Conventional dish soap might leave your dishes squeaky clean, but it’s far from a clean, healthy, or eco-friendly solution!
Most are mass-manufactured, packed full of harmful ingredients, packaged in tons of plastic.
If you’re looking for an effective, safer, healthier, and more eco-friendly alternative to conventional dishwashing liquid, solid dish soap bars are the way to go!
In this review, we have selected the best natural, non-toxic and zero-waste dish soap bars to try in your kitchen.
All of them are incredibly efficient, crafted by brands prioritizing both human health and environmental sustainability.
Let’s jump right in!
10 Best Dish Soap Bars: The Shortlist
Here is our selection of the best solid dish soap bars:
- Best Unscented: Plantish – Vegan, Zero-Waste Solid Dish Soap Bar
- Best for Economical Use: RFRESH – Natural Solid Dish Soap Bar
- Best for Low Impact Ingredients: Best Meliora – Lemon Dish Soap Bar
- Best Vegan & Cruelty-free: No Tox Life – Vegan Dish Block
- Best Organic: Brooklyn Made Natural – Solid Organic Dish Soap
- Best for Glasses: Sea Witch Botanicals – Canary Clean Zero Waste Dish Soap Bar
- Best Multipurpose: Battle Green – Lemon & Eucalyptus Organic Dish Soap Bar
- Best Scented: Lora’s Beauty – Solid Round Dish Washing Soap with Essential Oils
- Best Soap & Scrubbie Combo: W.E. Sheep – Zero Waste Dish Soap and Wool Scrubbies
- Best Concentrated Formula: Tiani Body Care Co. – Lemongrass Concentrated Dish Soap Bar
Why Use Natural Dish Soap?
Switching to more natural, eco-friendly dish soaps is an excellent choice. Conventional dish soaps, especially liquid ones, contain a host of chemicals that are not only bad for our health, but the environment too.
From solvents and surfactants to synthetic fragrances, preservatives, and caustic ingredients, they’re laden with substances that harm everything from how our hormones and immune systems function, to aquatic life and water quality.
Take a look at this video by EcoMastery Project for a snapshot of what is the dish soaps and detergents we use every day:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL5zJHzeKzo[/embedyt]
Conventional liquid dish soaps and detergents are also mass-manufactured in ways that harm the environment and come packaged in tons of unnecessary plastic!
Thankfully, there are some great solid dish soap bars that are thoughtfully made with natural, non-toxic ingredients and come in plastic-free, zero-waste packaging!
They’re also super effective and work just as well as conventional liquid dish soaps – without any of the harmful chemicals, and no waste. What’s not to love?!
Selection Criteria: How We Selected the Best Natural, Zero-Waste Dish Soap Bars
So, how did we choose the natural, zero-waste solid dish soap bars on this list? We looked specifically for options that are:
- Highly effective, even on greasy dishes and food-stained containers
- Use safe, non-toxic ingredients
- Zero-waste and packaged plastic-free (product and shipping)
- Made by eco-friendly, ethical, and socially responsible brands
- Vegan and/or cruelty-free
- Handmade, by small businesses that support local economies
- Long-lasting and economical to use
- Highly rated by real-life customers
- Certified by third-party sustainability certification organizations
We chose these brands with our selection criteria in mind, and they’re all great options that tick most if not all of our checkboxes!
10 Best Zero-Waste Dish Soap Bars
Right, let’s take a look at our selection of the best natural, zero-waste, and eco-friendly dish soap bars:
1. Plantish – Vegan, Zero-Waste Solid Dish Soap Bar
Plantish is a small Canadian brand of plastic-free, vegan, and zero-waste products for personal care, home, and kitchen.
All their products are selected to be plant-based, low-impact alternatives that perform better than plastic. They choose simple, natural materials and ingredients that are sustainably sourced and responsibly made.
Their solid dish soap bars are made with just four natural ingredients. They contain no fragrances, preservatives, additives, or palm oil, and are packaged plastic-free. It is also vegan and 100% compostable.
