ECO DETERGENTS

Regular laundry detergents may be cheap and readily available, but the chemicals they contain aren’t great for the environment. Thankfully, there are greener alternatives that offer a more eco-friendly way to do the laundry, without compromising on performance. We put 10 to the test.

BEST BIO

Ecover Concentrated Bio Laundry Liquid, £11.75 for 1.5L (42 washes); ecoverdirect.com 91/100

This floral-scented detergent scored top marks for colour retention and kept white clothes white, banishing almost all stains. Tea got the better of it, but baby food didn’t stand a chance.

BEST NON-BIO

Splosh Non-bio Laundry Detergent, £4.95 for 430ml (23 washes); splosh.com 81/100

This refillable detergent left clothes looking and smelling fresh, and made short work of most stains, including tomato purée and oily make-up. Colour fade was minimal, but white polycotton looked slightly grey.

NEVER RUN OUT OF DETERGENT!

Taking out a detergent subscription means you’ll receive a box of capsules through the letterbox as often as you’d like. When we tested Smol Non-biological Laundry

Capsules (£4.50 for 24 capsules including delivery/24 washes; smolproducts.com), they performed almost as well as our winning bio liquid, with a score of 90/100. There’s a free trial available, so you can give the service a whirl before signing up.

✶ HOW WE TESTED We repeatedly washed cotton and polycotton loads in the lab, before assessing stain removal and colour retention using a high-tech piece of kit called a Digieye. We then asked our panel to trial each detergent at home, before awarding our overall scores.