By Ellen Rubin
To be honest, cleaning is not my favorite thing to do. There are aspects I like… I like the result and sometimes I like process. I actually really like doing laundry. I don’t love the cost of products and trying to find the best choice, and I really don’t like the packaging waste, the use of toxic chemicals, and even the smell of many of the products.
Earth Breeze shares many of my, and probably your, concerns. They manufacture a line of cleaning products with the goal of “leaving the world holistically better than we found it.” They want to “support and heal our planet, but also give back to the communities and to people in need.”
These goals hit their 3 R’s of regenerate, redistribute, and reduce.
Regardless of how wonderful their mission may be, if the products aren’t good, it wouldn’t matter how noble their goals are. Earth Breeze sent me a sampling of their products to objectively test so I could share my experiences.
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The Earth Breeze Products I Tested
I tried the Laundry Detergent, The Hope Cloth, Power Pebbles dishwasher tablets, and the Multi Surface Cleanser.
The first thing you notice when you get your package from Earth Breeze is that there is little waste and the products are compact. Even the shipping packaging was sized to the products. That’s a personal pet peeve – over-large packaging that is just going to end up in a landfill. There wasn’t a bit of plastic in sight. The laundry detergent and cleaner sheets are in a 7” x 10” heavy paper packet and the dishwasher tablets are in a 3” x 7” x 1” cardboard box. All of this is much, much smaller than what I would find on a store shelf.
Laundry Detergent
The Laundry Detergent Liquidless Eco Sheets™ work as well as any detergent I’ve used. I’m sensitive to fragrance so I’ve been using the Fragrance Free version. The only possible negative I can think of is that when you use only a ½ sheet (for smaller loads) you get a bit if residue on your hands if you rip, rather than cut, the sheet. It just takes a quick rinse to get it off so it isn’t a major issue. The detergent is perfectly safe; in fact, they tell you that you can use the sheets for hand washing.
I appreciate that you have the option to control how much detergent you use. That is one of the reasons I’ve never tried pods. Theoretically, I don’t like the fact that the manufacturer controls how much detergent you use. If you have children and have safety concerns, be assured that there isn’t much chance that a child would want to put what looks like a piece of paper in their mouths, plus the detergent is not toxic.
All of their products are certified vegan and cruelty free. The laundry detergent is hypoallergenic and dermatologist tested (which is very important to me). I appreciate what it doesn’t have: parabens, phthalate, phosphate, bleach, dyes, and fragrances. Why add irritants to something that is touching your skin or can pollute the environment?
The other advantage of not relying on pods, for the laundry and the dishwasher, is that I’ve found that pods can eventually get squishy or start to dissolve a bit. I haven’t found that to be an issue with any of the Earth Breeze products.
Multi Surface Cleaner
I used the Multi Surface Cleaner Liquidless Eco Sheets™ a couple of ways. First, it comes in a Grapefruit Citrus Scent. It isn’t offensive to me and I rarely allow anything with any sort of fragrance in the house. Once used, I didn’t notice the fragrance lingering. This is a big plus.
The first thing I did was add a sheet to a bucket of water to clean my laminate floors. It did a good job. Even without rinsing after, it didn’t leave a sticky residue. Honestly, my kitchen floors needed a good cleaning and this worked well. There are some limitations what surfaces are safe, so I didn’t use it on my kitchen counters since it’s some sort of stone composite. You also shouldn’t use it on polished wood, painted, varnished, or composite granite surfaces.
The fact that the cleaner is in a sheet means that you have to do a bit of planning for some things. I got an inexpensive spray bottle since I didn’t have one to upcycle, and added a half sheet then filled it with water. The sheets dissolve quickly and completely. Now I have a spray bottle of cleaner ready for whenever I need it. Using Earth Breeze rather than traditional cleansers means that I have up to 32 bottles of cleaner available without running to the store and without it taking up much space.
I also used the cleaner in the bathroom. I think it did a great job on dirt in the bathtub and sink. The only comment I have is that Earth Breeze cleaner, and dishwasher tablets, don’t quite eliminate all the hard water residue. The tub was clean, but I could still see the drop marks that hard water can leave behind. The quick fix was to go over these with some vinegar water. While I had the spray bottle handy I also used it to clean my stove top.
