Best Eco Friendly Dryer Sheets – Zero Waste Washing

Wrinkle free, static free, sweet smelling clothes without chemicals. It sounds like a dream— but it’s not. Eco friendly dryer sheets can help you transform your nightmarish laundry from clingy and stiff to soft and supple. 

Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry! We’ve found the best eco-friendly dryer sheets for your laundry room. There’s even a dryer sheet that has only two plant based ingredients!

Keep reading to learn more!

Top Seven Eco Friendly Dryer Sheets For Fresh Smelling Laundry

We all love fresh smelling laundry. But what we don’t love are all petroleum based chemicals and artificial fragrances that traditional fabric softeners and dryer sheets to get our clothes that way. 

Luckily for us, it’s now easier to find dryer sheets made with plant based softeners and fragrances. But with so many options out there, it can seem easier to fold stiff sheets than wade through all the choices. That’s where we come in. We’ve scoured the internet to find you the top seven eco friendly dryer sheets to leave your clothes soft and sweet — just how you like them. 

We’ve even put together a quick chart so you can see at a glance how they compare.

Still not certain which dryer sheets are for you? Check out these more in depth reviews to help you decide.

Safe enough for the most delicate baby clothes Grab Green Newborn Laundry Dryer Sheets top our picks for eco friendly dryer sheets. 

We want soft fabrics up against are skin, especially sensitive baby skin. Grab Green Dryer Sheets deliver softness without using harsh, irritating chemicals. They don’t contain any waxes or dyes, nor do they have any parabens or phthalates. Just naturally derived plant and mineral based ingredients that are safe for even the most tender places.

Not only do these natural dryer sheets soften your fabrics, but they also help reduce static cling and leave your clothes wrinkle free! No more ironing. Just hang them on your eco friendly hangers, and you’re ready to go!

They do have a rather strong smell in the box, but it fades when you actually put the sheet through the dryer. So you don’t have to worry the fragrance will bother you. All you’ll notice is a hint of calming chamomile, which is perfect for soothing babies (and adults).  

Mrs. Meyer’s Dryer Sheets add freshness and softness to your clothes without breaking the bank, making them our budget pick.

Essential oils combined with fragrance bring you a whole line of garden inspired scents. Whether you prefer the spiciness of basil or the floral notes of honeysuckle, we are convinced you will love how your clothes smell when they are fresh out of the dryer.

But even more than that, we know you will love how they feel. Just a single dryer sheet will leave your clothes soft, static free, and wrinkle free. And since these sheets are made with plant based fibers, you can compost them when you are done. How nifty is that!

Unscented dryer sheets can be difficult to find. But if you have fragrance sensitivities or simply don’t want to smell like a flower, check out Public Goods Fabric Softener Sheets.

These unscented dryer sheets do everything you expect from a dryer sheet. They leave your clothes softer, with fewer wrinkles, and cut down on static. The only thing they don’t have is a scent. Now some people do say the paper itself can have a little bit of funky scent, but no one complains that anything lingers on their clothes.

In addition to having no scents, these dryer sheets also don’t have any of the following: ​​benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, ethanol, limonene, chloroform, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfates, phthalates, nor anything from formaldehyde. Which is great because sometimes less is more!

If you are looking to elevate your laundry to new heights, check out LOVE home AND planet Dryer Sheets. With three unique scents to choose from, these eco friendly dryer sheets will leave your clothes smelling clean and just a bit exotic. 

Close your eyes and breathe deep. Whether you dream of romantic roses or exotic tropical locales, you will fall in love with how your laundry smells after using these dryer sheets. But dryer sheets are about more than just great smelling clothes, so that’s not all they do. They also banish static cling and wrinkles, so your clothes are fresh and soft straight from the dryer.

If you think that’s great, we are happy to tell you there is more. The best thing about these luxurious dryer sheets is that they are eco-friendly. They are 91% plant based, vegan, and cruelty free. 

A lot of dryer sheet scents are heavily floral. But not so with Method Dryer Sheets. If smelling of roses isn’t your thing, then these dryer sheets are for you!

