Ethical, Cruelty & Sustainable Dishwashing

Improve this One Simple Daily Task

Mad Makeover:

Dishwashing Edition

by Rachael Krikorian,

MAD Market Executive Editor

Seems like a pretty straightforward task? Wash, rinse, repeat? How could we possibly improve upon this fool-proof system you have in place? Here's how: by getting MAD! Buy products that Make A Difference on the environment, the lives of people making them and your family's well-being.

Choose better dish soap and cleaners. Products with natural, simple ingredients perform so well, there's no need for cleaners with toxic fumes and dish soap with complicated lists of ingredients. Not only are we concerned with keeping your kitchen healthy and safe for your family, but we also want to keep a bunch of nasty stuff from going down the drain. The creation and disposal of these sketchy chemicals can take a toll on the environment. To see a list of general cleaners, check out this article, and to see our suggestions for better dish soaps, click here.

Swap out your sponges. There are various alternatives, but I think I like these the best so far: Coconut Scrubber Sponge. The natural sponges I've used tend to have less durable and tough "rough sides", but the Coconut Scrubber Sponge from Grove works great (they also made just a Conout Fiber Scouring Pad. I've found most natural sponges work just as well as conventional sponges in every other way.

Tag in some dish brushes. The only potential downside to natural sponges, depending on the brand, is decreased longevity. To counter this (and to save money replacing sponges

on the regular) I opted to add two other brushes to my dish cleaning routine. I use the best utensil for the job and it lengthens the life of each item while actually making it easier for me to tackle different messes. I love this glassware brush from Grove Collaborative. I actually use it for most of my dishes, but it's especially helpful for glasses. There's something about the sponge on it that feels extremely effective and clean.

I also got this scrubby brush for tougher messes. Again, I love it! The little dish is really convenient for keeping the brush on the counter- it's cute and effective. Grove has a ton of brushes so you can choose what's best for your home.

Scrubber brush with replaceable head and ceramic dish

Dish towels. When you go to add more towels to your arsenal, you can check out these ethically made and fair trade options:

Don't settle for a stinky garbage disposal. I reuse a jar to store some baking soda with a few drops of lemon essential oil. When the disposal smells kind of funny I'll drop in some of my mixture, let it sit and then eventually run the disposal. Sometime's it's the little details that finally make things feel fresh and clean.