Dishwasher Tablets
The Power Pebbles Dishwasher Tablets (also fragrance free) worked really well (minus some old hard water stains on the glasses). It didn’t leave spots on my dishes and did a great job on a stained coffee mug. The small compressed powder tablets are encased in a dissolvable film which is much less than grocery store pods. My dishes ended up clean and shiny.
General Purpose Cloth
The Hope Cloth is a great cross between a sponge, paper towel, and Handi-Wipe. It’s a good size, reusable, dries quickly, and durable. I’m not a big paper towel user so I appreciate the Hope Cloth. I get the practicality of a paper towel without the cost and waste. The fact that it dries more quickly than a sponge means that there will be less smell and bacterial growth. The Earth Breeze site says that each cloth will replace up to 1500 paper towels. This makes them more economical than paper towels, certainly more attractive, easier to store (don’t you hate having to find a place to store bulky packages of paper towels), and much less wasteful.
At a time when many people are looking to minimize their clutter, even going so far as to downsize to smaller or tiny homes, the space saving aspect of these products has to be a huge bonus. Instead of large jugs you have tiny sheets. Storing an extra bottle of cleaner is certainly more difficult than taking a small sheet out of the paper envelope and dissolving it. I am able to replace at least a 2-foot shelf of products (paper towels and cleaners/detergents) with just 1-2 inches of Earth Breeze products.
Earth Breeze Doing Good For Others
Earth Breeze operates by following their goals. They Reduce by eliminating plastic packaging, they Regenerate by contributing to causes such funding ocean clean-ups and tree plantings, and they Redistribute by partnering with charities and nonprofits to donate meals and laundry detergent.
I found that the Earth Breeze products were as good as more toxic, chemical ridden products I’d find on a store shelf. They are, perhaps, a bit more expensive than some alternatives, but they are infinitely more compact and sustainable and the company believes in giving back to both society and the environment.
Each package lists what will be donated with the purchase. For each Hope Cloth purchase Earth Breeze feeds 10 families. The Power Pebbles purchase donates 10 meals, the cleaning sheets and laundry detergent purchases will donate 10 loads of laundry to non-profits and charities such as shelters for the homeless, women, Veterans, or animals, and developing countries. I really appreciate that they let you choose which of the charities they’re aligned with for your contribution.
Their partnership with We are Neutral means that they donate money to ensure their entire supply chain is carbon neutral through offsets, including shipments, and their membership in 1% for the Planet means they donate 1% of their revenue to non-profits.
Here are some other sustainability and charitable facts about Earth Breeze:
- Through their “Buy One Give Ten” program, they have donated over 21 million loads of laundry
- Their completely biodegradable and recyclable packaging will keep 750 million plastic detergent jugs out of circulation
- They have kept 562,463 pounds of plastic out of landfills and the oceans
- Lightweight packaging reduces the carbon footprint of transportation by 94%
- Earth Breeze has donated 5,076,140 loads of detergent to those in need
- Environmentally, they have planted a total of 39,652 trees and cleaned 7 beaches.
Final Thoughts…
As someone very interested in sustainability and healthful living, finding cleaning products that aren’t toxic is important. Why bother buying sustainable clothing if you are going to wash them in toxic, chemical laden detergent? Why go to the expense of buying local, organic food if you are going to wash you plates with chemicals? Earth Breeze has solved these problems by providing products that are recyclable, compostable, and non-toxic. They’ve gone one step further in making sure that they, as a company, are ethical and charitable.
The one thing I hadn’t really thought about until sitting down to write this article is how refreshing it is that their products are so compact. Yes, it’s easy to understand you are keeping plastic out of landfills and that there is less transportation cost and waste. What I hadn’t thought about is the gift of minimalism – the daily impact on not having a cluttered home.
I know that I feel more comfortable when I know that I have a back-up on necessary products. This urge became more acute after living through COVID, lockdowns, and shortages which pointed out that it’s not always possible to run to a store and be guaranteed that whatever you want will be available. (Remember the empty paper goods aisle?) Earth Breeze will deliver necessary cleaning products to your house and you won’t be overwhelmed by having too much “stuff” everywhere you turn.
I feel confident that Earth Breeze will do a good job cleaning and that I won’t have to breathe in fumes and chemicals to enjoy a clean house and clothes.