Smol and other laundry detergent subscriptions: are they worth trying?

Subscriptions for goods such as laundry detergent, pet food, vegetables and toilet roll are a great way of making sure you don't run out of the essentials. It's also a handy way of getting bulky items delivered straight to your door. 

Laundry detergent subscription brands such as Smol, Splosh and Bower Collective also claim to offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to what's in the supermarket. 

We've tested Smol and Splosh to see how they compare against supermarket brands – and each other – and whether their green claims will make a world of difference. 

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Smol

Price comparison

• £5.80 for 24 tablets (one per wash, 24p per wash)
• Bio and non-bio tablets available

Instagram-famous Smol liquid tablets can be popped into your wash in just the same way as regular laundry detergent tablets. Initially Smol wasn't sold in supermarkets, but since July 2022 the bio and non-bio tablets have been available in Sainsbury's. It's more expensive to buy from Sainsbury's, however, at £7 a pack (similar in price to Ecover).

While a commercial product such as Ariel All-in-One Pods can cost 28p per wash, a supermarket brand liquid detergent like Aldi's Almat Bio costs just 10p per wash. So, while Smol is on the cheaper side for a laundry tablet, it's certainly not the thriftiest option.

Smol's 'free' trial isn't technically free - you'll have to pay £1 to cover postage - but you can try it out with 9 capsules sent to your door. 

How frequently you'll need a new pack delivered will depend on the number of tablets you use per wash (you can use two if you like) and how many washes you do a week.

For example, if you do five washes a week with one capsule per wash, a new 24-pack will be delivered every 33 days. You can choose to delay the next pack being sent, or request one earlier if you've been doing more laundry than usual. 

You don't need to be at home to collect them when they are delivered – each pack is sent in a thin box that can fit through a standard letterbox. 

Green claims

• Plastic-free, recyclable packaging made from sustainable materials
• Cruelty-free, contains no animal-derived ingredients and Leaping Bunny-accredited
• Fewer added chemicals than other capsules
• Full life cycle from production to delivery produces 35% less carbon than bigger brands

All Smol packaging is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved sustainable materials and is 100% recyclable.

Household products sold in the UK can't be tested on animals, due to EU law. Because Smol is a British operation that currently doesn't have a parent company, you can be sure that no international branches or sister companies test on animals either, which isn't the case with large internationals Procter & Gamble (which owns Ariel) and Unilever (which owns Persil).

Smol claims to have lower levels of added chemicals than other capsule brands. However, all cleaning capsules have to be safe to be sold in the UK and just because a product contains more or less chemicals than another does not affect how sustainable that product is. Smol is B Corp-certified though, meaning it meets high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

Smol also offers dishwasher tablets, washing-up liquid, fabric conditioner subscriptions and cleaning sprays. The sprays are available in three varieties – multipurpose, bathroom and glass – and come concentrated in a small tablet that's dissolved in water to produce the cleaning liquid.

How well does it clean?

We haven't tested Smol laundry capsules or dishwasher tablets recently, but check out what consumers think of Smol according to a Which? survey.

Read our laundry detergent reviews to find out which brands were the best at banishing stains in Which? lab tests.

Splosh

Price comparison

• Fragrance-free non-bio liquid: £5.75 for 430ml (23 washes, 25p per wash)
• Fragranced non-bio liquid: £5.75 for 430ml (23 washes, 25p per wash)
• Laundry powder: £5.75 for 430g (22 washes, 26p per wash)
• 10% off most products when bought on a subscription

Retailing at around 25p per wash, Splosh liquid detergent is very similar in price to Smol and Bower Collective. 

All three are pricier than many supermarket brands, but similar in price-per-wash to Ariel, Fairy and Persil liquid detergents. Branded laundry capsules tend to be more expensive, with commercial products such as Ariel All-in-One Pods costing 28p per wash.

However, Splosh SuperSize non-bio refills are available to buy for £18.95 (including postage). One refill box contains enough liquid to top up your bottle five times – equivalent to 115 washes. Splosh says that this means each wash will cost you around 16p.

Splosh also sells fabric stain remover and fabric conditioner, dishwasher tablets, glass cleaner and hand wash, so you can get all your cleaning products delivered regularly.

Green claims

• Liquid refills reduces plastic waste by 95%
• Empties can be sent back to Splosh to be reused
• Cruelty free, vegan-friendly and septic tank-safe

Splosh products are delivered as concentrates, which you then dilute at home with tap water. As such, Splosh claims that it uses three or four times less plastic packaging compared to supermarket products. Splosh pouches also weigh about 70% less than bottles and dispensers.

Combined, Splosh claims this means its refill pouches reduce plastic waste by around 95%. So as not to waste the other 5%, you can send your used refill pouches back to Splosh where they can be cleaned, sanitised and refilled. If pouches can't be refilled, they are made into new products.

Just like Smol and Bower Collective, Splosh is a British company, so it doesn't test on animals and it isn't connected with any international companies that may do so. 

How well does it clean?

We haven't tested Splosh laundry powder or Splosh dishwasher recently.

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Bower Collective

Price comparison

• One-litre refill is £5.69 if you subscribe (30 washes, 19p per wash), or £7.11 for one-time purchase (30 washes, 24p per wash)
• Non-bio is available in lavender, fresh linen and fragrance-free versions
• Bio-D Concentrated Washing Powder available in 1kg bags (14 washes, 31p per wash)

Bower Collective's non-bio laundry liquids are pricier than many supermarket brand non-bios when bought as a one-off. They're similar in price-per-wash to Ariel, Fairy and Persil liquid detergents.

Bower Collective also sells a reusable one-litre PET bottle for £4.95 for your liquid refills, as well as Bio-D washing powder (Bower Collective's non-bio detergent) for £4.35 for 1kg (31p per wash if you use 70g per wash, as recommended for medium hardness water and stains).

It also sells lots of cleaning products, including dishwashing liquid, plus a variety of personal care items and kitchen accessories such as bamboo cutlery, compostable bin liners and recycled aluminium foil, most of which can be included in your subscription.

Green claims

• Made using ethically sourced, vegan and cruelty-free ingredients in the UK
• Refill pouches reduce plastic waste
• Empty refills can be sent back to be reused
• Partners with the Marine Conservation Society and CleanHub to remove plastic waste from the ocean

Bower Collective says all its products are made using ethically sourced ingredients and manufactured in the UK to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

It also says that you can fold empty pouches and return them in your pre-paid postal return box (customers are advised to collect around four pouches before returning). The used pouches are cleaned and sterilised before being refilled for another round.

On top of this, every Bower Collective purchase will help fund the Marine Conservation Society's Save Our Seagrass appeal to protect one square meter of endangered seagrass meadows in the UK. Once the appeal reaches its target, all subsequent donations will go towards the Marine Conservation Society's ongoing conservation work to protect and enhance the health of our oceans.

Bower Collective is a British company set up in 2019, and is not currently owned by an international company. This means that it won't be complicit in animal testing carried out by international branches or sister companies in other countries. It's also B Corp-certified, meaning it meets high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

How well does it clean?

We haven't tested Bower Collective non-bio laundry liquids yet, but we have tested Bio-D washing powder in our lab. 

Find out more about green cleaning brands in Green brands: how sustainable really are they?