⭐ Blueland – Dishwasher tablets with no plastic film or pod wrapper. They come in two scents, and the formulas are not the same: Fragrance-Free has 10 ingredients, and Lemon Zest has 12 (it adds a fragrance and maltodextrin, a starch that helps hold the tablet together).
🍃 Clean (Fragrance-Free, as listed by Blueland): Sodium citrate (softens water), sodium carbonate, also called washing soda (a mineral cleaner), sodium percarbonate (washing soda combined with hydrogen peroxide; lifts stains with oxygen), protease and amylase enzyme blends (break down protein and starchy food), microcrystalline cellulose (plant fiber that holds the tablet together), sorbitan caprylate (a processing aid), hydrated silica (helps the tablet dissolve without clumps), water (dried out of the finished tablet), and sodium carboxymethyl inulin/sodium polyaspartate (stops film forming on dishes). Blueland publishes where each ingredient comes from and labels every one naturally derived except sodium polyaspartate.
💚 Progress Over Perfection: One ingredient is made in a lab, and Blueland says so. Sodium polyaspartate, part of the anti-film ingredient, is labeled synthetic. The Lemon Zest fragrance is labeled naturally derived; Blueland names two of its parts (citral and d-limonene) but not the full recipe.
💧 Low-Impact: EPA Safer Choice certified, according to Blueland’s packaging and website. Refills come in paper pouches that Blueland says are industrially compostable (that means a commercial compost facility, not a backyard pile), sized to refill the Forever Tin. Sold as 60- or 120-tablet refills, or as a starter set with the tin plus 60 tablets.