Ecoegg

Ecoegg says they have a due diligence policy with all their suppliers and do not work with unethical suppliers and factories. However, they do not disclose the locations of those suppliers or the sources of their ingredients for reasons of intellectual property and competition. As a result, COSH! cannot verify the risks in terms of working conditions at that location. Because there is also no Code of Conduct or certificate for ethical working conditions on the website, COSH! dares not guarantee that Ecoegg’s products are produced ethically. 

The laundry eggs contain no nasty chemicals or controversial ingredients such as chlorine bleach, phosphates, SLE/SLES, palm oil or microplastics or enzymes. The mineral granules inside, remove dirt without leaving chemical residue on clothes. This also makes the laundry products fine for people with sensitive skin, for this they are also dermatologically tested.

How do the laundry eggs clean your laundry? They contain two different types of grains. The white grains clean and the dark grains increase the efficiency of the white grains by lowering the surface tension of the water. The egg itself also helps to remove dirt and soften laundry. The black grains are made of tourmaline, which is a crystalline silicate mineral group that combines boron with elements such as aluminum, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium or potassium. It is unclear whether Ecoegg’s tourmaline comes from a lab or from a mine; if it comes from a mine, there are ethical risks involved. The white mineral granules consist of biodegradable surfactants, stabilizers, builders and binders. Exactly what substances these are is unclear.

The shells of the eggs are made of a type of rubber, which is BPA free, we found this in the frequently asked questions on the website. Since they do not clarify what kind of rubber this is, we assume it is synthetic rubber. Unfortunately, synthetic rubber can release microplastics or microrubber pieces and end up in nature. So Ecoegg’s products are not an ideal solution to the plastic problem, unless your washing machine has a microplastic filter. 

When developing products, Ecoegg always examines how to reduce the ecological impact and plastic use as much as possible. All the cardboard in the packaging is FSC-certified for sustainable forest management and they use vegetable ink for the printing. The bags containing the refill pellets are 60% paper and 40% plastic. In addition, Ecoegg has ​“climate-positive staff,” they offset their employees’ carbon emissions by planting trees with Play It Green.

If you purchase a Laundry egg and keep using it for years, it is very circular. This way you and your household will save up to 40 detergent bottles a year. The only thing you have to replace every 50 – 70 washes are the pellets in the egg. The Ecoegg is then a low-waste alternative to detergent and fabric softener but not completely zero-waste, as the pellets in the eggs still end up in the residual waste. In principle, these are biodegradable but since their effect on flora and fauna has not been tested, it is better not to compost them. Inside the Dryer eggs are scented sticks to give your dry laundry a nice scent, also these you have to throw away with the residual waste when the scent is gone . 

When you no longer use your Ecogg laundry egg or dryer egg, it is recyclable, as a Category 5 (UK) plastic, suggesting the material is polypropylene. Polypropylene packaging may also be disposed of in the PMD bag in Belgium and the Netherlands, but since this is not packaging, it is uncertain whether it will actually be recycled.

All we know about the chain is that Ecoegg is a brand from the United Kingdom. Because Ecoegg does not disclose its suppliers or the countries in which they are located, COSH! cannot estimate the length of the supply chain either. How many kilometers and how many middlemen the products pass through to your washer or dryer is unknown. 

Ecoegg’s products contain no animal ingredients or materials. They are also not tested on animals. So the Ecoegg brand is completely vegan-friendly! However, they do not have a certificate to prove it.

If all goes well, your Laundry Egg (‘washing egg’) can last for years, which is why Ecoegg offers a 10-year warranty period. With your new egg you can do 70 washes, after that you can buy refills so you can do an extra 50 washes each time (for the equivalent of 10p per wash, great for the wallet too!).

Would you like your clothes to have a different smell? Then alternate between the different fragrance lines: Fresh Linen, Spring Blossom or just go for Fragrance Free. Good to know is that all these fragrances have a mild, hypoallergenic formula and received an excellent score from Dermatest. Ecoegg even won ​“Allergy UK’s ​‘Allergy Friendly Product’ award” for it.

The brand is transparent about the sustainability story and the ingredients that are not in Ecoegg pellets. What exactly the ingredients are and where Ecoegg’s suppliers and manufacturers are located, however, they keep a secret. The frequently asked questions on the website state that they do not disclose these for reasons of intellectual property and competition.