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Cleaning & Laundry

Laundry Detergent

A laundry detergent can be certified organic, but very few are. We found one brand listed by product name in the USDA Organic Integrity Database. The rest of this page uses ingredient screening instead: EPA Safer Choice, EWG Verified or MADE SAFE. Each pick names its seal and the place we confirmed it.

A washer and dryer in a room
Photo: Unsplash

What organic means here

This page accepts the USDA Organic seal where a detergent holds it, confirmed in the USDA database, and otherwise EPA Safer Choice, EWG Verified or MADE SAFE on the named product with all ingredients listed. "USDA Certified Biobased" is noted but does not count as organic. No pick is an EPA-registered laundry sanitizer.

Look for

  • USDA Organic with a certifier named, or Safer Choice, EWG Verified or MADE SAFE on the label
  • The exact product and scent in the certifier's public list
  • A full ingredient list, with fragrance ingredients spelled out or absent
  • Liquid or powder in a closed container if young children are in the home

Be wary of

  • "Made with organic ingredients" on a detergent with no certifier named
  • "USDA Certified Biobased" printed where you expect USDA Organic
  • "Free & clear" taken as a certification: it is a product name
  • "Sanitizes laundry" on a product that is not EPA registered

Products that carry the certification

We have not tested these products. Each one was checked against the brand’s own page and the certifier’s records. Product links may be affiliate links: if you buy through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. How we choose.

  1. Meliora Laundry Powder Detergent
    Photo: Meliora
    1MelioraThree-part powder formula

    Laundry Powder Detergent

    A powder the maker describes as baking soda, washing soda and vegetable soap made with organic coconut oil, with no preservative. Meliora says it is MADE SAFE Certified and Leaping Bunny certified and prints every ingredient on the front label. The MADE SAFE index lists Laundry Powder. An unscented version is sold.

    Good to know: The coconut oil is described as organic. The detergent is not certified organic. Scented versions use essential oils, which are still fragrance.

    Checked against: meliorameansbetter.com · index.madeworks.com

    View at Meliora

    meliorameansbetter.com

  2. 2Greenshield OrganicUSDA Organic, fragrance free

    Organic Laundry Detergent in Free & Clear

    The brand calls this a USDA Certified Organic laundry detergent, free of dyes and fragrance, built on organic soap berries and saponified organic coconut oil, with every ingredient listed. The USDA Organic Integrity Database lists a product of this name under Greenology Products LLC of Raleigh, North Carolina, certified by Ecocert.

    Good to know: The brand's site does not name Greenology, so we matched the database entry by product name and city. The site points to retailers and has no store. The brand describes the formula as no-to-low sudsing.

    Checked against: greenshieldorganic.com · organic.ams.usda.gov

    View at brand site

    greenshieldorganic.com

  3. 3Dirty LabsConcentrated enzyme liquid

    Free & Clear Bio Laundry Detergent

    A concentrated enzyme detergent in an aluminum bottle. The EPA's Safer Choice product search lists Dirty Labs Bio Laundry Detergent Free & Clear and marks it fragrance free, and the brand's page says it is an EPA Safer Choice Fragrance-Free partner and formulated without dyes, optical brighteners or chlorine bleach.

    Good to know: The "100% USDA Biobased certified" claim on the page is about renewable content and is not an organic certification. The brand notes that Safer Choice recognition is not an EPA endorsement.

    Checked against: dirtylabs.com · epa.gov

    View at Dirty Labs

    dirtylabs.com

  4. 4Seventh GenerationWidely sold liquid

    Liquid Laundry Detergent - Free & Clear

    A liquid detergent the brand says has no dyes, optical brighteners or fragrances. Its page shows EPA Safer Choice Certified and Leaping Bunny Certified and lists the ingredients with the job each one does. The EPA product search lists Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent, Free & Clear, marked fragrance free.

    Good to know: The page calls it a USDA Certified Biobased Product at 97%, which is a statement about renewable content. It is not certified organic.

