6 Non-Toxic Eco-friendly Hand Sanitizers for Clean Hands
With the pandemic we’ve all become much more aware of how often we wash our hands, and hand sanitizer is a part of that as well.
Of course, if you can, it’s always best to use soap and water, but when you’re out and about, having some hand sanitizer in your bag is a must.
Yet not all sanitizers are equal, and some can actually be dangerous for your health, instead of just getting rid of germs. Luckily, we have to lowdown on the good and the bad, as well as what hand sanitizers are the best for the environment.
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6 Non-Toxic & Eco-friendly Hand Sanitizer Brands
Choosing an eco-friendly hand sanitizer that does the job it’s meant to can be difficult, especially when we want it to be non-toxic with no skin irritation and with as little plastic waste as possible.
That’s why I’ve done the work for you and compiled six of my favorite non-toxic hand sanitizers for you, from spray bottles to hand soap and gels.
These options are all affordable without sacrificing quality, and have been tested and loved by countless customers!
PUBLIC GOODS AMERICAN MADE HAND SANITIZER
Public Goods hand sanitizer is gentle and effective. It’s tough on germs yet safe enough for kids and those with sensitive skin. It contains FDA recommended 62% ethyl alcohol as well as glycerin and aloe vera to soften and moisturize hands.
Why I Love It: This hand sanitizer is ethically made in America. Public Goods does not use harsh chemicals like triclosan and benzalkonium chloride. The clear, lightly scented hand sanitizer gel goes on smooth and evaporates quickly.
The powerful antiseptic properties of ethyl alcohol and glycerin are 99.9% effective against most common germs. They don't use harsh chemicals like triclosan and benzalkonium chloride.
Perfect for travel both near and far, the tiny bottle is designed to help you stay prepared for life's little messes while still looking sharp in your jacket pocket, backpack or tote.
Price: Public Goods hand sanitizer can be found in a 12 oz bottle for $7.50 or a 2oz bottle for $2. The white 12 oz bottle is made from sugar cane instead of traditional plastic!
THE GROVE COLLABORATIVE'S SUSTAINABLE HAND SANITIZING GEL
The Grove Collaborative's hydrating hand sanitizer gel is proven to effectively kill 99.9% of common germs in 30 seconds. It's crafted to be sustainably powerful for a healthy home and planet.
Why I Love It: Their fast-absorbing hand sanitizer works to kill common and virus-causing germs within 30 seconds of contact. In addition to antibacterial and antifungal properties, the gel formula contains 62% alcohol — meeting CDC guidelines.
Their Hydrating Hand Sanitizer has moisturizing aloe and coconut oil that hydrates skin while you sanitize, so your skin gets clean and stays soft.
Formulated with you and your family in mind, it is cruelty-free and has no harsh chemicals like triclosan, parabens, phthalates, and dye.
Enjoy a sweet and zesty Blood Orange scent — its 100% natural fragrance is made from essential oils and plant extracts.
Packaged in infinitely recyclable aluminum, their hand sanitizers are designed to help eliminate plastic waste from your home and the landfills.
Price: The Grove Collaborative's sustainable hand sanitizing gel is available in a 7.5 fluid-ounce bottle for $10.
EO'S PLANT-BASED HAND SANITIZER
Keep hands refreshed and clean with this EO lavender hand sanitizer gel. Thanks to the 62% alcohol content derived from non-GMO sugar cane, it’s 99.9% effective against most common germs. Soothing lavender helps create a sense of calm.
Why I Love It: Their lavender essential oil hand sanitizer gel is made with alcohol sourced from non-GMO sugar cane. It also contains vegetable glycerin and jojoba seed oil to help your hands feel soft and nourished.
They source their lavender from farms in France and Bulgaria with on-site distilleries, so the oils are processed on the same land they grew on. (Extracting oils from just-picked plants makes for the fullest and most potent scents.)
At EO Products, they rely on decades of manufacturing plant-based body care products to guide them in choosing safe, natural, organic, and sustainably-farmed ingredients. They’re exacting – and fully transparent – about every ingredient in every bottle.
