The 6 Best Non-Toxic Cleaning Products (Actually Independent)

Buying non-toxic cleaning products should be straightforward. Pick the bottle with a leaf on it, check for the word "natural," and move on. Except it is not straightforward -- not even close. Because three of the most popular "green" cleaning brands in America are all owned by the same company that makes Raid bug spray.

Mrs. Meyer's, Method, and Ecover? All SC Johnson. Seventh Generation? That's Unilever -- the same parent company behind Axe body spray and Dove. The "natural" cleaning aisle is full of brands that look independent but are not.

We built Trusted Labels because we got tired of being fooled. Every brand we review gets two scores: one for ingredient safety (how clean the formula actually is) and one for independence (who actually owns the company). A perfect ingredient list means less if the company behind it answers to a chemical conglomerate's board of directors.

Here are the six cleaning brands that scored highest on both. Every one of them is still owned by the people who started it.

---

1. Force of Nature -- The Simplest Formula on Earth

Ingredients: 10/10 · Independence: 10/10

Force of Nature might be the most remarkable cleaning product we have ever tested. The entire formula is three ingredients: salt, water, and vinegar. That's it. The device uses electrolyzed water technology to convert those three pantry staples into hypochlorous acid, the same antimicrobial your white blood cells produce to fight infection.

Founded by Sandy Posa, a former tech executive whose daughter has severe allergies, Force of Nature was born out of genuine personal need. Posa spent years working with chemists and engineers to create an EPA-registered disinfectant that could replace bleach, all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, and bathroom sprays without a single synthetic ingredient.

The starter kit runs about $80 and includes the electrolyzer device, a spray bottle, and enough capsules (pre-measured salt and vinegar) to make around 50 bottles of cleaner. Refill capsules bring the per-bottle cost down to roughly $0.07 -- cheaper than a bottle of Windex.

Why we love it: Zero fragrance, zero preservatives, zero surfactants. It kills 99.9% of bacteria yet is safe enough to use around babies and pets without rinsing. The fact that it costs almost nothing per use is a bonus.

One heads-up: You do need the device. This is not a grab-a-bottle-off-the-shelf product. If you want the absolute simplest ingredient list in cleaning, this is it -- but there is a small learning curve with the hardware.

2. Branch Basics -- One Concentrate for Everything

Ingredients: 10/10 · Independence: 10/10

Branch Basics sells one product: a plant-based concentrate. Dilute it differently and it becomes your all-purpose cleaner, bathroom spray, streak-free glass cleaner, laundry detergent, and hand soap. The idea is elegantly simple -- why buy seven different bottles when one formula works for everything?

The company was founded by three women -- Marilee Nelson, Allison Evans, and Kelly Love -- all of whom came to non-toxic living through personal health crises. Nelson, an environmental consultant, spent decades studying how household chemicals affect health. Evans and Love both experienced chemical sensitivities that conventional medicine couldn't explain.

Branch Basics is Made SAFE certified, meaning every single ingredient has been screened against known harmful chemicals by a third-party organization. The concentrate is plant-based, fragrance-free, and contains no SLS, ammonia, chlorine, dyes, or preservatives of concern.

A starter kit with the concentrate and all the reusable bottles runs about $60. Because you're diluting a concentrate, it lasts a long time -- most households get 2-3 months from one bottle.

Why we love it: The simplicity of one product replacing an entire cabinet of cleaners. The three founders are still running the company, and they are obsessively transparent about every ingredient. Their website has more ingredient education than most cleaning brands' entire marketing departments.

One heads-up: It is not a disinfectant. If you need to kill bacteria or viruses (think flu season or a raw chicken spill), you will still need something like Force of Nature alongside it.

3. Truly Free Home -- Built for Chemical Sensitivity

Ingredients: 9/10 · Independence: 10/10

Truly Free Home was founded by Stephen Ezell, who started the company after watching his wife struggle with severe chemical sensitivities. Every product is formulated for the most sensitive users -- people who react to conventional cleaning products, artificial fragrances, and even some "natural" alternatives.

