Dropps
Quick verdict: Dropps is the low-friction option. Pods arrive in a cardboard box, you throw one in the drum exactly as you did before, and the plastic jug disappears from your life without you learning anything new. It’s a B Corp, the formulas are USDA Certified Biobased, it’s cheap, and it’s been at this since 2006, well before the category existed. The pod film is the one real caveat. Our rating: 4.0 out of 5.
Who they are
Jonathan Propper launched Dropps in Philadelphia in 2006 as part of Cot’n Wash, his family’s detergent business, which makes it one of the older players in a category mostly built after 2015.
Ownership is worth stating precisely. Dropps sits within a family-owned business rather than standing alone, and in 2020 it took roughly $16 million in outside investment from The Craftory. It isn’t a conglomerate subsidiary and it isn’t purely independent either, and the rating reflects that middle position.
What they get right
B Corp certification, assessing the company rather than the marketing.
USDA Certified Biobased formulas and a long EPA record. The detergent is certified for its share of renewable rather than petroleum-derived material, and its ingredients are listed on CleanGredients, the database of inputs pre-approved against EPA’s Safer Choice standard. EPA recognizes Dropps as a Safer Choice Formulator-Product Manufacturer and named it 2017 Safer Choice Partner of the Year. Worth stating precisely: that award is an award, and the company’s own current marketing leads with it rather than with an active per-product Safer Choice label, so treat the B Corp and USDA marks as the certifications you can lean on today.
No plastic in the packaging. Pods ship in cardboard, and the shipping box is the packaging, so there’s no jug and no outer wrap.
It removes the excuse. Most people don’t switch cleaning products because switching is annoying. Dropps asks nothing of you beyond ordering differently, which is why it works as a first move.
The price is right. Per load it lands at or under mainstream detergent, so there’s no premium to justify.
Not shipping water is a real reduction. Conventional liquid detergent is mostly water being freighted around the country.
Where they fall short
The pod film is the honest caveat. Dissolvable pods use polyvinyl alcohol, which dissolves rather than disappearing, and how completely it biodegrades in real wastewater treatment remains unsettled. If avoiding synthetic polymers entirely is your goal, powder from Meliora is the cleaner answer.
There’s no MADE SAFE or current EWG Verified mark the way Blueland and Meliora carry, so the safety-specific auditing is lighter than the top of this category even though the company-level and sourcing certifications are solid.
Pods also remove your control over dosing. A light load and a heavy load get the same amount.
What they sell and what it costs
Laundry pods, dishwasher pods, oxi booster, stain remover and fabric softener pods, sold in subscription-friendly cardboard cartons. Laundry pods work out around $0.25 to $0.40 per load depending on size and subscription.
Who it’s actually for
Anyone who has been meaning to get the plastic jugs out of the laundry room and hasn’t, because nothing else about their routine has to change. It’s the on-ramp rather than the destination.
If you want the strictest formula certification, Meliora or Blueland. If pods bother you, Meliora’s powder.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate program on our side, so nothing here earns us anything.
Related reading
- Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent: 8 Vetted Picks
- 8 Zero-Waste Home Swaps Worth the Money
- Non-Toxic Cleaning Products: 5 Ingredients to Avoid
- What “Non-Toxic” Actually Means on a Laundry Detergent
Frequently asked questions
Are laundry pods actually plastic-free?
The packaging is. The pod film itself is polyvinyl alcohol, a synthetic polymer that dissolves in water, and whether it then fully biodegrades in wastewater treatment is unsettled rather than proven. If that matters to you, a powder detergent avoids the question entirely.
Is Dropps cheaper than regular detergent?
Roughly the same or slightly less per load, which is unusual: most certified plastic-free brands charge a premium. Subscription pricing brings it down further.
Who owns Dropps?
It’s part of Cot’n Wash, a family business run by the Propper family, and it took about $16 million in outside investment from The Craftory in 2020. So: not a conglomerate subsidiary, not purely independent either. We’ve scored it in the middle rather than calling it one or the other.
Do Dropps pods work in cold water?
Yes, and they’re designed for it, which matters because washing cold is the single biggest energy saving available in laundry. Very short cycles are where any pod can struggle to dissolve fully, so put the pod in the drum first rather than on top of the clothes.