They research, develop, test, blend, bottle, market, and ship all EO Products in one place: their family-owned, zero-waste factory.
EO Products donates personal care products and makes financial contributions to organizations that serve our community, creates local job opportunities, and offers employees paid time off to volunteer.
Price: The EO Products hand sanitizer is available in 8 fluid ounces for $10 and 32 fluid ounces for $31.
BY HUMANKIND’S ECO-FRIENDLY HAND SANITIZER
Designed to reduce single-use plastic waste, these hand sanitizers from by HumanKind come in three different varieties
Eucalyptus, grapefruit, and unscented. With 65% alcohol, it meets all of your sanitizing needs, and you can subscribe to get your refills delivered as regularly as you want.
By Humankind is a personal care brand that cares. They are dedicated to reducing their global dependence on single-use plastic by creating personal care products that are healthier for your body and our planet.
Their products are designed to reduce your single-use plastic footprint by 90% or more. You get sent a refillable container, then subscribe for refills. When you subscribe, you get your original container for free, too!
Why I Love It: To offset the carbon emissions created by their supply chains, production, office space, and fulfillment — they teamed up with Pachama, a group of California-based engineers and scientists who believe that restoring forests represents the most effective solution to recapture carbon from the atmosphere and reverse the effects of climate change.
Pachama helps connect forest project developers with carbon offset buyers.
Price: This hand sanitizer can be found in pocket size bottles for $15 or full 8oz. bottles for $30.
DR. BRONNER'S ORGANIC HAND SANITIZER SPRAY
Dr. Bronner's organic hand sanitizer spray is gluten free with natural and organic ingredients, non-gmo project verified vegan, and is wheat free.
It's a lavender-scented hand sanitizer. The organic hand sanitizer kills germs with a simple formula and no harsh or dangerous chemicals!
Why I Love It: Dr. Bronner sanitizer has all natural ingredients; this light and floral formula has no synthetic detergents, preservatives, or genetically modified ingredients.
This hand sanitizer will help you clean with a conscience!
In addition to being certified organic and vegan; certified organic by the USDA national organic program and certified Vegan by Vegan action, Dr. Bronner's is also a proud supporter of animal advocacy organizations.
They use recycled packaging for all personal care products - packaged in 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) Plastic bottles. Dr. Bronner's is committed to environmental protection, ethical sourcing, and fair trade practices.
Price: This hand sanitizer is available in a 2-ounce bottle for $10.
PRIMALLY PURE'S NATURAL HAND SANITIZER SPRAY
Primally Pure's original, Immune-Boosting Hand Sanitizer helps defend against harmful bacteria and viruses with a potent blend of organic ingredients, including 63% grape alcohol, immune-boosting essential oils, healing aloe vera and soothing vegetable glycerin to powerfully protect your delicate skin.
Why I Love It: 63% grape alcohol is gentle on the skin while still effectively killing germs, viruses + other harmful bacteria, all while boosting the efficacy of the ingredients in the formula. Plus it doubles as one of the safest natural preservatives!
With all of the hand washing + sanitizing, aloe vera replenishes and protects the skin with potent levels of vitamins and antioxidants.
Organic vegetable glycerin is a natural humectant that delivers much-needed moisture to your skin.
More than simply an uplifting aroma, these potent pure essential oils offer unprecedented purifying and immune-enhancing properties.
It includes lavender, lemon eucalyptus, palmarosa, tea tree, oregano, and thyme.
The Immune Boosting formula also stimulates the immune system, sanitizes facial tools, acts as an acne spot treatment, and works as an air cleansing mist.
Price: The Primally Pure natural hand sanitizer spray is available in Light Aroma and in Immune Boosting (Strong Aroma) in 2 ounce bottles for $10 each.
Is Hand Sanitizer Toxic?
Hand sanitizer can contain some toxic ingredients, yes. The FDA has even warned against using some hand sanitizes due to their potential dangers.
Yet even if the hand sanitizers that are approved, there are some ingredients that just aren’t kind to your skin. They can be irritating to your skin barrier, disruptive to hormones, and more.
