Happi Earth Vs Dirt Laundry Detergent

Happi earth vs dirt laundry detergent, how do they compare?

Our ocean has become a giant trash can of plastic rubbish, harming our marine life and ultimately our planet. Thankfully, as consumers become more environmentally aware, brands are responding with eco products to make it easier for us.

The problem with most laundry detergents is two fold.

First, the average household uses 13 bottles per year. Resulting in plastic waste that either ends up in landfill, our soil, or our oceans.

Second, the average supermarket laundry detergent is filled with toxic chemicals that end up harming our delicate marine life.

Two companies dedicated to making a difference, are Happy Earth laundry liquid and The Dirt Company.

So let’s take a look at what’s on offer…

Happy Earth vs dirt laundry detergent ingredients

Although unusual for a laundry detergent, Happy Earth’s ingredients are completely certified organic. What’s more, there are just 5 simple ingredients to read though on the label:

• Certified organic soapberry nut concentrate,
• Certified organic bean glycerine,
• Certified organic sugarcane Ethanol,
• Certified organic eucalyptus essential oil,
• Certified organic orange essential oil.

Being certified organic means it’s completely free from GMO’s or any chemical nasties. Plus they don’t use Palm oil.

On the other hand, Dirt’s ingredient list is, well, not so simple to read though!

Their main laundry liquid has 18 ingredients, excluding the water component:

• Water,
• Naturally Derived Coconut Fatty Acid,
• Nature Identical Citric Acid,
• Potassium Hydroxide,
• Natural Potassium Carbonate,
• Naturally Derived Alcohol Ethoxylate,
• Plant Derived Sodium Laureth Sulphate,
• Alkyl Polyglucosides,
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone,
• Sodium Formate,
• Calcium Chloride,
• (Cedarwood, Tonka bean, Lemon, Lavandin, Bergamot, Lavender and eucalyptus essential oils),
• Organic Enzymes.

Their website states all ingredients are 100% biodegradable.

Happi Earth vs Dirt cost per wash

Compared to conventional supermarket brands that are mostly water, both Happi and Dirt win on value for money.

Happi Earth’s 1 litre pouch packs a whopping 400 washes! And comes in at just 25 cents per wash. That’s around half the price of many leading supermarket brands.

Happi also have a triple pack (3x 1 litre pouch) which brings the price down even further.

The Dirt Company’s pouches come in 2 sizes:

1 small 450 ml pouch @ 32 loads per pouch 33 cents per load.

3 litre pouch – 210 loads 28 cents per load.

Although both companies offer free shipping on most orders, it’s important to note the environmental impact of transporting small quantities each month.

Happi Earth vs Dirt’s performance

Both companies receive a review average of 4.9. Which is pretty awesome!

Interestingly, one of Dirt’s customers loves using the detergent as a hair shampoo!

“What this product is absolutely great at is cleaning my hair. As an all natural product I’ve started using it as a shampoo and it is the best product I’ve ever used!! No more frizz, my hair is lighter and has more volume and I have been able to extend the period between washes.”

And Happi has one very happi mum indeed!

“The biggest test for me was cloth nappies – would they come out clean? Previously I’d soaked and hand washed before putting them into the machine. This time, I didn’t even soak, I just put the dirty nappies straight into the machine. Two pumps (literally the smallest amount) and the nappies came out completely spotless. I’m absolutely sold, this is truly a magical product. Happi Earth = Happi Mama.”

Happi vs Dirt environmental impact statements

Both Happi and Dirt allow their laundry pouches to be returned so they can be sterilised and reused over and over again. Nice!

Happi plant one Mangrove tree for every purchase

“We chose to plant mangrove trees for every Happi purchase as they are one of the most beneficial trees for our environment. As mangrove trees have an extremely high rate of carbon sequestration (about 5X more than a rainforest tree), by planting more of them we are actually helping to cool our planet in a big way. In fact, did you know a mature mangrove tree cools the atmosphere at a rate equivalent to three room-sized air conditioners!”

The Dirt Company donate 50% of their profits to The Ocean Cleanup.

“That’s why we also donate 50% of our profits to The Ocean Cleanup. They’re an amazing organisation working to tackle the plastic problem from a different angle, by developing technology to pull plastics out of the ocean.”

How environmentally conscious is the packaging?

The Dirt Company:

The refill packs are plastic, but we estimate use 90% less plastic per load than your average laundry detergent bottle. We’re really happy that we’ve been able to cut out so much unnecessary plastic, but we are also working hard to find alternative packaging solutions, because our end goal is to cut plastic completely.

Happi Earth:

The refill pouches are made from kraft paper with a fine BPA free plastic lining to prevent leakage. Kraft in German means ‘strength’ and is the paper made from the pulp of wood and is therefore renewable.

Bleaching is not involved in the making of Kraft paper unlike regular paper. It is a strong durable paper and at the same time light weight, which in turn reduces the emissions from shipping.

Details on the refill bottles

• The Dirt Company’s glass dispenser is $16.96
• Happy Earth’s stainless steel dispenser is $14.98

While neither of these dispensers result in zero impact on the environment, both companies are committed to a zero waste cycle via their refill and return programs. Meaning, you can return the original detergent pack and they will sterilise and refill it over and over again. Which is a fantastic initiative compared to most other laundry brands. 

Not to mention both bottles would make a stylish, eco friendly addition to any laundry!

Note: Happi plan to release a dispenser made from natural sugarcane in the very near future.

What is the most environmentally friendly laundry detergent?

The most environmentally friendly laundry detergent is one that doesn’t use toxic chemicals or disposable plastic bottles that harm our environment.

Let’s start with plastic waste.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics report released in November 2020, all plastic types had the worst recovery rates of around 15%. Of 2.5 tonnes generated, 84% is sent straight to landfill.

Let’s let that sink in for a minute…

A whopping 84% of all our plastic waste was ‘unrecoverable’. Meaning it wasn’t (or can’t be) sent to recycling or repurposed for other uses.

And guess who the largest contributor of plastic waste is?

Households! Compared to manufacturing coming in at second place.

And unless we can figure out a way to send this waste into outer space, it’s going to keep being sent to landfill until, well, there’s no land left to fill!

With the average household using up to 13 plastic bottle a year on laundry alone, you can make a difference just by switching to an eco friendly laundry detergent.

So which eco laundry detergent will you choose? Happi Earth certified organic detergent or Dirt?