The Beach Sage scent reminds you of walking along the beach in the morning. You’ll find the scent a bit more masculine than many of the other dryer sheets out there that lean towards more feminine scents like lavender or rose. 

You’ll get a good whiff of the scent when you open the box. It can come on a bit strong. But don’t worry– once you remove your clothes from the dryer, the scent will be calmer. 

Not only is the scent different, but the “method” is different as well (hahaha — get it? Method!). 

Before you add your sheet to your dryer, make sure you only have one because they can stick together. Then you will need to tear each sheet in half. It helps keep them from blocking up your vents. 

A nice thing is if you only have a small load, you can just use half a sheet. Better yet, once you’re done with them, the dryer sheets are compostable if your municipality has the correct type of facilities.

Seventh Generation Fabric Softener Sheets combined botanical based scents with plant based fibers to deliver a dryer sheet that is 97% USDA Certified Bio Based. Their unique combination of plant derived softeners leaves your clothes feeling soft and static free. 

But dryer sheets are about more than just soft clothes. They are as much about how they leave your clothes smelling as how they leave your clothes feeling. And when it comes to the Seventh Generation’s Eucalyptus and Lavender scent, it’s a love it or hate it kind of thing.

Personally, I love the scent of lavender on my clothes. But not everyone feels the same as me. You’ll find these dryer sheets come on strong, but the scent doesn’t linger. So if you like lavender, you will be in heaven. However, if floral isn’t your thing, you probably want to check out another dryer sheet.

Sometimes minimal is best. Especially when you are chemically sensitive. If you are tired of long lists of unpronounceable ingredients on your products, you will find Better Life Natual Dryer Sheets a refreshing change. The unscented version lists just two plant based ingredients that are added to unbleached paper. And that’s it! 

Now they do have a scented version of the product as well. But the only other ingredients you see on the Lavendar Grapefruit scented sheets are the essential oils that make them smell so delightful. And while the sheets themselves smell wonderful, you don’t need to worry about overpowering artificial fragrance. These natural sheets only leave a hint of scent on your laundry.  

These dryer sheets are the perfect choice if you are looking to get the benefits of a dryer sheet but are sensitive to strong scents. 

Eco Friendly Dryer Sheet Buying Guide

Before we discuss what makes one dryer sheet more eco-friendly than another, let’s explain how they work. 

Dryer sheets soften your clothes and help with static by depositing small amounts of softeners on your clothes while they dry. The heat from the dryer releases the softener, and as your clothes tumble, it is transferred from the sheet to your clothes. Usually, manufacturers include some kind of fragrance to leave your clothes smelling fresh, like flowers, but the fragrance isn’t necessary for the sheets to work.

Unfortunately, everything from the sheets themselves to the fragrance in traditional fabric softeners is derived from petrochemicals. So let’s look at how eco-friendly dryer sheets are different.

Softeners

Just like eco-friendly fabric softener that goes in your washing machine, many eco-friendly dryer sheets use plant based softeners rather than animal products or petrochemicals. For example, Seventh Generation Dryer Sheets are 97% USDA Certified Plant Based. That means the products are vegan and better for the environment. 

Now be aware not all plant based ingredients are created equally. Many are derived from palm oil. Palm oil harvesting has a huge environmental impact making it less eco-friendly than you make think.

Fragrances

Scent is one of the things that distinguishes one dryer sheet from another. While we love fresh smelling clothes, we don’t love the heavily chemical, artificial fragrances traditional dryer sheets use. 

Now not all eco-friendly drier sheets rely entirely on natural scents. Some use a combination of natural and artificial fragrances. Essential oils and botanical derives fragrance has a hard time holding up to the heat, so you will find naturally scented dryer sheets don’t leave much of a lingering scent behind. 

Sheet Materials

One of the problems with traditional dryer sheets is that they are made from synthetic fibers. Seeing as how they are used just once, this waste adds up over time. Eco-friendly drier sheets are made from plant based fibers instead, meaning that you can compost or recycle them.