Raise your washing game with Ecoegg’s Laundry Egg / £12

There’s something oddly satisfying when products designed for our personal wellbeing also turn out to be beneficial to the world around us. That’s the case with Ecoegg: one of a clutch of new-generation names working to change the way we do laundry – an everyday activity loaded with environmental (and economic) cost.

Originally developed to address skin irritations caused by the chemicals found in regular washing products, Ecoegg’s low-residue, allergy-friendly formula carries a Dermatest rating of ‘Excellent’. The environmental upside is that by doing away with the harmful enzymes, phosphates and microplastics used in conventional detergents and fabric softeners, its products also succeed in keeping machine outflows cleaner.

Their downstream impact on plastic consumption is just as impressive. The British brand estimates its bestselling Laundry Egg can save households up to 40 bottles of washing liquid a year. It achieves this at a fraction of the cost, replacing detergents and conditioners with special refill pellets that ionise water while extracting dirt and grease. Pellets are biodegradable, making them suitable for general waste once their work is done.

Ecoegg’s Laundry Egg Starter Kit includes enough pellets for 70 washes, a reusable egg-shaped casing (guaranteed for ten years), drying stand and detox tablet to boost machine efficiency and lifespan. Save for issues with some heavy stains, users are upbeat about its performance and quantum contribution to reducing plastic waste – not to mention savings that can’t be egg-nored.