If you’d like something a little more fragrant than the original unscented dish soap bars, we love their Minty Mint Dish Soap Brick and their Fresh Citrus Dish Soap Brick!
They’re both scented with natural essential oils that smell amazing and add their own cleaning properties to these powerful but wonderfully gentle dish soaps.
Ingredients (unscented): Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Aqua (Water), Sodium Hydroxide
Price: $8.99 (CAD)
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (97 reviews)
Where to Buy: Plantish
Bonus Recommendation: Plastic-free, 100% Plant Based and Compostable Dish Sponges
Plantish’s set of 3 Pop-up Dish Sponges is a super cute addition to your zero-waste kitchen. They are 100% plant-based and made out of vegetable cellulose (wood pulp), and completely compostable. They look and perform just like traditional kitchen sponges, without the plastic or the waste!
Price: $10.89 CAD for a Set of 3
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (2 reviews)
Where to Buy: Plantish
2. RFRESH – Natural Solid Dish Soap Bar
RFRESH Soap is a small business based in California. They make natural, eco-friendly, and zero-waste soap products for personal and household use.
RFRESH Soaps are made with natural, plant-based ingredients that are safe and non-toxic. They contain no palm oil, parabens, mineral oils, petroleum products, SLS, phthalates, dyes, or synthetic fragrances.
All their products are cruelty-free and vegan (aside from a few that contain beeswax).
Most of their products are zero-waste. They use compostable packaging for products and shipping and also sell naked soaps with no product packaging at all.
RFRESH dish soaps are cold-pressed and cured for 4 to 6 weeks, which makes them long-lasting and economical. Their natural solid dish soap bars are available as unscented, orange bliss, or lemon zest scented. Saponified coconut oil makes them later well and they’re great for greasy dishes.
Ingredients: Saponified Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Castor Oil, Sodium Lactate, and Essential Oils
Price: $8.80
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (232 reviews)
Where to Buy: RFRESHSOAP on Etsy
3. Meliora – Lemon Dish Soap Bar
Meliora is based in Chicago and makes a full range of home cleaning products that are effective and safe for people and the planet. All their products are Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free, and they only use ingredients that are MadeSafe approved.
As a B Corp Certified company, they’re dedicated to sustainability and social responsibility. They’re also members of 1 for the Planet and Women’s Voices for the Earth, and contribute 2% of their annual revenue to charities and non-profits.
Meliora’s Lemon Dish Soap Bar is cruelty-free, 100% plastic-free, made with organic ingredients, and contains no palm oil, dyes, preservatives, or synthetic fragrances.
Ingredients: Vegetable Soap Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Sunflowerate, Glycerin, Water, Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Organic Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Organic Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil
Price: $7.50
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (3 reviews)
Where to Buy: Amazon
4. No Tox Life – Vegan Dish Block
No Tox Life is a small family-owned, dedicated cruelty-free, and vegan brand. They make eco-friendly products for personal, home, and kitchen use, including zero-waste deodorants, soaps and cleaning products.
All their products are handmade and, as their name suggests, they use only non-toxic, natural, plant-based ingredients that are safe for personal and household use.
No Tox Life is a low-to-no-waste brand, and they use plastic-free, recycled packaging, most of which is home compostable. They also offer refills from their store in Los Angeles.
The No Tox Life Dish Block is vegan, cruelty-free, phosphate-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free. fragrance-free, dye-free, gluten-free, safe for septic tanks, and contains no palm oil.
Ingredients: Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Carbonate, Quillaja Saponaria organic, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice organic
Price: $9.98
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (331 reviews)
Where to Buy: No Tox Life on Etsy
5. Brooklyn Made Natural – Solid Organic Dish Soap
Brooklyn Made Natural is an all-natural brand that makes products for personal skin and hair care, as well as household and kitchen, and essential oils.