While we all want to be protected, we want to be able to do so in a non-toxic way. That being said, when going for a more natural alternative, you have to make sure that it’s still going to do the job that it’s been designed for.
What Ingredients Should Consumers Be Cautious About?
As with many other products, there are ingredients in certain hand sanitizers that should be treated with caution, as well as some that should be outright avoided.
Menthol in Hand Sanitizer
While we all know that for hand sanitizer to be effective it needs to contain at least 60% alcohol, the type of alcohol makes all the difference.
It’s products containing menthol that the FDA have warned against, and with good reason.
Originally beginning with nine Mexican sanitizer brands, the banned list has expanded to include seventy-five different hand sanitizers.
In some cases, the menthol in these hand-sanitizers may have arisen due to poor alcohol distillation process, so it’s not always on the ingredient list.
That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on the list of banned brands produced by the FDA, as well as reading the ingredients carefully.
Menthol poisoning can have some nasty effects, especially for young children, which is why it’s so essential that you stay away from these hand sanitizers.
It’s not just dangerous when ingested either, it is also dangerous when absorbed by the skin, which is what makes it’s inclusion in sanitizers so harmful.
Triclosan in Hand Sanitizer
This used to be one of the main ingredients in hand sanitizer and was even used instead of alcohol, but it was banned in 2019.
So, while you’re unlikely to find a hand sanitizer with triclosan, it’s best to read the ingredient list and double check.
Triclosan can be dangerous if you’re exposed to it in high quantities, and it can even cause reproductive problems. This is why you can’t be too careful when choosing your sanitizer, and in making sure that you buy it from a reputable seller.
What Should Consumers Know When Using Hand Sanitizer?
As with any product, there are some important facts that you need to know before purchasing hand sanitizer. The main one is to always read the ingredients, and here’s why.
Be Cautious of Fragrances
When choosing your hand sanitizer, having a nice fragrance is always a plus, as no one really likes the strong alcohol smell.
However, it’s always a good idea to check exactly where these fragrances come from.
Many can contain parabens, which are another toxic ingredient that it’s best to avoid, so look for sanitizers that are fragranced naturally either with essential oils or other methods.
Alcohol in Hand Sanitizer
While we don’t want menthol in our hand sanitizer, having alcohol is essential if we want it to do the job that it’s been designed for.
This means having at least 60% alcohol even in non-toxic hand sanitizer. If alcohol is something that you want to avoid, then try to wash your hands more often so you don’t need to use hand sanitizer as much.
What are the environmental impacts of hand sanitizer?
With the ban of triclosan, many of the environmental impacts of hand sanitizer have been reduced. However, the distilling of alcohol used in sanitizers might not always be the best for the environment.
As the demand for sanitizer has increased, so have the number of companies, and not all of them have the best working practices. This means that these need to be regulated and so it’s important that you know about the company your sanitizer comes from.
Further studies also need to be done about the impact on the environment when we wash this alcohol off our hands, and it ends up in our waterways.
Is hand sanitizer eco-friendly?
Along with the ingredients, it’s also important to consider the packaging of hand sanitizer. What type of material is used to create the packaging?
Is the bottle refillable, or recyclable?
Are any efforts taken to reduce the carbon footprint made from the production or delivery of the product?
Does the company partner with ethical producers to ensure the environment is protected during all steps of the product creation process?
It also helps to search for any environmental certifications listed in a company's bio on their website.
Typically sanitizer comes in a plastic bottle which often end up in landfills.
I hope that you’ve learned a little about what ingredients to avoid when buying hand sanitizers, as well as what’s essential for them to work.
Doing your research and knowing the company that produces it is always the best way to ensure that you get a non-toxic hand sanitizer that’s kind to your skin, and to the earth.
The good news is that there are plenty of great options out there to choose from nowadays, using pleasant scents like lavender oil and moisturizers such as organic aloe vera gel. It's not hard to find an honest company, too.
The bottom line is that the use of hand sanitizers continues to be important in these times, so we hope these tips and products suggestions make picking a safe, sustainable alcohol-based hand sanitizer easy for you!
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