By Zach Pozniak, VP of Operations at Jeeves of Belgravia New York and fourth-generation dry cleaner · @jeeves_ny
Last reviewed October 2026 · based on my March 2025 lab test of two ECOS detergents and my 2025 testing of about 78 detergents · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tide Odor Refresh liquid is out of stock on Amazon, so its links go to the pods version; the score is for the liquid I tested. Dropps 4-in-1 links go to the 63-count box while the 76-count is out of stock.
Quick answer: I do not recommend ECOS laundry detergent. When I ran it through my lab test, ECOS Hypoallergenic scored 3.1, and when I reviewed it in March 2025 that made it the second worst laundry product I had ever tested. The regular, enzymatic ECOS did better at 18.4, which is still a miserable result next to Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100.
ECOS is very cheap, and its ingredients scored well for safety. It just doesn't clean. If you want a safe, plant based detergent that does, look at 7th Gen Easy Dose ↗ instead.
| Products tested | ECOS Hypoallergenic and the regular, enzymatic ECOS |
|---|---|
| Performance score | 3.1 (Hypoallergenic) and 18.4 (regular) |
| Measured against | Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100, washing with water alone at 1 |
| Price | $10 for a 100 ounce bottle, about 10 cents a load |
| Ingredient safety | 9 out of 10 (Hypoallergenic) and 8 out of 10 (regular). Contains phenoxyethanol, so keep it away from kids. |
| Packaging | Clear HDPE plastic, which is easy to recycle |
| Verdict | Not recommended |
I test detergents with the industry standard method, the AISE laundry detergent testing guidelines. White cotton swatches get 18 different stains across five categories, they are washed in cold, warm and hot water, and a spectrometer reads the colour before and after to measure how much of each stain actually came out. I don't judge results by eye, because eyes are unreliable. In 2025 I put about 78 detergents through that test, and I reviewed both ECOS detergents in March of that year.
So 3.1 sits barely above water. Every score I publish covers stain removal and nothing else: price, ingredient safety and packaging still belong in your decision. With ECOS those other things are mostly good news, and the cleaning number is the problem.
My best guess is the formulation. ECOS's ingredients list reads closer to a hand soap or a shampoo than to a laundry detergent.
A fully plant based detergent is also hard to make. When I named the worst detergents I tested in 2025, ECOS was on the list, and I called it a great example of how difficult that is. Seventh Generation took about twenty years to figure it out. ECOS hasn't yet. At my 2025 award show I put ECOS among the year's worst products and called it a swing and a miss so far.
The good news starts with price. When I reviewed it, it was the least expensive product I had ever tested: a 100 ounce bottle cost $10, which works out to 10 cents a load.
Safety is where it does best. The chemistry experts who score ingredients for me gave the hypoallergenic version a 9 out of 10 and the regular version an 8 out of 10. The only caveat is phenoxyethanol, which means it should be kept away from kids. The bottle is clear HDPE plastic, which is easy to recycle, and ECOS is a very cool woman owned company with amazing values. That makes this result sad to report. I really think their laundry detergents need some serious work.
You want your detergent to remove stains. Even the regular version's 18.4 is a long way from the products I recommend.
You want an inexpensive detergent with safe ingredients for sensitive skin, and your clothes really aren't that dirty. In that case, I guess it's fine.
I think there are better choices out there when it comes to safe detergents. These are my top non-toxic picks, judged on ingredient safety, environmental impact and cleaning power:
If price is what drew you to ECOS, the Kirkland liquid I tested was the free and clear version, and it scored 80.0 at 15 cents a load. You need a Costco membership for it.
The full reasoning behind those picks is in my non-toxic detergent picks and my free and clear picks. Everything I have scored, with the numbers, sits in my tested laundry detergent rankings.
Not at cleaning. ECOS Hypoallergenic scored 3.1 in my lab testing, against Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100 and washing with water alone at 1, and the regular ECOS scored 18.4. When I reviewed them in March 2025, only one laundry product I had tested had done worse than the hypoallergenic version. ECOS is very cheap and the ingredients scored well for safety, but I don't recommend it, because if it doesn't clean your clothes, then what's the point?
My best guess is the formulation. The ingredients list reads closer to a hand soap or a shampoo than a laundry detergent. ECOS is also a good example of how hard it is to make an entirely plant based detergent clean well. Seventh Generation took about twenty years to crack that, so it can be done, but ECOS has not done it yet.
Yes, safety is where it does well. The chemistry experts who score ingredient safety for me gave ECOS Hypoallergenic a 9 out of 10 and the regular ECOS an 8 out of 10. The one caveat is that it contains phenoxyethanol, which means it should be kept away from kids.
It depends which number you care about. The hypoallergenic version scored higher for ingredient safety, 9 out of 10 against 8, and lower for cleaning, 3.1 against 18.4. Neither cleaning score is one I can recommend.
If you chose ECOS for safe, plant based ingredients, 7th Gen Easy Dose ↗ is my best all around non-toxic pick: about 99% of its ingredients are plant based and the cleaning performance is excellent. If cleaning matters most and you still want a free and clear formula, Tide Odor Refresh ↗ scored 96.9. If price is the reason, the Kirkland free and clear liquid scored 80.0 at 15 cents a load, though you need a Costco membership.
ECOS is safe, plant derived and incredibly affordable, but if it doesn't clean your clothes, then what's the point? The hypoallergenic version scored 3.1 and the regular version 18.4, and I can't recommend either. If safe ingredients are why you buy it, my non-toxic picks give you that and still clean well.
Or ask about any laundry or garment care question
Zach Pozniak is VP of Operations and co-owner of Jeeves of Belgravia New York, the Madison Avenue dry cleaner serving New York since 1979, and the fourth generation of his family in the trade. Zach posts garment care techniques as @jeeves_ny on TikTok to over 900,000 followers, and his book The Laundry Book, co-written with his father Jerry Pozniak, was featured on Good Morning America in October 2024. Jeeves NY's clients include the Metropolitan Opera, the Met Museum, and FIT, and the business has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine.