Are laundry sheets truly sustainable?

“Laundry strips turn out to be less clean and less green than expected.” That was the headline in De Morgen in May 2025 regarding laundry strips. The reason? Laundry strips contain polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a component with a somewhat ambiguous reputation. According to the European Union, PVA is not a microplastic; according to the Plastic Soup Foundation, it is. So what’s fact and what’s fiction? And how sustainable are laundry strips compared to liquid detergent and washing powder? COSH! spoke with Yokuu founder Joris Jansen and Planet B founder Tibbe Verschaffel. Both are impact entrepreneurs focused on making everyday products more sustainable, and both offer laundry strips in their product ranges.

Fact: Liquid detergent leads to more waste and unnecessary water transport

Laundry strips are generally seen as a more sustainable alternative than liquid detergent or washing powder. Why? Liquid detergent usually comes in plastic bottles that you throw away after use. In theory, those bottles are recycled — but the reality is different. In Flanders, just over half of all plastic is actually recycled (Statistiek Vlaanderen, 2025). And even that’s relatively good: the European average is only 41% (European Parliament, 2024).

Laundry strips, on the other hand, are zero waste. You simply toss one into the drum with no leftover plastic packaging. All that remains is a light cardboard box, and cardboard has a much higher recycling rate. In Flanders, 86% of cardboard is recycled.

“The cardboard packaging of Yokuu’s laundry strips weighs just 10g,” explains founder Joris Jansen, “and replaces traditional bottles weighing 500 – 600g, including 30 – 50g of PET.”

Moreover, liquid detergent consists of 80 – 90% water. That means you’re mostly transporting water, which significantly increases CO₂ emissions. Laundry strips contain no water.

“This makes them much lighter to transport and leads to lower CO₂ emissions compared to the heavy trucks needed to deliver liquid detergent,” says Planet B founder Tibbe Verschaffel.

2025 laundry detergent sheets strips sustainable klaaar brauzz mothers earth yokuu cosh — Conventioneel wasmiddel brengt veel plastic afval met zich mee

Fact: Washing powder sends microplastics straight into our water

Washing powder is harsher on clothes than liquid detergent or laundry strips. This is especially a problem when using it to wash synthetic clothing made from polyester, acrylic, nylon, or elastane. Washing synthetic fabrics already releases microplastics, but with powder even more microplastics are scraped from your garments (Periyasamy & Tehrani-Bagha, 2022). This plastic ends up directly in our water systems. Not exactly sustainable.

Fact: Ingredients in conventional detergents have a major environmental impact

Did you know traditional detergents are often far from environmentally friendly? According to Testaankoop (2020), most ingredients in conventional detergents are not or only partially biodegradable. And that’s a problem, because these substances end up in our wastewater after every wash. Some ingredients, like LAS, are highly toxic to aquatic life, and others may even be carcinogenic.

Joris explains that the probiotics in Yokuu reduce the need for regular cleaning products by 50%. That’s good news, because many of those conventional products contain substances like SLES or APG, which, like LAS, have a strong environmental impact. For every ton of these substances produced, an average of 2 to 13 tons of CO₂ is emitted (Guilbot, 2013).

And although microplastics have been banned in European products since 2023, they don’t have to be listed on the ingredient label of liquid detergents, according to Jeroen Dagevos from the Plastic Soup Foundation (Van Wechem, 2025). So just because microplastics aren’t listed doesn’t mean they’re not in the product.

Hoe duurzaam zijn wasstrips wasmiddel waspoeder brauzz mother earth klaaar onderzoek cosh 2025 — Wasmiddel kan gevaarlijke stoffen in ons afvalwater brengen

Myth: Laundry strips contain microplastics

Still, according to the De Morgen article (Van Wechem, 2025), laundry strips may be less sustainable than assumed. The reason? The ingredient polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Although the European Union does not classify PVA as a microplastic, since it is considered fully biodegradable, the Plastic Soup Foundation disagrees. They claim its biodegradation is heavily dependent on specific conditions, and that the average retention time in water treatment facilities may not be long enough for full breakdown. Their conclusion: PVA is, or at least acts like, a microplastic.

Joris (Yokuu) and Tibbe (Planet B) nuance this view: “Scientific literature, such as the review by Julinová et al. (2018), confirms that PVA doesn’t always degrade quickly and can accumulate in the environment,” says Joris. “However, the same authors stress that there is no evidence of bioaccumulation in organisms and that PVA is not toxic to humans, animals, or the environment.” Both Tibbe and Joris emphasize that PVA is not classified as a microplastic by the EU.“Professors and chemists I work with confirm this,” Tibbe adds.

At Klaaar, they’re already adding biodegradation accelerators like maltodextrin and PVA dehydrogenase to speed up PVA breakdown. “These showed excellent results in environmental studies,” says Tibbe. And it doesn’t stop there: both Yokuu and Planet B have already developed a PVA-free laundry strip. These are expected to launch on the market in 2026. So the whole PVA debate may soon be outdated.

2025 laundry detergent sheets strips sustainable klaaar brauzz mothers earth yokuu cosh 2

Myth: Certified laundry products are always better

In the De Morgen article, Natasja Huffmeijer from Milieu Centraal recommends looking for certifications like the EU Ecolabel or Nordic Swan Ecolabel (Van Wechem, 2025). If you go for conventional detergent or powder, these labels are a solid guide for more eco-friendly choices. However, that doesn’t mean that unlabeled products are automatically less sustainable. Some categories, like laundry strips, aren’t yet eligible for the EU Ecolabel.

“At Brauzz, we’ve already obtained the label for our dishwasher tablets, because that category is officially recognized under current EU rules,” says Verschaffel. “Laundry strips aren’t yet included. That’s why we’re pushing for expanded EU criteria to include innovative solutions like probiotic pearls, concentrated tabs, and refill systems.”

Joris Jansen of Yokuu is also involved. He’s part of the working group revising the EU Ecolabel, actively working to ensure that microbial cleaning products can be recognised under the label by 2026 or 2027.

Conclusion: The most sustainable laundry choices

So, how do you make the best choice for laundry products?

Choose local products to support local entrepreneurs and economies.
If you opt for laundry strips, that’s a solid, responsible choice, usually more sustainable than liquid detergent.
Prefer liquid detergent or powder? Look for certified products (EU Ecolabel or Nordic Swan Ecolabel) or choose a brand with a strong sustainability reputation.
Even better: bring your own refillable bottle to a zero-waste store and reuse it over and over.
And don’t forget the basics: wash less frequently, try cold water washes, and go for fragrance-free products.

Want to know where to find more sustainable laundry products? Here you’ll find plenty of responsible options, including laundry strips, refillable detergents, and stain removers. The comparative table below will also get you started on how to make a more informed and conscious decision.

Comparative table laundry sheets klaaar mother earth yokuu brauzz cosh — * recycling rate in Flanders, bron: https://www.vlaanderen.be/statistiek-vlaanderen/milieu-en-natuur/verpakkingsafval

Sources

European Parliament (2024, June 6). Plastic waste and recycling in the EU: facts and figures. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20181212STO21610/plastic-waste-and-recycling-in-the-eu-facts-and-figures

Guilbot, A. (2013). Life cycle assessment of surfactants: The case of an alkyl polyglucoside used as a self-emulsifier in cosmetics. Journal of Green Chemistry. 10.1039/C3GC41338A

Julinová, M., Vaňharová, L., & Jurča, M. (2018). Water-soluble polymeric xenobiotics – Polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidon – And potential solutions to environmental issues: A brief review. Journal of Environmental Management, 228, 124 – 131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.09.010

Periyasamy, A. P., & Tehrani-Bagha, A. (2022). A review on microplastic emission from textile materials and its reduction techniques. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 199, 109901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2022.109901

Statistiek Vlaanderen (2025). Verpakkingsafval. Vlaanderen.be. https://www.vlaanderen.be/statistiek-vlaanderen/milieu-en-natuur/verpakkingsafval

Testaankoop (2020) . Wasmiddelen en hun milieu-impact. https://www.test-aankoop.be/woning-energie/wasmiddelen/dossier/wasmiddelen-en-hun-milieu-impact

Van Wechem, R. (2025, May 13). Wasstrips blijken minder schoon én minder groen dan gedacht. De Morgen. https://www.demorgen.be/beter-leven/wasstrips-blijken-minder-schoon-en-minder-groen-dan-gedacht~b077178bb/

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