Our Plant-Based Laundry Detergent
Gentle Home, Laundry Care
Plant-Based Laundry Detergent
Three plant-derived cleansers from coconut and corn, castor-derived odour control and bicarbonate of soda. For muslins, school uniforms, bedding and football kit alike.
No SLS or SLES
No optical brighteners
No phosphate builders
Hand and machine wash
Shop the detergent
Three plant-derived cleansers
Conventional detergents lean on petrochemical sulphates. This formula uses sugar and coconut chemistry instead. Each of the three does a different job, which is why none of them has to be dosed hard.
Cleanser 01
Alkyl polyglycoside
From coconut fatty alcohols and corn glucose
The workhorse. Lowers the surface tension of water so dirt, grease and food lift out of the fibre rather than clinging to it. Among the mildest surfactant classes in commercial use, and readily biodegradable.
Cleanser 02
Sodium coco sulfate
From whole coconut fatty acids
Builds the working lather that carries cleaning power evenly through a drum load. Derived from the full coconut fatty acid profile, and a different ingredient from sodium lauryl sulfate.
Cleanser 03
Coconut diethanolamide
From coconut oil
Holds the foam stable through the wash cycle and keeps lifted soil suspended in the water, so it drains away instead of redepositing on the next garment in the load.
Traps the smell. Does not paint over it.
The active
Zinc ricinoleate
Most detergents deal with odour by loading fragrance until the smell is outnumbered. Zinc ricinoleate, made from castor oil, works the other way around. Its molecular structure binds the volatile compounds that carry odour and holds on to them, so they rinse out with the water instead of sitting in the fibre under a perfume.
It is the reason milk, sweat and lunchbox smells come out of collars and cuffs on a normal cycle rather than a hot one.
Working alongside it
- Bicarbonate of soda neutralises acidic odours, the sour note in damp towels and gym kit
- A light baby musk fragrance, dosed low. The formula is scented, and the scent is there to smell clean, not to do the odour work
- Bitter orange extract and chamomile extract, botanical additions carried at trace level
Every ingredient, grouped by what it does
Nothing hidden behind "and other ingredients". This is the full declared formula from the manufacturer's ingredient sheet, sorted by function rather than by percentage.
Cleansing system
- Alkyl polyglycosidePrimary surfactant, coconut and corn derived
- Sodium coco sulfateFoaming surfactant, coconut derived
- Coconut diethanolamideFoam stabiliser and soil suspender
- Deceth-10Wetting agent, helps the wash penetrate dense fabric
- C12-14 Pareth-3Low-foam surfactant for greasy soils
- Polysorbate-20Solubiliser, keeps the formula from separating
Odour and freshness
- Zinc ricinoleateOdour-trapping active, castor derived
- Sodium bicarbonateNeutralises acidic odours
- ParfumLight baby musk fragrance
Botanicals and conditioning
- Chamomile extractAnthemis nobilis flower extract, skin conditioning
- Bitter orange extractCitrus aurantium amara, natural preservative support
- GlycerinHumectant, contributes to soft hand-feel
Stability, pH and preservation
- WaterDiluent, the base of the formula
- Sodium chlorideMineral salt, sets the pouring viscosity
- Citric acidpH adjuster
- Malic acidFruit acid, preservative support
- DMDM hydantoinPreservative, keeps the bottle stable in Gulf heat
Full INCI, as printed on pack
Water, Alkyl Polyglycoside, Sodium Coco Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Polysorbate-20, Parfum, Zinc Ricinoleate, Coconut Diethanolamide, Deceth-10, DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, C12-14 Pareth-3, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara Extract, Malic Acid, Glycerin.
What we leave out
Each of these is absent from the declared formula. They are the ingredients most often raised by parents washing for young skin, and the ones most often found in supermarket detergents.
SLS
SLES
Parabens
Phthalates
Phosphate builders
Optical brighteners
Artificial colours
Chlorine bleach
Ammonia
Optical brighteners are the fluorescent agents that make white cotton look whiter by reflecting UV light rather than by removing soil. They stay in the fibre by design. This formula does not use them, which is why whites look clean rather than artificially bright.
One capful does more than you expect
Step 01
Standard machine wash
One capful covers roughly ten items. Add it to the drawer or straight into the drum. It works across the full temperature range, so there is no need to run hot for the detergent's sake.
Gulf water is hard. Mineral content interferes with surfactant activity, so a slightly fuller capful is sensible on a heavily soiled load.
Step 02
Pre-treating a stain
Work a small amount of undiluted detergent into the mark with fingertips or a soft brush, leave it for thirty minutes, then wash as normal. No separate stain remover needed.
Works on milk, puree, grass, sand and the ground-in dust that comes home with every UAE school bag.
Step 03
Hand washing
Half a capful in a basin. Submerge, agitate gently, then rinse twice in clean water. Mild enough to use without gloves for the time a hand wash takes.
Best for delicates, muslins and anything you would rather not put through a drum.
