After surviving breast cancer, I became much more conscious about the products I use in my home, especially the ones that come into contact with my body every single day. This may be surprising to some, but one of the biggest things I started paying attention to was laundry detergent.
Most people don’t realize that detergent chemicals don’t just disappear in the wash. They stay on your clothes, towels, and bedding, sitting against your skin day and night. That’s why I started looking more closely at ingredients commonly found in detergents, like 1,4-dioxane (which the EPA says is likely carcinogenic), ethoxylated ingredients, synthetic dyes, optical brighteners, SLS/SLES, parabens, phosphates, sulfates, and more.
I tested several different laundry detergent brands in my home to find options I felt better about using to reduce cancer risk for myself and my family. These were the 5 best.
TLDR: CLEAN PEOPLE Laundry Detergent came in #1 because its cleans well, uses plastic-free packaging, has no 1,4 dioxane, SLS/SLES, parabens, phosphates, sulfates, synthetic dyes, and no optical brighteners! I use Clean People in my home and love it.
1. CLEAN PEOPLE Laundry Detergent
Clean People Laundry Detergent blew me away and was my favorite laundry detergent by far, earning 5 stars ★★★★★. It is effective at cleaning and eliminating odors – my husband and I washed sweaty gym clothes and kids clothes with stains. All the clothes came out fresh and clean. In other words, it works!
Clean People uses simple, effective ingredients, and doesn’t contain harsh chemicals like 1,4 dioxane (a known carcinogen), optical brighteners, sulfates, phosphates, parabens, chlorine, or synthetic dyes. That’s why it’s hypoallergenic and certified by Dermatologists.
As someone who’s hyper-aware of the potential cancer risks linked to ingredients commonly found in mainstream laundry detergents, I loved being able to actually read and recognize every ingredient on the label.
Finally, I loved all the great reviews that Clean People has earned, including one from me!
Clean People comes in Fragrance Free and Fresh & Clean Scent. I love the Fragrance Free option, but our favorite is Fresh & Clean!
This is what I recommend and use at home and thus earned the #1 spot.
Update
Clean People has a Buy 1 Get 1 FREE BOGO Sale still live right now — use code BOGO before it ends.
2. Thieves

Thieves earned my #2 spot. Like #1 Clean People, Thieves is made from simple, effective ingredients. While Clean People is a laundry sheet, Thieves is liquid laundry. I love that it is easy to pour. Thieves offers strong cleaning power with cleaner ingredients and performed well on all my laundry. Thieves comes in an amazing spicy aroma.
The combination of cleaning power, non-cancerous ingredients, and little plastic earned Thieves my #2 spot.
3. Seventh Generation

Seventh Generation came in 3rd place. Free & Clear is a fragrance free formula. Seventh Generation did well at cleaning and removing odors. Seventh Generation uses simple, effective ingredients and is hypoallergenic. However, Seventh Generation’s ingredients include ingredients that we don’t like. First off, Free & Clear includes SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) which can cause rashes and harm your skin. Additionally, the detergent includes preservatives (methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone) that are known to cause extreme allergic reactions in some people.
The plastic laundry detergent bottles are made mostly from recycled plastic which we like. But plastic laundry detergent bottles often end up in the landfill.
We loved the cleanliness. But the 1,4 dioxane & plastic bottle dropped Seventh Generation to our #3 spot.
4. Mrs. Myers

Mrs. Myers came in 4th place. Mrs. Myers is what you think of when you think of clean Laundry Detergent. It has pleasant, garden-inspired scents, plant-derived ingredients, enzymes for cleaning, concentration (little goes a long way), and cruelty-free status. It does have methylisothiazolinone which is a potential allergen and knocked it lower on my list.
We did love the scent and cleaning power, and based on the thousands of reviews that the product has on Amazon, so did many others.
5. Dirty Labs

Great product! And I love their aluminum containers (aluminum is infinitely recyclable which makes it an environmentally friendly option) but it is too expensive to make it make sense.
Buy it here.
And The Winner Is…
The winner is CLEAN PEOPLE. Simple, effective ingredients, no cancer-causing ingredients, plastic free packaging, powerful at cleaning and stain removal, and you can get a Buy 1, Get 1 FREE right now with Coupon Code BOGO.
#1 CLEAN PEOPLE Fresh & Clean: Buy It Here
#2 Thieves: Buy It Here
#3 Seventh Generation: Buy it Here
#4 Mrs. Myers: Buy it Here
#5 Dirty Labs: Buy it Here
⏰ Don’t Miss This!
Clean People has a Buy 1 Get 1 FREE BOGO Sale still live right now — use code BOGO before it ends.

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