    Checked against: seventhgeneration.com · epa.gov

    View at brand site

    seventhgeneration.com

  5. 5AspenCleanUnscented, EWG Verified

    Unscented Laundry Detergent

    An unscented liquid detergent that AspenClean states is EWG Verified, ECOCERT certified as a natural detergent and certified by Leaping Bunny. The brand says it uses only plant and mineral-based ingredients and discloses all of them on the product page, starting with water and decyl glucoside.

    Good to know: Not certified organic. The ECOCERT mark here is for a natural detergent, which is a different standard from organic. EWG Verified is stated by the brand.

    Checked against: aspenclean.com · aspenclean.com

    View at AspenClean

    aspenclean.com

Products with a photo are shown first; otherwise the order says nothing about quality. Certifications can lapse: check the certifier’s database before you buy.

What organic means on a detergent bottle

The USDA's organic labels apply to a detergent the same way they apply to food. "Organic" with the seal needs at least 95 percent organic ingredients, not counting water and salt. "Made with organic" needs at least 70 percent and may not show the seal. Either way, a USDA-accredited certifying agent has to approve the label first. Our guide on how to read a USDA organic label walks through the tiers.

Few detergents get there, because most cleaning agents are not farm products. The one organic pick on this page washes with soap berries and saponified coconut oil. To check any organic detergent, search the maker in the USDA Organic Integrity Database and look for the product name in its certified list.

Seals you will see more often

On the labelRun byWhat it tells you
EPA Safer ChoiceUS EPAEvery chemical ingredient was reviewed, the product performs comparably to conventional ones, and the EPA audits yearly
Safer Choice Fragrance-FreeUS EPAA version of the label for products without fragrance
EWG VerifiedEnvironmental Working GroupThe product met that group's criteria, as stated by the brand
MADE SAFEA private certifierIngredients passed its screening, and the product is in its public index
USDA Certified BiobasedUSDA BioPreferred ProgramThe stated share of renewable biological content is accurate. It is not organic

Packets and young children

This is why most picks on this page are liquids or powders. A certification on the label does not make a concentrated detergent safe to swallow. For newborn clothes and cloth diapers, see our page on baby laundry detergent.

Washing is cleaning, not disinfecting

Detergent cleans. The EPA says cleaning removes dirt and organic matter with soap or detergents, and that products sold to kill bacteria or viruses are registered as antimicrobial pesticides. None of these picks is registered, and we make no germ-killing claims for them.

For a sick household, the CDC's laundry advice is plain: wash with detergent at the recommended water temperature and dry items completely. If you add chlorine bleach to a load, use it alone as its label directs. The CDC says never to mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner.

Questions people ask

Is there a USDA certified organic laundry detergent?

Yes. Greenshield Organic describes its Free & Clear and Lavender laundry detergents as USDA Certified Organic, and the USDA Organic Integrity Database lists products with those names under Greenology Products LLC, certified by Ecocert. We checked that record on the date this page was published. It is a short list, so expect to see other seals far more often.

Is a plant-based detergent the same as an organic one?

No. Plant-based describes where an ingredient started. Organic describes how a crop was grown and handled, checked by a USDA-accredited certifier. A detergent can be almost entirely plant-derived and contain nothing organic. The USDA Certified Biobased label measures the plant-derived share, and it is a separate program from USDA Organic.

What does Safer Choice Fragrance-Free mean?

It is a version of the EPA's Safer Choice label for products without fragrance. The product still has to pass the full Safer Choice review, in which the EPA looks at every chemical ingredient. The EPA's product search has a fragrance-free column, so you can confirm the exact detergent and not only the brand.

Does laundry detergent disinfect clothes?

Ordinary detergent is not a disinfectant, and no pick on this page claims to be one. The CDC's advice for laundry, including a sick person's, is to wash with detergent at the recommended water temperature and dry items completely. Products that claim to kill bacteria or viruses must be registered with the EPA as antimicrobial pesticides.

Can I use bleach with these detergents?

Follow the bleach label and your washer's instructions, and never combine bleach with another cleaning product in a bucket, sink or bottle. The CDC says never to mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner. Some plant-based laundry products contain acids such as citric acid, so do not pre-treat with one and then pour bleach on top.

Sources

Each page was opened and read on October 11, 2026.

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