The Laundress Brand Review
DETAILS
When — 2006-2026
What — Laundry Detergent
Brand — The Laundress
Rating — Exceed
A Reason to Look Forward to Laundry.
Laundry is either a chore you avoid…or a ritual you weirdly look forward to. The Laundress is the reason I’m in the second camp.
I’ve used The Laundress for about 20 years, and it’s been an EXCEED for me since day one—because the products perform and because the brand is exceptionally good at setting expectations: what a scent will smell like, how to use the products, and what’s actually inside them.
What I Expected (the promise)
The Laundress positions itself as luxury fabric care for people who treat clothes (and linens) like investments—high-quality formulas, elevated fragrance, and education so you can confidently care for your favorites at home.
They summarize their “difference” as:
Fabric & Surface-Loving Ingredients (bio-based, “beautiful results you can see & feel”)
Fine Fragrances (bespoke fragrances crafted by master perfumers)
Expert Education (how-tos + cleaning expertise)
My Experience (real life)
They solved my “dry clean only” problem. Before The Laundress, I couldn’t find a truly delicate detergent that left wool and cashmere in better shape after washing—so I defaulted to dry cleaning. Their Wool & Cashmere Shampoo is designed for gentle at-home cleansing of natural fibers (hand- or machine-wash). And yes, I love the cedar scent. Wool & cashmere can sometimes smell vaguely like a wet dog mid-laundry (we don’t talk about it enough). This shampoo solves that.
They’re unusually transparent for a fragrance-forward brand. I’m fragrance-sensitive, so I’m picky. If I arrive at an Airbnb with Glad PlugIns, I am simultaneously sneezing my head off and opening every window like I’m airing out a locker room. What I appreciate is that The Laundress doesn’t just romanticize scent; they describe it clearly (notes) and disclose more than most brands do. For example: on product pages, they list full ingredients and call out specific fragrance allergens (like linalool, citronellol, eugenol, etc.). They also publish Safety Data Sheets and an ingredient glossary, which makes it much easier to understand what you’re using. Before storing my suitcase after a trip, I give the interior a light spray with The Laundress Delicate Spray.
The 2022 recall didn’t break my trust (here’s why). Yes, there were voluntary recalls on Dec 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, plus a product withdrawal on Dec 27, 2022, due to possible bacterial exposure. Some reviewers ding them for this, but I don’t expect perfection. I’m looking at a different metric: how a company handles mistakes. The process felt clearer and more consumer-friendly than what I’ve seen from much larger companies. I received a check for everything I had purchased, whether or not I still had some left. They overcommunicated during the recall. Since the entire point of this site is how brands manage consumer expectations & experience, any brand that is overly clear on next steps and what to expect gets an exceed from me.
Implied Expectations (what the internet led me to believe)
“Luxury” doesn’t have to mean “high maintenance.” It can mean finding pleasure in mundane tasks such as laundry. Fragrance-forward can still be responsible and transparent—if a brand actually tries. This isn’t for your whole household’s weekly mountain of sports uniforms. It’s for the items you’d rather protect than replace.
Bottom Line (who needs this)
If you buy quality and keep it forever, The Laundress is worth it. It helps you maintain the things you’ve invested in—wool, cashmere, delicates, special pieces, and linens you want to pass down. (I actually have embroidered pillowcases from my great-grandmother.)
It’s not for: people who want the cheapest cost-per-load for everyday family laundry. (Confession: I don’t use The Laundress on my husband’s and son’s clothes. I refuse to waste excellent detergent on people who think “sorting” is a myth. For them, I use Zum or Dropps.)
Final verdict: This is an EXCEED for me. They go above and beyond to set clear expectations—especially around fragrance descriptions, ingredient communication, and education. And more importantly, they deliver on those expectations. That combination is rare.