Their product line is more traditional than Force of Nature or Branch Basics: individual laundry detergent, dishwasher pods, all-purpose cleaner, and specialty items like fabric softener and stain remover. Everything is fragrance-free and dye-free, and they publish full ingredient lists on every product page.

We gave them a 9 on ingredients instead of a perfect 10 because some products include chelating agents and stabilizers that, while safe, represent slightly more complex chemistry than the absolute purest brands on this list.

Why we love it: This is the brand we recommend for families dealing with chemical sensitivities, autoimmune conditions, or anyone who reacts to products that other "natural" brands insist are harmless. Ezell still runs the company, and their customer service team actually answers ingredient questions in detail.

One heads-up: Pricing is higher than most conventional brands, especially for the laundry detergent and dishwasher pods. The subscription model helps, but this is not the budget option.

4. Earth Breeze -- Plastic-Free Laundry Done Right

Ingredients: 9/10 · Independence: 9/10

Earth Breeze makes dissolvable laundry detergent sheets -- thin, pre-measured strips that dissolve completely in your washing machine. No plastic jug, no measuring cup, no spills. Drop a sheet in, run the load, done.

Founded by Jon Wedel, Earth Breeze has a strong environmental mission beyond just clean ingredients. Each purchase donates 10 loads of detergent to charitable organizations, and their packaging is 100% plastic-free and compostable. The sheets are vegan, cruelty-free, and free of parabens, phthalates, phosphates, bleach, and dyes.

We scored them 9/10 on independence because they have taken some growth investment, though Wedel remains in control and the company has not shown any signs of the drift that typically accompanies outside capital. At the time of writing, there are no board seats held by institutional investors.

A subscription for 60 sheets (enough for 60 loads) runs about $12 -- making this one of the most affordable options on the list per load.

Why we love it: The combination of genuinely clean ingredients, zero plastic waste, and affordable pricing is hard to beat. If your main cleaning need is laundry, Earth Breeze is an easy switch.

One heads-up: Some users with HE machines report needing 1.5 sheets for heavily soiled loads. Not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing.

5. Meliora -- Radical Ingredient Transparency

Ingredients: 10/10 · Independence: 10/10

Meliora's tagline is "People Honestly Making Clean Products," and they back that up with what might be the most transparent ingredient disclosure in the industry. Every single ingredient is listed on every product -- not just the active ingredients, not "proprietary blend," not "fragrance." Everything.

Founded by Kate and Mike Jakubas in Chicago, Meliora is a Certified B Corp, Made SAFE certified, and Leaping Bunny certified. Their product line includes laundry powder, all-purpose cleaner, dish soap, and hand soap, all made in small batches at their own facility.

The formulations lean toward simplicity -- their laundry powder contains just three ingredients (sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, and coconut oil-based soap). That's the kind of radical simplicity we look for. When a product has three ingredients and you can pronounce all of them, the company is not hiding anything.

Why we love it: B Corp certified, Made SAFE certified, Leaping Bunny certified, and every ingredient published in plain English. If you want to support a small, truly mission-driven cleaning company, Meliora is the gold standard.

One heads-up: The product line is smaller than some competitors. If you need a specialized cleaner for a specific job (oven cleaner, grout scrub), you may need to supplement with another brand.

6. Blueland -- Beautiful, Refillable, and VC-Backed

Ingredients: 9/10 · Independence: 7/10 VC-Backed

We will be upfront about this one: Blueland has raised approximately $35 million in venture capital. That is why their independence score is 7 instead of 10. We include them because the products are genuinely excellent and the ingredients score high -- but you deserve to know that this brand has significant investor money behind it.

Founded by Sarah Paiji Yoo after she learned how much microplastic was in tap water, Blueland's model is clever: buy a beautiful Forever Bottle once, then drop in dissolvable cleaning tablets to refill it. Tablets come in compostable packaging, and each one costs about $2 compared to $4-6 for a new bottle of spray cleaner.