Step 04
Baby clothes and bedding
Standard measure, 30 to 40 degrees. Suitable for baby clothing, muslins, cot bedding and soft toys. Wash new items once before first wear to clear shop dust and finishing residue.
Cooler is better. Lower temperatures hold colour and extend the life of fine cotton.
1
capful per load
of around ten items
30°
works from thirty degrees
upwards, no hot cycle needed
2
sizes, 750 ml for the
cupboard and 3 litres to refill
Side by side
Against a typical supermarket detergent
| Â | Just Gentle | Typical conventional |
|---|---|---|
| Main cleansers | Coconut and corn derived, three of them | Petrochemical SLS or SLES |
| Odour approach | Zinc ricinoleate traps odour molecules, bicarbonate neutralises | Heavy fragrance load masking the smell |
| Optical brighteners | None | Standard in most whitening formulas |
| Phosphate builders | None | Still common in several markets |
| Artificial colours | None | Usual, for shelf appeal |
| Fragrance | Light baby musk, dosed low | High load, often the largest non-water component after surfactants |
| Refill size | 3 litres, roughly four 750 ml bottles | Rarely offered |
Gulf households wash more than most
Summer here means two or three changes of clothing a day for an active child, which means a wash load most days rather than most weeks. Whatever chemistry is in the detergent, it meets the skin more often in Dubai than it would in a cooler climate, and it meets it for the sixteen or so hours a day a child is dressed or in bed.
Air conditioning and dry desert air already work against young skin, which is part of why infant eczema is so commonly discussed by parents in the region. Detergent is not a treatment for any of that. What it can do is avoid adding to the load, by rinsing out cleanly and leaving nothing behind that was not meant to stay.
That is the whole design brief for this formula: clean properly at a low temperature, deal with odour at source, and get out of the fabric on the rinse.
The rest of Gentle Home
Laundry Detergent
3 litres
The same formula in the household size. Roughly four 750 ml bottles, at a lower cost per wash and with a great deal less plastic.
Shop the 3 litre
Fabric Softener
750 ml and 3 litres
Goes in the softener drawer for the final rinse. Made with organic chamomile water certified by ECOCERT, France. Also in the 3 litre size.
Shop the softener
Duo Laundry Pack
Detergent and softener, 750 ml each
Both halves of the wash together. The simplest way to switch the whole laundry cupboard over in one go.
Shop the duo pack
Bottle, Toy & Dish Wash
500 ml
Plant-based formula for bottles, teats, weaning dishes and bath toys. Cuts milk film and food residue, rinses clear.
Shop the dish wash
Multi-Surface Cleaner
500 ml
A five ingredient jasmine rice vinegar formula for high chairs, play mats, counters and floors. No residue to wipe twice.
Shop the surface cleaner
Natural Avengers Set
Three bottle bundle
Detergent, multi-surface cleaner and bottle, toy and dish wash together. The whole house covered in one order.
Shop the setBefore you switch
Can I use it for my baby's clothes?
Yes. Use the standard one capful measure and wash at 30 to 40 degrees. It suits baby clothing, muslins, cot bedding and soft toys, and the low temperature rinse is part of the design rather than a compromise. Wash anything new once before the first wear, which clears shop dust and manufacturing finish regardless of which detergent you use.
Does it contain SLS?
No. The formula uses sodium coco sulfate, which is a different ingredient from sodium lauryl sulfate despite the similar name. Sodium coco sulfate is made from the whole fatty acid profile of coconut oil rather than the isolated lauric fraction, and neither SLS nor SLES appears anywhere in the declared formula.
Is it fragranced?
Yes, lightly. There is a baby musk fragrance dosed low in the formula, and it is listed on the pack as Parfum. It is there so the wash smells clean, not to do the odour work. The actual odour removal is handled by zinc ricinoleate and bicarbonate of soda, which is why the fragrance can sit at a fraction of the level a conventional detergent needs.
Will it work in hard Gulf water?
Yes. Hard water carries dissolved minerals that bind to surfactants and reduce how much of the detergent is actually free to clean, which is true of every detergent rather than this one in particular. On a heavily soiled load in UAE tap water, a slightly fuller capful compensates for it. For a normal load the standard measure is enough.
Can I hand wash with it?
Yes. Half a capful in a basin of water, agitate gently, then rinse twice. The surfactant system is mild enough for direct hand contact for the length of a hand wash, so gloves are optional rather than necessary.
What sizes does it come in?
Two: a 750 ml bottle and a 3 litre refill, which works out at roughly four bottles for a lower cost per wash and considerably less plastic. There is also a Duo Laundry Pack that pairs the 750 ml detergent with the 750 ml fabric softener, and a 3 litre combo value pack for households that go through both quickly.
Do I still need a fabric softener?
Not necessarily. The glycerin in the detergent contributes some softness on its own. If you want more, the Just Gentle Fabric Softener goes into the softener drawer so the machine adds it at the final rinse rather than mixing it with the detergent, which is the most common laundry mistake we get asked about.
Delivered across the UAE and GCC
Clean clothes, clean conscience
From the first muslin to the last football kit. Available in 750 ml and 3 litres, delivered across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.