Is Molly’s Sustainable or is it Greenwashing?

Oct 27

Welcome to my "Sustainable or Greenwashing" series where I'm sharing if brands and products are actually what they say they are.

Is Molly's Suds sustainable or is it greenwashing? 🧺

I made a video about this one back in March — looking at the brand as a whole, not just one product — and it is one of the most-requested laundry brands in my comments — so let's get into it.

Molly's Suds was founded in 2008 by Monica Leonard, a pediatric nurse and mom, after the loss of her stillborn daughter Molly. She couldn't find a laundry detergent she felt good about, so she worked with a green chemist and made her own. That story matters to me, because this isn't a brand that started in a boardroom — it started with a mom reading ingredient labels.

So what is actually in it? The Original Laundry Powder has just four or five ingredients: sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium sulfate, unrefined sea salt, and organic peppermint oil in the scented version only. That's it. One tablespoon per load.

And the list of what it does not contain is long: no synthetic fragrances, no dyes, no formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane, no optical brighteners, no phosphates, no chlorine, no SLES, no phthalates, no parabens. For a laundry powder, that is a genuinely short ingredient list.

The independent check backs it up, mostly. EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning rates the laundry powder LOW concern across the board — asthma and respiratory, skin allergies, developmental and reproductive toxicity, cancer, and environmental impact — and scores the individual ingredients A and B. But here is the honest caveat: the same EWG page says "this product is not certified as a green cleaner." It is not EWG Verified, and it does not carry the EPA Safer Choice mark. It is Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free, which it has been since 2011, but the top-tier ingredient-safety certifications are not there.

And there is one more "but" I want to be straight with you about: the powder is the PVA-free one. The pods are not — their ingredient list includes PVOH, the same polyvinyl alcohol film other "eco" pods get called out for. And the laundry sheets list polyvinyl alcohol as the first ingredient, even though they are sold with "plastic-free packaging." So if PVA matters to you, the powder is the format to buy.

Same story with the packaging. The powder comes in a recyclable #7 plastic pouch — it is not plastic-free, and to the brand's credit, they say so plainly on their own site instead of pretending otherwise. They explain that the pouches are lighter to ship and take up less landfill space than the alternatives. Fair enough, but I am not going to call it plastic-free when it isn't.

So is Molly's Suds sustainable or is it greenwashing?

I'm going to say sustainable — with the asterisks above. The powder's ingredient list is one of the shortest I have seen in this whole series, the EWG scores are strong, and the brand is unusually honest about its own limits. But buy the powder, not the pods or the sheets, if you want the PVA-free version — and know the pouch is plastic.

If you want to compare it with the other laundry brands I have covered, my Dropps and ECOS breakdowns are on the hub. What do you think — is Molly's Suds sustainable, or is there more they could do? Let me know, and if there is another brand you want me to cover, send it my way!

I have many more deep dives on the Sustainable or Greenwashing hub — stick around for all things mind, body, and planet! 🌎

XOXO, Krys

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Krystalynn Gier

Krystalynn Gier is an eco-educator and sustainability content creator who is passionate about sharing low waste living tips, health and wellness hacks, and cozy home decor with those interested in learning about a low waste life.

https://www.krystalynngier.com

Is Molly’s Sustainable or is it Greenwashing?

So is Molly's Suds sustainable or is it greenwashing?

Sources:

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