The formulations are solid -- free of VOCs, ammonia, and parabens, with each product rated by the EPA's Safer Choice program. The product range covers all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, bathroom spray, hand soap, dish soap, and laundry tablets.

Why we included it (despite the VC): The ingredients genuinely earn a 9/10. The refillable model meaningfully reduces plastic waste. And the products work well. If ingredient safety is your primary concern and independence is secondary, Blueland is a strong choice.

The honest concern: Brands that raise $35 million from venture capitalists typically need to provide a return on that investment. Historically, that means an acquisition by a larger company within 5-10 years. We are not saying it will happen, but the pattern is consistent. Enjoy the products now, and stay subscribed to our newsletter -- we'll alert you the moment anything changes.

---

The Full Comparison

Here is how all six brands stack up side by side. Both "Top Pick" brands scored perfect 10s across ingredients and independence.

---

Who to Avoid

These brands market themselves as "natural" or "green" but are owned by multinational corporations. The ingredients may be acceptable, but the folksy independent branding is corporate theater.

We have deep dives on who really owns Mrs. Meyer's and the Seventh Generation acquisition if you want the full story. The short version: when you buy these products, your money goes to the same companies that make Raid, Windex, Axe, and Dove.

For a full list of cleaning brands we have vetted, head over to the cleaning category page.

---

How We Chose These Brands

Every brand on Trusted Labels gets two scores, each on a 1-10 scale:

• Ingredient Safety (1-10): We cross-reference every ingredient against the EWG Skin Deep database, check for third-party certifications (EWG Verified, Made SAFE, Leaping Bunny), and evaluate the overall formulation philosophy. A 10 means every ingredient is individually rated safe with zero concerns.
• Independence (1-10): We research ownership through SEC filings, Crunchbase funding data, acquisition press releases, and corporate registrations. A 10 means founder-owned with zero outside investment. A 7 means VC-backed but founder still in control. Anything below 5 means a corporation is calling the shots.

To make this list, a brand needed to score at least 9 on ingredients and at least 7 on independence. We started with over a dozen popular cleaning brands, eliminated the corporate-owned ones, and ranked the remaining by their combined scores.

We earn affiliate commissions on some of the brands listed here. That has zero influence on our scores -- we've given low scores to brands with affiliate programs and high scores to brands without them. Our full affiliate disclosure explains how this works.

For a detailed breakdown of our scoring methodology, see How We Score Every Brand.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a cleaning product truly non-toxic?

A truly non-toxic cleaning product avoids synthetic fragrances, SLS/SLES, phthalates, formaldehyde releasers, chlorine bleach, and ammonia. Third-party certifications like EWG Verified and Made SAFE provide independent verification, but the single most important thing is full ingredient transparency. If a brand won't tell you exactly what's in the bottle, that's a red flag regardless of what their marketing says.

Are "green" cleaning brands from big companies actually safe?

Their ingredients are often better than conventional alternatives, so they are not the worst choice. But brands like Mrs. Meyer's (SC Johnson) and Seventh Generation (Unilever) frequently use synthetic fragrances and preservatives that truly independent clean brands have eliminated entirely. The bigger concern is long-term trust: when a chemical conglomerate owns a "natural" brand, formulations can change quietly over time. The incentive structure is fundamentally different from a founder-owned company where the person who created the formula still signs off on every batch.

Why does brand independence matter for cleaning products?

Because ownership determines incentives. A founder who started a cleaning company because her child has allergies is going to make different formulation decisions than a corporate product manager optimizing for profit margins. We have seen multiple cases of brands quietly changing ingredients after being acquired. Independence does not guarantee perfect products, but it does mean the people making decisions have skin in the game beyond quarterly earnings.

Is Blueland trustworthy even though it took VC funding?

Right now, yes. The products score a 9/10 on ingredient safety, and the refillable model is genuinely innovative. The $35 million in VC funding is why we score their independence at 7 instead of 10 -- it is a flag, not a disqualification. The honest concern is what happens in 3-5 years. VC-backed consumer brands historically get acquired by larger companies, and that is when ingredient quality and transparency often start to slip. We will update their scores the moment anything changes.