If you’ve scrolled through social media lately, chances are you’ve seen Mrs. Meyer’s pop up as your go-to influencer’s favorite cleaning product. Known for its garden-inspired fragrances and eco-friendly branding, Mrs. Meyer’s has quickly become a darling of the green cleaning movement. But how does the company measure up when it comes to real sustainability?

At Karma Wallet, we dug deeper to see if Mrs. Meyer’s sustainability is as clean behind the scenes as their image suggests. Spoiler: they scored a 2/16 on our sustainability scale—a neutral score, but lower than we expected for a brand that markets itself as so green.

Let’s dive into the good, the bad, and everything in between.

The Good

Thoughtfully Picked Ingredients 

Cut to what we all care about most: ingredients. Mrs. Meyer’s makes a big deal about having a formula  that is kinder to the planet—and there are some standout points worth mentioning:

• No Forever Chemicals: Their products are free of PFAS, those notorious “forever chemicals” that stick around in the environment for, well, forever. That’s a big win. 
• Biodegradable Formulas: All their formulas meet the tough European OECD standards for biodegradability, and they’ve even cooked up stricter internal standards in collaboration with parent company SC Johnson.
• Upcycled Ingredients: They’re finding creative ways to reduce waste by incorporating upcycled components like cedarwood oil into their fragrances.
• Palm Oil Policy: Committed to responsible sourcing, Mrs. Meyer’s uses RSPO-certified palm oil and has plans to phase it out entirely, moving towards ingredients that don’t wreck forests or harm wildlife. While we wish this was already at 0, we commend them for working towards a more sustainable goal. 
• Cruelty-Free: They’ve got the Leaping Bunny certification to prove it—no animal testing here, just people-approved products.

Packaging Innovations 

Packaging—The Big Hitter: Let’s face it, when it comes to cleaning products, the packaging is hard to ignore. Plastic pollution everywhere, and we’re all more aware than ever of the waste that piles up. Every year, humans produce 380 tons of plastic, more than 50% of it for single-use items that are discarded in minutes but remain on the planet for centuries (Plastic Oceans International).

Mrs. Meyer’s knows this too, and they’re making moves to rethink how they package their products.

Circular Packaging Plans

• They’re working towards a more circular approach to packaging. This means reducing reliance on single-use plastics and eliminating materials that are notoriously hard to recycle—like black plastic—by 2026. 
• They’re also upping the game by maximizing the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in their bottles, making sure every piece of packaging has a shot at a second life.

Expanding Refillable Options 

• A big win for conscious consumers: Mrs. Meyer’s is offering refillable versions of their best-sellers like Hand Soap, Dish Soap, and Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaners. This small change can mean a lot less plastic waste over time and is a step toward creating a more sustainable routine in our daily lives

As they put it:

“We acknowledge that plastic is part of our everyday life and while it can have many benefits—like reducing food waste and creating life-saving medical treatments—the overuse of single-use plastic has become a global crisis and we’re committed to doing our part to address it. We’ve got our sleeves rolled up and are dedicated to reducing our own plastic waste footprint by offering more sustainable and recyclable plastic and non-plastic options across our entire portfolio.” 

Sustainable Manufacturing & The Community 

Mrs. Meyer’s isn’t just about what goes into their products—they’re also ‘committed to growing in harmony with the world around us and leaving the world a little better than we found it’, through local initiatives & sustainable manufacturing practices in their supply chain. 

Eco-Friendly Production 

• Natural Lighting: Their LEED-Platinum certified factory makes the most of natural light, cutting down on electricity use and lowering their carbon footprint.
• Energy-Efficient Delivery: They utilize super-efficient delivery trucks that run on at least 20% biodiesel, reducing their reliance on fossil fuels and cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.
• Water Conservation: They’ve conserved 30 million gallons of water over the past five years by implementing advanced water-saving technologies and practices.

But it’s not just about the environment—they’re also focused on giving back to the community. 

Community Investment

• On Chicago’s South Side, Mrs. Meyer’s is creating jobs and turning vacant land into thriving green spaces for human health. Their partnership with the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative supports community gardening and local initiatives, making a tangible difference where it matters most.

It’s clear – Mrs. Meyer’s is on a mission to make waves of good that go way beyond just a squeaky clean house. But do they have any skeletons in the closet? 

The Bad

Bad Family Ties 

Mrs. Meyer’s may be marketed as a green, garden-inspired brand, but let’s not forget it’s owned by SC Johnson, a company with a less-than-stellar environmental reputation. SC Johnson also owns brands like Windex, Drano, and Off insect repellent—products criticized for their heavy reliance on harsh chemicals and non-sustainable practices.

