Brandless Products Review: Products That Put People First

Have you been in the market for clean, more sustainable home products but don’t want to spend a fortune? Then Brandless products may just be worth a look.

I originally ordered 6 products to try from Brandless, but, as a bonus they sent me a 7th. I was pretty excited to try all of the products when they arrived. So, as soon as I unboxed everything, I got straight to work putting them through the paces.

Refillable Glass Cleaner – Cucumber Mint

The Refillable Glass Cleaner was the first product I decided to try. The directions informed me to place the entire dissolvable packet directly into the spray bottle and fill it with cold water. I had to wait one minute, or just a hair longer, for the entire packet to dissolve. Then I just shook the bottle vigorously and started using it on all of my glass surfaces.

This cleaner sells for $6, which includes the refillable spray bottle and one .11 fl oz dissolvable cleaning packet. The product states that it’s made in the USA and is a Green Seal Certified product. If you want more dissolvable glass cleaner packets, they can be purchased in lots of 2 for $6.

Refillable Tub & Tile Cleaner – Summer Breeze

The Refillable Tub & Tile Cleaner was just as easy to make as the glass cleaner was. It did a reasonably good job of cleaning the soap scum and hard water stains from our shower. I wasn’t overwhelmed by this product but it performed just as well as any other on the market. The scent was a really nice surprise. 

The spray bottle comes with a .21 fl oz cleaning packet and sells for $6. It comes with the refillable spray bottle and one dissolvable cleaning packet. The refill cleaning packets can be purchased separately in lots of 2 for $6 also. This cleaner is also made in the USA and is a Green Seal Certified product.

Every cleaning task that I did with the glass cleaner and the tile cleaner performed well at the task. I didn’t compare it to other brands, but both of these products performed as well or better than expected.

Foldable Tote Bag

The Foldable Tote Bag this one was one of the most useful products that I received. I used it for grocery shopping and for a short trip that I took recently to pack some clothes. 

It’s a great all-around use bag when you don’t need to look fashionable. I love that folds into itself for easy storage when not in use.

This bag is made of (8) 16 oz. PET plastic bottles, which is in keeping with the sustainability practices of the company. When the bag is flat it measures 14” x15” and sells for $15. One of my favorite features was the stow sleeve on the back of it which makes it easy to attach it to a cart or luggage. The only unfortunate thing with this bag is that it’s made in China, which I wasn’t too thrilled to see.

Green Tea & Aloe Shave Gel

The Green Tea & Aloe Shave Gel helped a lot with shaving in the shower and elsewhere. It helps with razor burn, smells nice and has clean ingredients. My wife liked it so much that she took it for her own during testing and used it multiple times. 

Both of us felt that our skin was super smooth and moisturized after shaving. The price tag of $5 for an 8 oz tube is pretty on par with what I had been paying for my other shave gel, but I liked this one better. This shave gel is cruelty-free, follows the brand’s clean practices and is made in the USA.

Tree Free Toilet Tissue

I was pretty excited to try the Tree Free Toilet Tissue. As someone who has been striving to be more ecologically friendly, finding a tree free toilet tissue has been on my list. But, I’ve been a bit scared to actually try any yet in fear of hurting my bum.

This toilet tissue is sold in packs of 6 double rolls, consisting of 300 2-ply sheets per roll, at a cost of $3 per pack. Which is extremely cheap for toilet paper! Especially since this one is made out of fast growing bamboo and sugarcane and is a USDA certified bio-based product.

I really enjoyed using this toilet paper, as it was soft and smooth with every wipe. I was concerned that it might tear when it mattered most, but it performed spectacularly with no tearing every time. It consistently left me feeling fresh and clean, which was expected. This toilet paper is unscented, which I appreciate, since I don’t necessarily want to smell like a flower down there. The roll lasted a fairly long time, but it ultimately hasn’t fully replaced my standard go-to recycled toilet paper yet.

Unfortunately, though, they do not make public on their website as to where this product is made or the raw ingredients sourced from.

