Thieves Laundry Soap is plant-based and is as pure and natural as a laundry soap is going to get—plus it contains the most powerful essential oils on the planet that not only make it smell amazing, but really help to get things clean. I mean, I use Thieves for cleaning literally everything in my house, and now they've made the best laundry soap I've ever tried out of the stuff.

"This little compact bottle does 64 loads of laundry, instead of your typical 32. It's 6x concentrated, so a little goes a long way. I love that it's not so cumbersome like those giant jugs of detergent, and doesn't take up a ton of space in your laundry room. And IT. WORKS. Stains come out, whites don't get dingy, dirty little toddler clothes actually come out CLEAN. I can't believe how well it works with only needing to use such a small amount. Like, it is bizarre.

Let me walk you through all the ingredients, which they clearly label on the bottle, by the way—I didn't have to Google a safety data sheet just to find it out.

I've also included each of these ingredients' ratings on the EWG Skin Deep site—this is a database where thousands of products and also individual ingredients have been rated for their safety or toxicity. The ratings are on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least toxic and 10 being the most toxic. A score of 1-2 is considered the lowest possible hazard and very safe. Every single one of these ingredients found in their database ranks in that very safe category.

WHAT'S IN IT:

• Water: Obviously some amount of water is necessary to make a liquid.
• Decyl glucoside: A plant-derived nonionic surfactant (cleaning agent) that biodegrades easily. Rated a 1 on EWG.
• Sodium oleate: Derived from olive oil, an ingredient that helps control suds/foaminess. Biodegradable and rated a 2 on EWG. Glycerin: Used to stabilize the natural cleaning enzymes. Rated a 2 on EWG.
• Caprylyl glucoside: Another plant-derived surfactant that biodegrades easily. Rated a 1 on EWG.
• Lauryl glucoside: Another plant-derived surfactant that biodegrades easily. Rated a 1 on EWG.
• Sodium chloride: That would be simple table salt. It affects the viscosity/thickness of the liquid.
• Sodium gluconate: A plant-derived anionic surfactant that biodegrades easily. Rated a 1 on EWG.
• Carboxymethyl cellulose: A plant-derived thickener and stabilizer. Rated a 1 on EWG.
• Alpha-amaylase, Protease, Lipase: These are all natural enzymes, which are very effective at breaking down organic particles that make up the stains and dirtiness on your clothes. Without enzymes, your clothes won't be getting nearly as clean. These enzymes are 100% naturally-derived and are completely biodegradable.
• Essential Oils: Jade lemon oil, Bergamot oil, Clove oil, Lemon oil, Cinnamon bark oil, Eucalyptus radiata oil, and Rosemary oil: All the beautiful, purer-than-pure Young Living essential oils that were carefully chosen for their cleansing and purifying properties. Also, they smell unbelievably DELICIOUS.

WHAT IT DOESN'T HAVE:

• Optical brighteners: These are chemical ingredients that are added to most laundry detergents. They reflect light in a way that makes clothes appear brighter and whiter. It's basically an optical illusion, that comes at a price. Optical brighteners can survive the waste water treatment plants and make their way into lakes and streams, polluting the water and causing harm to algae and fish, where they can bioaccumulate. Optical brighteners may also cause skin irritation and an allergic response in some people.
• Sodium laurel sulphate (SLS): You've probably heard of this ingredient before, as so many companies are now claiming their products are free of this potentially carcinogenic ingredient. In my research of ingredients in other supposedly “natural” laundry detergents, I found SLS in MANY of them—actually in ALL of the other plant-based brands I listed above. They claim that it is plant- derived and therefore safe, but the laws are so loose on what can be considered bio-based, that I don't know if this is trustworthy or not. If you try to avoid SLS in your home, I'd highly recommend Thieves instead.
• Artificial fragrance: Duh. Of course the only fragrance in Thieves Laundry Soap is Thieves and other pure essential oils from Young Living. Synthetic fragrances can contain hundreds of chemicals with unknown toxicity and potential carcinogens.
• Water softeners: I noticed that the Thieves Laundry Soap doesn't contain any mineral-based water softeners. So, if you have moderately-to-significantly hard water, you probably want to add a simple water softener like Borax or vinegar to prevent mineral buildup. It's cheap, effective, and totally natural.”