There Is No Planet B

Is vegan, plastic free washing up liquid really as good as Fairy?

Fairy washing up liquid has been a staple of my life, much like that random owl ornament in my parent’s house, I know its there but have never really given it much thought other than a passing ‘ah it’s still there’, for me that’s Fairy  – always by the sink and bought without any conscious thought.   

So, when I had the chance to try Elmkind’s plastic-free, fully vegan washing-up liquid I thought ok, let’s shake things up. Elmkind has a whole range of cleaning products, all made free from parabens, animal products, synthetic fragrances, chlorine bleaches, palm oil and GM ingredients. 

Now, I am not overly concerned about the aesthetics of my cleaning products but I was delighted to find Elmkind have got their look so right, the matt, white finished, refillable aluminium bottles would look at home on the pages of a glossy ‘home décor’ magazine. 

In the effort to do an impartial test I had two oily pans that needed washing up. I swilled both out and then put a splodge of Fairy in one and Elmkind in the other, rubbed the washing up liquid all round the pan and then washed out with hot water. And honestly, I couldn’t tell which was cleaned with which. I didn’t think anything, especially a 100% plant-based product would match up to the synthetic formula of Fairy, but it really did. Massive thumbs up. 

The range has four different scents, I used the lemon and lime version which was very pleasant, however, there is a lavender one which, after having a little sniff will be the next one I buy – I just love lavender.  

My only comment would be I got through Elmkind washing up liquid much quicker than Fairy. The washing-up solution is much runnier and whooshes out the bottle.  However, this can be remedied through the use of a metal pourer which just screws onto the top of the bottle. 

Onto the biggest selling points for me, just like Fairy bottles, Elmkind containers are fully recyclable however, Elmkind’s bottles are designed to be reused and refilled. The fact this range is based around refills makes my little eco heart sing, it is really going to help me to reduce my plastic consumption, one bottle at a time and at around £2 a refill this is an eco-swap which isn’t going to be an additional expense. 

Would I buy again? Yes absolutely!