Green brands: Ecover

Is Ecover more eco-friendly than other household cleaning brands? 

We surveyed Which? members to ask them what they thought of different companies' sustainability. 87% of those who had recently bought from Ecover rated it as sustainable. But are they right?

The February 2023 survey looked into our members' perceptions of sustainable brands. We asked people to tell us brands they had bought from in the past two years, and how sustainable they thought they were. Then we asked them to tell us why. We looked into some of the brands that came out on top, to see whether the reality lives up to the high expectation.*

The top reasons given for Ecover being sustainable were its natural/non-toxic ingredients (69%), low environmental impact products (60%) and recyclable or minimal packaging (35%).

We looked into these aspects and others to find out whether they are based in reality. 

We dug into the details behind the chemicals used and other sustainability initiatives and actions of cleaning brands Bio-D, Ecover, Method and Smol, as these were the cleaning brands that people viewed as sustainable in our survey.

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Why should we be worried about cleaning products' impact on the environment?

Chemicals often used in cleaning products can have an impact on water and aquatic organisms, soil health and indoor air pollution, as well as animal and human health.

Products that go down your drain should be treated at sewage treatment works. Most of the chemicals found in the product should biodegrade or be removed to prevent harmful amounts entering rivers and waterways. 

But this assumes that water companies are dealing with wastewater responsibly. Given that over recent years they’ve been found to be regularly discharging untreated sewage and wastewater into waterways, waste chemicals are increasingly ending up in our rivers and seas.

Studies have also found that these chemicals can be found in sewage sludge, which is sometimes used as fertiliser on farms. And the reality is that not everything fully breaks down.

Some of the potentially problematic chemicals that brands often declare themselves free from are:

• Parabens Used as a preservative and antimicrobial. They have been linked to endocrine disruption, but negative impacts of regular exposure at low levels have not been proven.
• Phosphates Were once widely used in laundry and dishwasher detergents, but their use has been severely limited to tiny amounts of no more than 0.3 grams per standard dose in the UK and the EU for some years now. Some brands have never used any phosphates.
• Phthalates Used for fragrance. Some have been linked to endocrine disruption and the risk of certain cancers, as well as developmental issues for humans and animals. Some phthalates have been banned in the EU. If you want to avoid phthalates, choosing fragrance-free is a good option.
• Triclosan Used as an antimicrobial or antibacterial. It can have negative impacts on aquatic environments, particularly algae. Studies have indicated that it is a potential endocrine disruptor in humans.

There are other important issues to consider too when buying cleaning products, such as the product's use of raw materials – are they grown and harvested sustainably? – as well as the packaging they come in. 

But how well the product does its primary job is also important: an ecological product starts to look less sustainable if you have to use more than is recommended for it to work, the water needs to be at a higher temperature or you end up replacing it altogether.

As well as our standard lab tests for performance, we assess cleaning products for their sustainability credentials too. Our Eco Buy label rewards products that have lower-impact ingredients and recyclable packaging, while still doing their core job well. 

Find out which cleaning products did the best in our tests in our reviews of laundry detergents and powders, dishwasher tablets and washing-up liquids.

Ecover: In summary

Who owns Ecover?

Ecover started out as a Belgian company. Its products have been on British shelves since 1991, making it an early household name for those looking to make greener choices. 

It makes a range of cleaning products including washing-up liquid, laundry detergent and hand wash. It states its mission is to lead a ‘clean world revolution’. 

In 2012 it merged with Method, a cleaning company with a similar green ethos.

But in 2018, both brands were bought by US household cleaning giant SC Johnson, which owns many other companies, including Mr Muscle, Toilet Duck and Pledge.

There’s no mention of SC Johnson on Ecover’s website. In fact, much of the information it gives about its environmental targets and plans is dated from 2017 – before the takeover – so it’s hard to know whether Ecover is progressing against its goals.

While both Method and Ecover have retained their commitments to greener cleaner products, they are part of a larger brand that doesn’t adhere to all these – a factor which may be important to you.

Overall, we think Ecover could be more transparent about its relationship to SC Johnson. It should have more up-to-date information on its website so consumers can make a more informed choice about it current aims and ambitions.

Chemicals and ingredients in Ecover 

Ecover doesn’t use parabens, phthalates or triclosan in its products and has never used phosphates.

It doesn’t use optical brighteners in its laundry products, as they're not readily biodegradable and can build up in our water systems.

Its laundry products contain a non-chlorinated bleach – hydrogen peroxide – which is a more ecological option.

It avoids the use of petrochemical ingredients (fossil-fuel derived chemicals) but does say it will use them when it has to (there is no further definition of what this means in practice). Some other SC Johnson brands do routinely use synthetic (petrochemical) ingredients.

Ecover is vegan-friendly and doesn’t test on animals. It is Leaping Bunny approved (a certification from Cruelty Free International).

This also doesn’t apply to some other SC Johnson brands. Ethical Consumer and Naturewatch have a boycott on all SC Johnson brands, including Ecover and Method, because of SC Johnson’s decision to keep testing on animals when it views it as necessary. 

Ecover’s palm oil is RSPO certified, as is all the palm oil used by SC Johnson subsidiaries.

Ecover’s packaging

Ecover has refill options available for its products, including large format bottles and boxes, and refill pouches. It has refill stations at independent stores around the UK.

The Ecover website states its goals for its packaging to become 100% recyclable. It uses PlantPlastic in its bottles, a recyclable and reusable plastic made using sugarcane.

To find out more about refills and packaging, head to our guide to refillable products.

Other sustainability information

There is little information about Ecover's carbon, energy or water reduction targets on its own website. SC Johnson does publish some information on its website, and has 2025 targets to reduce manufacturing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% (based on a 2000 baseline). There is no mention of scope 3 emissions (the emissions caused by its supply chain, which are likely to be significant).

It also has targets for 100% of its waste to be diverted from landfill, and 100% of packaging to be reusable or recyclable. 

Other household cleaning brands rated highly by members in our survey were Bio-D (80%), Method (77%) and Smol (93%)

*In November 2022 we asked our full panel of members which brands they had bought from or planned to buy from because they believed they were more sustainable than others in the market. The list of brands our members could choose from in this survey was based on the findings from this.

Interested in sustainable choices? Find out more about supermarkets and the environment, how to buy second hand online, or what makes a green energy supplier.