You can't see the detergent for all the laundry strips anymore 😅 This year, tons of new laundry sheet brands have popped up and even more brands are starting to sell them. But what should you actually look out for?
Where are laundry detergent sheets made?
First things first, all laundry detergent sheets are made in China. Some companies claim they produce in Europe, but after our own research—where we spoke directly with the machine manufacturers—it turns out some of them aren’t being completely honest. So, you don’t need to look for laundry sheets made in the EU.
As a brand, we're working on bringing production to the Netherlands, so we really know how this market works. We make small batches and have gained experience with our formulations. More on this in 2024.
How is the price of a laundry strip determined?
There are several factors that have a big impact.
Active ingredients: The % of active ingredients largely determines how expensive a laundry sheet will be. Cosmeau laundry sheets contain on average 5% more than your typical off-the-shelf laundry sheet. That’s because we test our formulas ourselves in the Netherlands and have them produced in China. Based on cleaning tests, our sheets clean better than brands that don’t do this.
Size of the laundry strip: The bigger the laundry detergent strip, the more raw materials are used. Our strips are 11x14cm, the largest on the market. Some brands use a size of 7x14cm, which is 36% smaller! If you only look at the number of washes, you’ll miss this important detail.
Weight: When making laundry detergent sheets, we set the thickness during the drying process. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it thing—constant tweaks are needed to keep the thickness just right. The thickness affects the weight, and honestly, weight matters more than thickness. A sheet might look thinner because of pressure, but it can actually weigh more. Whether your sheet weighs 4 grams or 3 grams makes a big difference—that’s how some companies sneak in a 25% saving without you even noticing. Our laundry sheets? They’re always around 4 grams each.
Use of certain ingredients: The ingredients you use really make a difference in cleaning power. Some brands go for super simple formulas. We believe less is more, but when it comes to cleaning, there are so many variables and stains that it’s almost impossible to get top results everywhere with just one universal formula.
Since version 3, we've added enzymes for even better cleaning power. And guess what? We're already making them even better in our version 4 formula! This makes our laundry detergent sheets a bit pricier and a lot better, but you might miss that if you only look at the price—while it's actually a super important feature. After all, everyone wants clean laundry, right?
Scent: Sometimes we feel like scent is even more important than cleaning power. We totally get it—we're the same way! 😀 Our strips weigh 4 grams, a Robijn Pod weighs 20 grams, so that’s why those leave way more scent for longer than ours. laundry detergent sheets. This is still a weak point of detergent sheets because of their light weight. With our version 3, we've made some progress, but we're continuing to research how to improve this. The price of a sheet also depends on how much % fragrance is added—we've increased this because we know it's important to you.
Cosmeau laundry detergent sheets are always sharply priced, especially when you look at every single detail where we try to get the best for you. With us, you can be sure you’re not compromising on quality where it matters most, and still get the best price.
Plus, you're supporting our mission to produce locally, and we're a registered social enterprise making a real impact in the Netherlands. And yes, we're a Dutch company—just in case you were wondering! 😊