All their products are handmade, using natural ingredients. They contain no chemicals, preservatives, or synthetic intranets of any kind. Most of their ingredients are organic and their products are zero-waste, packaged in reusable, refillable, and recyclable tins.
Brooklyn Made Natural’s Solid Organic Dish Soap Bar is made with all organic ingredients and uses orange and lemongrass essential oils for fragrance. It lathers well and can be used as an all-purpose cleaning soap that is gentle on your hands, while still highly effective.
Ingredients: Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Water, Lye, Organic Orange Essential Oil, Organic Lemongrass Essential Oil
Price: $10.00
Customer Review Score: 5/5 (361 reviews)
Where to Buy: BrooklynMadeNatural on Etsy
6. Sea Witch Botanicals – Canary Clean Zero Waste Dish Soap Bar
Sea Witch Botanicals is a vegan, zero-waste brand for all things home, personal care, and self-care. Their ranges include everything from clothing to incense and skincare to household cleaning products.
They’re based in Washington and are dedicated to sustainability and social responsibility. They’re B Corp Certified and certified vegan, members of 1 for the Planet and donate to various other organizations and charities.
Sea Witch Botanicals’ Canary Clean dish soap bars are made with all-natural ingredients, that are non-toxic and contain no phthalates, parabens, SLS, petroleum products, and no synthetic fragrances. As they put it, “no need to send a canary into your home to test for toxins”!
They’re also vegan and completely biodegradable, and their zero-waste packaging can be composted or recycled. Canary Clean dish soap bars are also multipurpose and are great for general cleaning, including glass and other surfaces.
Ingredients: Saponified Organic Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Orange Essential Oil (Citrus sinensis), Kaolin Clay
Price: $6.00
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (107 reviews)
Where to Buy: SeaWitchBotanical on Etsy
7. Battle Green – Lemon & Eucalyptus Organic Dish Soap Bar
Battle Green is based Snowdonia, Wales, and sells a range of eco-friendly alternatives to the plastic products we use every day.
All their products are certified vegan and cruelty-free. As a zero-waste store, they use minimal packaging and offer refills and bulk purchases.
Most products can be bought packaged in recycled paper, or naked if you prefer, and they ship using only plastic-free, compostable, and recyclable packaging.
Battle Green Lemon & Eucalyptus Organic Dish Soap Bar is a multi-purpose soap bar. It is cruelty-free, vegan, and made using only plant-based and natural ingredients, that are non-toxic, biodegradable, free from palm oil, SLS/SLES, and synthetic fragrances.
Ingredients: Organic Coconut Oil, White Kaolin Clay, Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Lemongrass Essential Oil, Plant-Based Sodium Lactate
Price: $4.10
Customer Review Score: 5/5 (61 reviews)
Where to Buy: BattleGreenBox on Etsy
8. Lora’s Beauty – Solid Round Dish Washing Soap with Essential Oils
Lora’s Beauty products are all thoughtfully made in the Pacific Northwest, with sustainability in mind.
Their artisanal body soaps, shampoo and conditioner bars, and dish soap bars are made using locally sourced, organic ingredients, and contain no palm oil.
They’re packaged plastic-free and shipped in reused packaging that can be recycled.
Lora’s Beauty Solid Round Dish Washing Soap Bars are made with only five, plant-based, ingredients and contain pure essential oils for fragrance. They contain so synthetic ingredients, preservatives, or additives.
Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Water, Sodium Hydroxide, and Pure Essential Oils.
Price: $7.50
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (193 reviews)
Where to Buy: Lorasbeauty on Etsy
9. E. Sheep – Zero Waste Dish Soap and Wool Scrubbies
W.E. Sheep soap, lotions, and felted wool scrubbies are handmade on a sheep farm in upstate New York.
They’re made using only natural ingredients and contain no synthetic fragrances or other chemical additives.
Their soaps contain lanolin, a by-product of wool processing, which makes them especially moisturizing and great for those with dry or sensitive skin.
