Looking for eco-friendly laundry detergents that are organic and safe for sensitive skin? I’ve been trialling Wooly Mates and have been really impressed with both the ingredients and the results.
So whether you have a biosystem, septic tank or are just sick of the junk in your washing products and want an eco-friendly option, then THIS could be the stuff you’ve been looking for.
Wooly Mates is an Australian brand of organic eco-Friendly laundry products and is a small business based in rural Victoria.
They make a range of products including a concentrated laundry liquid made from a soap nut and castile soap base plus an amazing zero waste laundry bar which I am totally in love with.
Wooly Mates also have wool based dryer balls, which are as natural as they come and I’ll get to those in a minute.
Heads up, there is a GIVE AWAY currently running to win a pack of Wooly Mates goodies, all the details can be found at the end of the post.
I've been giving these products a good run at home and I'm happy to say the results have been excellent. If you want to check out extra details head directly to the Wooly Mates Website.
Organic Soap Nut & Castile Soap Laundry Concentrate
Now, I know some of you will be asking about the packaging and may have spotted it straight away – the castile soap concentrate comes in a plastic/paper sachet and can’t be recycled.
This isn’t perfect, but there are a lot of advantages in working with a concentrate and I think this is still a fabulous option for a natural based laundry liquid that is good on your clothes, chemical free, grey water safe, biodegradable and not polluting waterways.
I think these are ideal for anyone who is physically unable to head to a bulk store to refill containers, and wants a palm oil free, vegan friendly and planet friendly option for washing their clothes.
It's a multi-purpose liquid soap meaning it can be used for laundry, washing veggies, cleaning and even washing the dog.
Because its concentrated, you add the water at home, so it's lower weight and low packaging for a large quantity of washing liquid.
Just 100 grams makes a 1 litre of liquid and only 15mls is needed for the average size washing load in a front loader.
If you’ve followed me for a bit, you probably know that I have a few skin sensitivities and almost ALL laundry products on the market result in me having itchy skin and rashes.
In fact ALL products bar an ecofriendly washing powder from the supermarket plus soap nuts (and now this one!)
I've been told powders are not a great choice for front loaders. (Front loaders are much gentler on your clothes so I definitely want to stick to this and help my machine and clothing last longer).
As far as liquid laundry products, this is the only liquid I know of that is natural, aussie made, eco-friendly, ethical AND doesn’t give me a rash, so YES I can totally overlook the packaging which is still pretty minute in the scheme of things.
To prepare the concentrate, all I did was repurpose a 1 litre juice bottle and add 100 grams of the concentrate. I used a butter knife and my kitchen scales to weigh it. You can see above it is a solid gel and it was easy to measure out.
I then filled with tap water and let it sit over night as per the instructions.
By the morning, it had dissolved well and I gave it a bit of a shake and it was ready to use.
I have plenty of saved up medicine measuring cups over the years so I have dedicated one for the laundry and marked the 15ml mark with a sharpie.
I found it did a great job cleaning our clothes, although for the very dirty stuff (kids clothes and dog bedding in particular) I did need to use 30mls.
Laundry Bar and Stain Remover
THIS is now my favourite laundry item and I can’t live without it.
Along with treating stains or hand washing, it can also be used to clean hands making it a fabulous zero waste travel essential or a handy on the go soap.
Wrapped in a cardboard sleeve, it’s plastic free, palm oil free, and unscented.
I’ve been using this predominantly on my daughters clothing and school uniforms. She is a dirt loving messy kid and having a stick of stain remover is brilliant.
I also use this on my reusable pads and am really happy with the results. So far it’s been used on pumpkin soup stains, dirt, chocolate and who knows what else with positive results. I haven’t tried it on beetroot, but what you can expect from this laundry stick is equivalent to other laundry soaps on the market EXCEPT you wont be getting palm oil and it's better for the planet.
Because it’s grey water safe, I can handwash items in a tub and then tip it into the garden when I’m finished. The less we need to pour down the drain, the better.
Note: if you keep getting the cardboard sleeve wet it will start to come off.
To use it, just wet the clothing items and the laundry bar and rub it straight on, easy as that, then wash as per usual.
Eco-Friendly Natural Wool Dryer Balls
These Wool Dryer Balls have been handmade in Victoria from non-mulesed Australian wool - this means the sheep have not been exposed to the traditional practice of mulesing which is basically a bit cruel to the sheep and if you want to know more details on it, head here.
These are used in the dryer and can help your clothes to dry faster, save energy, minimise static and help soften clothing.
You can add a few drops of essential oils for a natural fragrance for your wash load and these are naturally biodegradable.
Just place 3 or more dryer balls into your dryer and go for it.
I didn't try this product because after years of not using my dryer I eventually sold it and now I just line dry everything on my humongous clothes airer.
Give Away Time
Wooly Mates have given me a bundle of their beautiful products to giveaway!
Win an Wooly Mates Eco Laundry Package (pictured above)
valued at over $150:
This is enough to do 333 loads of washing!
> 250g Organic Soap Nut Castile Soap Concentrate
> 250g Organic Coconut Oil Castile Soap Concentrate
> A Set of 6 Natural Wool Dryer Balls
> Laundry Bar and Stain Remover Stick
The winner will be drawn at random and contacted via messenger or instagram.
Note: You must have an Australian postal address to receive the prize.
All items will be posted in a compostable satchel via Australia Post.