surfactants as well as five enzymes. This brings a lot of washing power to the product. As a result, it outperforms competing supermarket plant-based options. 

Bonus points

As the icing on the cake, Earthwise Laundry Liquid is also GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certified, vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, and stored in bottles made from 75% recycled plastic (which can be placed in your council recycling bin after use).

Wait, using a plant-based detergent at 40°C??

The green light on 40°C washes might come as a surprise to you, as most cloth nappy groups recommend a 60°C default for all plant-based and sensitive detergents.

We’ll admit it: we pioneered and popularised that recommendation. However, as our experience and understanding of detergents have deepened, we’ve allowed for more nuance in all aspects of our advice.

That sort of umbrella advice, which we previously gave regarding plant-based or sensitive detergents, overlooks the fact that not all detergents are created equally. It’s not how the ingredients are derived that indicates a product’s cleaning power, it’s how the detergent is formulated. Many plant-based and sensitive detergents lack sufficient surfactants, contain no enzymes, or use inappropriate formulations. That’s why they need a 60°C wash to get across the line.

🔑 Enzymes are an indicator of a good detergent; the more types, the better. The enzymes themselves help with stain removal, but are only a tiny portion of the ingredients. Their inclusion is a sign of more thoughtful formulation. It’s trickier to get enzymes to work in a detergent; formulators need to balance the pH, ensure other ingredients don’t negatively interact with the enzymes, and prevent the enzymes from denaturing prematurely during transport. This complex formulation takes skill and is often only achievable at scale.

Earthwise is not a good performer simply because it contains enzymes, and it’s not a good performer despite being plant-based. It’s a good performer because it’s well formulated and packed with cleaning power. 

Dosage and value for money

Earthwise Laundry Liquid’s dosage is consistent with Cold Power, another Henkel offering. Start with 1.5 caps in a standard main wash.

It retails for slightly less than Cold Power (RRP AU$10/L, compared to Cold Power’s AU$12/L). However, supermarkets have folded it into their ‘high-low’ pricing strategy, and it is regularly discounted for 50% off RRP. 

This makes Earthwise Laundry Liquid the best performing and best value plant-based liquid detergent available in major Australian and New Zealand supermarkets. 🌟

We would love to see a refill pack or dilute-at-home version in the future to minimise the use of plastic. Other than that, it ticks every box we can think of.