While Mrs. Meyer’s embraces a greener image, some suggest that SC Johnson uses its “green” brands to offset the negative perception of its other, less sustainable product lines. This tactic, often referred to as “greenwashing,” raises concerns about the true extent of Mrs. Meyer’s sustainability claims. 

• Take Windex, for example. In 2019-20, the brand claimed that its bottles were made from 100% “ocean plastic.” But before you start picturing teams of Windex employees pulling plastic from the sea, think again. Owen  Rosenberg, from Packaging 360, called out that the bottles were actually made from “ocean-bound plastic”—plastic collected from banks in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Haiti, which was never actually in the ocean. This misleading claim is a classic case of greenwashing, where companies exaggerate their environmental efforts to appear more eco-friendly than they are.
• But the problematic marketing doesn’t end there. Windex also claims to be non-toxic, yet in 2020, a lawsuit was filed against SC Johnson, alleging that Windex products contain ingredients harmful to people, animals, and the environment.

This lack of transparency and misleading marketing contributes to SC Johnson’s negative score of -1/16 on the Karma Wallet sustainability scale, particularly in areas like climate action and sustainability. 

While Mrs. Meyer’s makes commendable efforts toward eco-consciousness, its affiliation with SC Johnson complicates its sustainability narrative. It serves as a reminder that even brands with good intentions can be overshadowed by their parent company’s less sustainable practices.

Greenwashing Accusations 

While SC Johnson takes the biggest hit, Mrs. Meyer’s isn’t off the hook either—they’ve faced some greenwashing allegations of their own.

• Back in 2009, Mrs. Meyer’s was hit with a civil lawsuit for not telling consumers about a sneaky contaminant in their Clean Day Liquid Dish Soap—1,4-dioxane, a chemical linked to cancer under California’s Proposition 65. Here’s the catch: 1,4-dioxane isn’t something Mrs. Meyer’s intentionally adds to their products. Instead, it can form during the manufacturing process of certain ingredients, like surfactants, which help soap to lather. Some might say ignorance is bliss, but the health risks still landed squarely on the shoulders of consumers.
• As part of the settlement, Mrs. Meyer’s had to test their products for a year to make sure 1,4-dioxane levels stayed within safe limits or include a clear Prop 65 warning on their labels.

Flash forward to 2024, and we’re still not sure if we can trust them. 

• Mrs. Meyer’s continues to play fast and loose with buzzwords, labeling their products as “chemical-free”—a claim that’s more than a little misleading. Some, like Methylisothiazolinone, are still present and flagged for causing skin irritation and harming aquatic life. It begs the question: are they really as eco-conscious as they claim?

Ingredients not so Thoughtfully picked? 

Looking beyond Mrs. Meyer’s clever marketing, the reality of their ingredient safety might not be as green as it seems. For example, take their Basil Dish Soap. One independent consumer, Megan Mikkelsen, dug into the data from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and found that six of its ingredients scored a C or D—grades that indicate moderate to high concern for potential health or environmental impacts. Not exactly what you’d expect from a brand boasting ‘thoughtfully picked’ ingredients.

And when it comes to their fragrances? Many components either scored poorly or weren’t rated at all, leaving room for doubt. While this is just one consumer’s research, it does raise questions & we always encourage you to look closer and find the answers that matter to you.

Mrs. Meyer’s Sustainability Rating on Karma Wallet

So, what’s the verdict on Mrs. Meyer’s Sustainability? 

Look, we’ll give credit where it’s due: Mrs. Meyer’s sustainability has some solid moves in the right direction—better ingredients, smarter packaging, and a bit of community love. But let’s be real: they’ve still got some cleaning up to do. Partnering with SC Johnson doesn’t exactly scream “eco-hero,” and those greenwashing accusations don’t help their case either. Are they as squeaky clean as they want us to believe? We’re not so sure.

With a neutral score of 2/16 on our Karma Wallet sustainability scale, Mrs. Meyer’s sits somewhere in the middle—not terrible, but not setting the world on fire, either. We’re watching and waiting to see if they step up and walk the talk. In the meantime, keep asking questions, stay curious, and remember that every choice you make sends a message. Because in the end, it’s your wallet! 

Want to swap to a more sustainable option? Checkout Meliora and J&L Naturals cleaning supplies on the DoneGood marketplace!