Aluminum Free Citrus Neroli Deodorant

The Aluminum Free Citrus Neroli Deodorant was the bonus product the brand sent to me with my order. Sometimes deodorant can be tricky and they don’t fill up the tube all the way. Or they shortchange you with the number of ounces you get with the misleading packaging.

I’m happy to show that the Brandless deodorant is well worth the value. It did a great job of keeping my armpits dry all day and smelling nice. I personally didn’t like the smell of this one but I’m not going to hold it against them because it was a bonus product.

At $4 for a 1.7 oz tube, it’s a pretty darn good deal. It’s also cruelty-free, has some organic ingredients and contains none of the banned ingredients the company refuses to put into their products. Unfortunately, though, they do not enlighten us as to where this product is made or the raw ingredients sourced from.

Green Tea & Aloe Body Lotion

This 9.5 oz bottle sells for $5 and is made in the USA, which I was happy to see. Unfortunately, we didn’t really get to try the Green Tea & Aloe Body Lotion, which was disappointing. Due to the summer heat, the product showed up separated and was unusable. 

The bottle it came in was opaque so it was easy to see the separation from shipping. The product itself came out really watery and pretty gross looking. It was completely unusable, which is unfortunate, since I really wanted to try this one. While the smell was nice, that was really all we could discern from it.

When it comes to quality, Brandless touts sustainability and clean beauty for all of their products. What “clean beauty” means to them is that it’s just as important what’s not in your products as what is in your products. Which is important for any products you’re putting on or in your body.

Brandless says that they don’t allow 400 potentially harmful or toxic ingredients into any of their products. Their clean beauty mantra also means that their products are:

• Cruelty-free
• Gluten-Free
• Not tested on animals
• Not filled with unnecessary ingredients for the product to function properly

I am a huge fan of this whole line of thinking. However, nowhere do they state where their raw ingredients are sourced from and they have quite a few ingredients that are listed as proprietary. This means their formulas are a trade secret and they don’t have to tell us what’s really in it. I really don’t like this for any company that is hinged upon brand claims such as clean beauty. If it’s so clean, why won’t you tell us what exactly is in it and where you source it from?

Where all of their products are made is also a bit of a mystery. Some of the products will list where they’re made, but I found quite a few that don’t list anything about the manufacturing. And even the products that do list where they’re made don’t give us any further information. Therefore, we have no idea as to the quality controls or the ethical work practices of the manufacturing plants.

There are also quite a few products that simply list “fragrance” as an ingredient. For a company who sells essential oils, I have a difficult time understanding why they just don’t use those in their products for added scent instead of some ambiguous fragrance. Especially because the word “fragrance” in any product can be petroleum based or contain a multitude of toxic ingredients.

While I’d like to believe the quality of their products is above average, I’d prefer more transparency on these points.

If you are more focused on the efficacy of a product as opposed to their brand name, then Brandless may be just what you’ve been looking for. All of their products are more than reasonably priced for how well they work. The branding, or lack thereof, probably helps them keep their costs down which transfers directly over to us, as the consumer.

While I am not confident in the actual quality of their products, due to the severe lack of transparency, they do appear to work pretty darn well. And the fact that they have a large line of refillable products doesn’t hurt either. By reusing their refillable bottles and/or purchasing items from their lines made of recycled plastic, you are effectively helping to reduce your carbon footprint. And most of us are more than okay with that as an added bonus.

Therefore, giving their products a try due to the high level of efficacy and the low price point just seems like a no-brainer. Especially with their longer return policy period.

Brandless is already pretty well known for their extremely low prices. Even still, they have some pretty generous coupons available to the public.

• 15% Off Your Brandless Order with code BRANDLESS15
• $20 Off $100 with code BRANDLESS20
• $10 Off $50 with code BRANDLESS10

Also, if you sign up for their email list, they may send you some coupons in special promotion newsletters. Finally, they offer discounts on products when you purchase them in bundles instead of individually.

Anytime you’re looking for new household products to try, there are bound to be a ton of questions. Here is where we do our best to answer the most common questions consumers have about Brandless to help you make the most educated decision for you.