The UK Plant-Based Cleaning Products Brands To Know

Looking to effectively clean your home without harming animals, the planet or your health? Try these UK plant-based cleaning product brands that clean up in terms of ethics and performance. I’ve also included the ingredients to avoid the next time you are shopping for cleaning products.

To get your home squeaky clean the natural way you can make your own natural cleaning products, using plant-based ingredients, including essential oils and lemons. It’s certainly my favourite way to clean my home.

However, if making your own cleaning products isn’t your idea of fun, then there are a plethora of plant-based cleaning products out there. These effective formulations clean your home without the toxic footprint associated with conventional cleaning products.

However, there are more good reasons to give conventional cleaning products a wide berth. Some conventional cleaning products, such as fabric conditioners, contain animal fat. If you follow a plant-based diet, it follows that you won’t want to clean your home with animal-based ingredients.

Some cleaning products are also tested on animals and other organisms. Thankfully, many vegan cleaning products are available, meaning you can ditch products that are associated with animal cruelty. Here’s all you need to know!

6 UK Plant-Based Cleaning Products Brands To Know

Here are six vegan-friendly and plant-based cleaning products available right now. From refillable products to products in glass packaging, all the way through to plastic-free cleaning tools, such as sponges and cloths – all made without animal ingredients or materials.

Use the quick links below to navigate to the sections about each brand, or keep scrolling for the full post:

• Spruce
• Wilton London
• Bio-D
• Ecoleaf
• Neat
• Seep

Spruce

I’m a big fan of Spruce. I tested quite a few just-add water cleaning products, and I found its products came out top when it came to ease of use, effectiveness, and eco-credentials.

Simply take one of its home compostable pouches, and pour the concentrated powder into a 500 ml spray bottle. Add tap water, give it a little shake, and you’re good to go. The effective plant-based formulation leaves your home beautifully clean, while the essential oil-based fragrances leave your home smelling like a spa.

All Spruce products are vegan-certified by the Vegan Society. What’s more, Spruce does not use animal derivatives in any of its formulations. 

Spruce Sustainability Credentials At A Glance

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Wilton London

Wilton London – available at Ethical Superstore from £6.79 – creates botanically-scented plant-based cleaning products. Here, essential oils take centre stage to give your laundry and home a wonderful, all-natural scent.

As well as smelling good, Wilton London wants to do good. As such, all of its products are designed to be kind to the environment. This means no unnecessary ingredients, such as synthetic dyes are used, and all products are biodegradable.

And, as you would expect from a plant-based product, Wilton London does not test on animals, and the brand is registered with the Vegan Society.

Wilton London uses recycled and recyclable plastic to package its products. As a point of improvement, I’d personally love to see the introduction of a refill scheme to avoid unnecessary plastic waste.

Wilton London Sustainability Credentials At A Glance

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Bio-D

There is a ton to love about Bio-D – available at Ethical Superstore from £1.99. As one of the original eco-friendly cleaning companies, it’s been offering effective environmentally friendly cleaning solutions all around the home since 1989.

This made-in-the-UK brand does a lot of good. Firstly, Bio-D’s entire cleaning range is vegan and cruelty-free. Bio-D also has complete traceability on all the ingredients it uses. This means Bio-D can ensure each and every ingredient used to create its plant-based cleaning products are ethically and sustainably sourced.

What’s also to love is that where plastic packaging is used, it is 100% recycled. And even better than that, most products, including deliciously scented pink grapefruit washing-up liquid, are available at refill stations in zero waste stores nationwide, for a packaging-free solution.

Bio-D Sustainability Credentials At A Glance

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Ecoleaf

Ecoleaf – the cleaning and personal care brand of Suma Wholefoods – offers a wide range of affordable planet-friendly cleaning solutions for almost every corner of the home. These are available from Ethical Superstore, starting from £2.25.

The entire range is derived from plant extracts that are effective, yet non-toxic and safe to use. Every product is also vegan-friendly and cruelty-free.

With manufacturing in the UK, your products don’t travel around the globe to get to you. And what’s more, all of Ecoleaf’s cleaning products are available in bulk from zero-waste shops up and down the country, helping you to reduce your reliance on plastic.

Ecoleaf Sustainability Credentials At A Glance

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Neat

Looking for concentrated plant-based cleaning products? Then try Neat – available at Ethical Superstore from £2.75. Made in the UK from plant-based, biodegradable ingredients, the concentrated nature of Neat means water isn’t shipped unnecessarily across the UK to get to your door.

Just add the contents of one of Neat’s dinky glass bottles to an empty 500 ml spray bottle, top it up with tap water, and you’re good to go. You’re left with zero plastic waste, just a clean and beautifully smelling home.

With delicious fragrances – including Grapefruit & Ylang Ylang, Mango & Fig, Sage & Mint, Yuzu Tea or Lotus & Seagrass – Neat is a great option if you need scented products to feel like your home is clean. The scent might be too strong for some, so my top tip is to try one bottle to see if it’s for you before buying more.

Neat Sustainability Credentials At A Glance

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Seep

Finally, whilst we’ve covered cleaning products themselves, you might be thinking what about cleaning tools?

It is easier to find eco-friendly and plant-based cleaning products, but cleaning cloths and sponges are a whole other story. Many of these products are made of plastic and aren’t recyclable at the end of their lives. And some sponges are even made from animal based materials.

Step forward Seep. Seep makes cleaning tools made from natural, plant-based and renewable materials – free of animal materials. Once these products reach the end of their lives, Seep says all of these products are either compostable or fully biodegradable.

Seep Sustainability Credentials At A Glance

The Cleaning Product Ingredients To Avoid If You’re Vegan

If you’re vegan or trying to live a plant-based lifestyle, you may well be wondering what cleaning product ingredients you should be looking out for to ensure if they are vegan-friendly or not. To help you out, here are some of the most common animal-derived ingredients you might find in cleaning products:

Ingredient Name	Details
Tallow	Derived from animal fat, tallow is commonly used to create surfactants, which help cleaning products break down grease. Also look for ingredients like sodium tallowate or stearic acid, which may originate from tallow unless specified as plant-based.
Beeswax	Derived from bees, it’s sometimes used in wood polishes or wood protectors to add shine to wood.
Lanolin	Derived from sheep’s wool, it’s sometimes found in cleaning wipes or furniture polishes, as it adds shine to wood and other hard surfaces.
Glycerine	While glycerine can be plant-based, it is often sourced from animal fats unless specifically labelled as vegan. It’s commonly found in cleaning products as it helps stop ingredients from separating, and reduces the risk of streaking.
Casein	A protein found in milk, casein can be used as a binding agent in certain cleaning or polishing products.
Animal-Derived Enzymes	Enzymes like trypsin or lipase are occasionally added to stain removers or detergents. These enzymes can be sourced from animals, though plant-based and synthetic versions are available.
Shellac	Derived from the lac insects, shellac isn’t commonly used, but sometimes pops up in specialist furniture polishes.
Oleic Acid	This fatty acid, often used in soaps and detergents, can be sourced from animal fats. As with stearic acid, plant-based versions exist, so look for vegan labelling.
Lard or Animal Fats	These might occasionally show up in soaps, particularly soaps made using traditional recipes, as this is what soap was historically made from.

If you are in any doubt, look for independent vegan labelling on products, such as the Vegan Society logo or the Leaping Bunny logo. There are also a host of handy vegan apps that can keep you right when you are shopping.