Ridding Plastic From Your Laundry Routine With Ridwell

T surprised me. He's a creature of habit, and what he likes is what he likes, and for laundry, that's the same Tide detergent he's used for years, with the same scent he's familiar with. And I get it, scent can be a comforting thing. So when he saw an ad for Dropps and asked, "Do you want to try this? It's more eco-friendly", I was pleasantly surprised and jumped at the chance. After all, we still had some Tide left, so if we hated the new detergent, it would be easy to swap back.

The first thing I saw when we got our box was this label, a list of all the yuck that's not in their detergent. Per their website, there's no B.S. (bad stuff).

Dropps are super-convenient pods - you just toss one in the drum. No more measuring liquid. They're super concentrated, so you dramatically reduce the weight you are shipping.

Pods, you say? Aren't those wrapped in plastic? Nope, they are: 

"made from a water soluble casing called Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), which dissolves upon contact with water"

And further, you elimate the big plastic jug in favor of a slender cardboard box. A large jug of Tide is equivant to just under 2 boxes of Dropps.

Then, not only do you save on the reduced weight and packaging, but Dropps boasts 100% carbon neutral shipping. Beyond the efforts they do to minimize their impact, they make up for the rest by partnering with Clearloop to fund solar projects. 

On our first purchase, since we wanted to try them out and not commit, we added some more items to our cart to qualify for free shipping. But moving forward, you can qualify for discounts with a subscription. They sell several other earth-friendly products - we got these reusable, compostable Swedish dishcloths, which are both super cute, and in partnership with Oceana.

Now the true test was, besides feeling better about the packaging and company mission and partnerships... was the detergent actually effective? After half a dozen loads, I can confidently say, the clothes are coming out equally clean or even better than the Tide. No compromises, just clean clothes.

Cost wise: Dropps are slightly more expensive at $19.50 per 60 pods vs $21 for Tide pictured... that is, if you use the Tide as directed. If you make the mistake that I was making of filling the detergent to the max line, I'm now saving money with the pre-measured pods.