W.E. Sheep’s cute felted wool scrubbies are handmade using wool from their farm and hand-decorated with needle-felted wool, making each scrubbie unique.
As they’re pure wool, they’re very durable, do not fall apart, and are completely compostable. A great zero-waste alternative to plastic sponges and scrubbies!
Ingredients: Pure Coconut Oil, Lanolin, Lemon Essential Oil, Lye, and Castor Oil
Price: $3.00
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (79 reviews)
Where to Buy: WESheep on Etsy
10. Tiani Body Care – Lemongrass Zero-Waste Concentrated Dish Soap Bar
Founded by a biochemist, Tiani Body Care Co. is a small family business from Dexter, Michigan. They make soaps and personal care products, as well as highly concentrated sold dish soap bars!
Their soaps are all handmade with safe, non-toxic, plant-based ingredients that are locally sourced. They use pure essential oils to scent their products, instead of synthetic fragrances, and their soaps contain no synthetic additives or preservatives.
Their Lemongrass Concentrated Dish Soap Bar is suitable for sensitive skin, vegan, and completely zero-waste. The concentrated formula is great for extra greasy dishes too.
Ingredients: Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Lemongrass Essential Oil, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin E
Price: $10.00
Customer Review Score: 5/5 stars (33 reviews)
Where to Buy: Tiani Body Care Co
Final Thoughts on Using Natural Dish Soap Bars
Natural dish wash bars are a great alternative for conventional, liquid dishwashing soap. They’re made with natural ingredients that are safer for us, and more environmentally friendly.
Zero-waste dish soap bars are packaged without plastic and most are shipped in sustainable shipping materials.
Solid bars are lighter and more compact, which makes them more economical to ship and reduces the emissions associated with distribution.
All in all, if you’re looking for a safe, non-toxic, eco-friendly, and zero-waste solution that actually works – solid dish soap bars are the way to go!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do solid dish soap bars work as well as liquid dish soap?
Yes! A good dish soap bar will work just as well as it's liquid dish soap counterpart. Many dish soaps are highly effective because they contain harsh chemicals and surfactants but a good quality solid dish soap bar made with natural ingredients will be just as effective, and contain no toxic and environmentally harmful chemicals. Check out the full review to learn more.
What are the best solid dish soap bars?
The best solid dish soap bars to try are:
1. One Eco Store - 2 in 1 Dish Wash & Stain Removal Bar
2. RFRESH - Natural Solid Dish Soap Bar
3. Meliora – Lemon Dish Soap Bar
4. No Tox Life – Vegan Dish Block
5. Plantish – Vegan, Zero-Waste Solid Dish Soap Bar
6. Brooklyn Made Natural – Solid Organic Dish Soap
7. Sea Witch Botanicals - Canary Clean Zero Waste Dish Soap Bar
8. Battle Green - Lemon & Eucalyptus Organic Dish Soap Bar
9. Lora’s Beauty - Solid Round Dish Washing Soap with Essential Oils
10. W.E. Sheep - Zero Waste Dish Soap and Wool Scrubbies
11. Tiani Body Care – Lemongrass Zero-Waste Concentrated Dish Soap Bar
Check out the full review to see why these are the best, the ingredients they use, and where to buy.
How do you use solid dish soap?
There are two ways to use solid dish soap bars: you can swish them through a sink full of hot water (in a net bag, strainer or soap cage if you have one, or just in your hands) to dissolve some soap into the water and from a lather; or you can simply use your wet brush, sponge or cloth and rub some soap directly onto it before you use it to wash your dishes. Check out the full review for more on how to use solid dish soap.
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References
Apartment Therapy: Should You Switch to Solid Dish Soap? We Asked 5 Experts
Earth911: Dish Soap: The Environmental Impact of Washing Dishes
Ecos: Detox Your Home: 5 Common Toxins Found in Dish Soaps
Healthline: Accidental Poisoning by Soap Products
