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Best laundry detergent for baby clothes and newborns
Buy ATTITUDE Baby Unscented liquid for baby clothes. Its label lists no fragrance, no enzymes and no ethoxylated cleaner, and one common preservative, sodium benzoate.1
Cheapest per load: Molly's Suds Original powder, Unscented, 240 loads, about 16 cents.
Check price on Amazon
Three suspects. One pick.
ATTITUDE Baby Unscented liquid, 80 loads (67.6 fl oz)
Our pickBest for baby clothes and newborns. The label lists no fragrance, no enzymes and no ethoxylated cleaner, and it is EWG Verified by name match.1
Tide Free & Gentle liquid, 100 loads (132 fl oz)
Best with the NEA seal and EPA flag. NEA lists Tide Free & Gentle and EPA Safer Choice flags it fragrance-free; the label also lists a preservative and an ethoxylated cleaner.2
Watch for: The label lists benzisothiazolinone and an ethoxylated surfactant. Prop 65 notices from 2009 and 2011 named Tide liquid detergent for 1,4-dioxane. A notice is a claim, not a finding, and those were older formulas.
Molly's Suds Original powder, Unscented, 240 loads
Best powder, lowest cost per load. NEA lists Molly's powder, and the Unscented label has four ingredients with no fragrance or preservative.3
Watch for: Buy the bag marked Unscented. The NEA entry does not name a scent, and the scented bags list natural fragrance or essential oils.
Every baby detergent we checked against the records
The table shows fragrance, the NEA list and the preservative from each label, so you can see what a "baby" name leaves out.
| Product | Fragrance | NEA list | Preservative | Ethoxylated cleaner | Size | Cost per load | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATTITUDE Baby Unscented liquid, 80 loads (67.6 fl oz)1 | Fragrance free | Not on NEA list | Sodium benzoate | Not listed | 80 loads | $0.19 per loadas listed | $15.31 |
| Tide Free & Gentle liquid, 100 loads (132 fl oz)2 | Fragrance free | On NEA list | Benzisothiazolinone | Listed | 100 loads | $0.18 per loadas listed | $17.97 |
| Molly's Suds Original powder, Unscented, 240 loads3 | Fragrance free | On NEA list | None listed | Not listed | 240 loads | $0.16 per loadas listed | $38.99 |
 The Clean People Fragrance Free sheets, 32 sheets4 | Fragrance free | Not on NEA list | Potassium sorbate | Listed | 32 sheets | $0.40 per loadmaker's dose | $12.79 |
 Dreft Stage 1 Newborn liquid, 114 loads (150 fl oz)5 | Lists fragrance | Not on NEA list | Benzisothiazolinone | Listed | 114 loads | $0.22 per loadas listed | $24.94 |
 Noodle & Boo Ultra-Safe baby detergent, 64 fl oz6 | Scent in listing | On NEA list | None named | Not listed | 64 fl oz | Not published | $24.00 |
Prices on Amazon, November 2, 2026.7
Listings that look right for a newborn but are not
Dreft Stage 1 Newborn liquid, 114 loads (150 fl oz)
The best-known baby detergent. Its ingredient list shows Fragrances and the preservative benzisothiazolinone. EPA Safer Choice lists Dreft Baby and the NEA lists Dreft Free & Gentle, but this Stage 1 Newborn liquid has fragrance on the label.5
Noodle & Boo Ultra-Safe baby detergent, 64 fl oz
The National Eczema Association lists the Ultra-Safe formula, but this Amazon listing says the bottle has a Creme Douce scent. We could not confirm that the NEA entry and this scented bottle are the same formula.6
What should baby laundry detergent leave out?
Start with fragrance, then dyes and optical brighteners. Read the ingredient list, not the front of the bottle. The ATTITUDE Baby Unscented label lists none of those three, and ATTITUDE says the formula has no synthetic dyes or optical brighteners.1
Tide Free & Gentle and Molly's Unscented also list no fragrance, dye or brightener.2, 3
Is Dreft safe for newborns?
Dreft is the best-known baby brand, but its Stage 1 Newborn liquid lists Fragrances and the preservative benzisothiazolinone.5 EPA Safer Choice lists Dreft Baby, and Safer Choice does not require a product to be fragrance free.8
The National Eczema Association lists Dreft Free & Gentle, a different product.9 If you like Dreft, look for that name.
Which baby detergents have a scent in the listing?
The Noodle & Boo Ultra-Safe formula is on the NEA list.10 The Amazon listing for the 64 oz bottle says it has a Creme Douce scent, and we could not confirm the NEA entry covers the scented bottle.6 Check the label before you buy.
Powder, liquid or sheets for baby clothes?
Molly's Unscented powder has a short label: four ingredients and no preservative.3 ATTITUDE is a liquid with plant-based cleaners.1 The Clean People sheets name no fragrance but contain PVA and list 11 ingredients, including potassium sorbate.4, 11
Questions people ask
Is Tide Free & Gentle safe for baby clothes?
The NEA lists Tide Free & Gentle liquid, and it is free of dyes and perfumes by the maker's word.2, 12 The label also lists a preservative and an ethoxylated cleaner.
Do I need a special baby detergent?
Not always. What matters is the label. A fragrance free adult detergent such as Tide Free & Gentle or Molly's Unscented can match a baby one.2, 3
Is ATTITUDE Baby detergent fragrance free?
The unscented version lists no fragrance and is described by the maker as enzyme-free.1
Does EWG Verified mean it is safe for newborns?
No. EWG Verified is a program with its own rules for ingredients. The ATTITUDE Baby Unscented entry matches by product name.1
Sources (12)
- ATTITUDE Baby Laundry Detergent, Unscented & Enzyme-Free (maker page), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Sodium Coco-Sulfate ... Lauryl Glucoside, Myristyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Glucoside. Contains also: Aqua / Water / Eau, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Citric…”
- Tide SmartLabel: Free & Gentle liquid 132 fl oz, ingredient list (updated 2025-09-19), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Water; C10-16 Alketh; Sodium C10-16 Alkylbenzenesulfonate; Sodium Lauryl Sulfate; ... Alcohol; ... Benzisothiazolinone; Cellulase Enzyme”
- Molly's Suds Original Laundry Powder, ingredients (maker page), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Unscented contains no essential oils or fragrances”
- Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets, ingredients (maker page), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Starch; PVA; Vegetable Glycerin; Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate; Glycereth-6 Cocoate; ... Potassium Sorbate ... *Fresh & Clean contains fragrance”
- Dreft SmartLabel: Stage 1 Newborn liquid 150 oz, ingredient list (updated 2026-03-26), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Water; C10-16 Alketh; ... Sodium Lauryl Sulfate; ... Fragrances; ... Benzisothiazolinone”
- NEA Seal Product Directory: Noodle & Boo Ultra-Safe Baby Laundry Detergent, read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Ingredients on the NEA entry: water, decyl glucoside, lauryl glucoside, glycerin, sodium carbonate, sodium gluconate, sodium oleate, protease, amylase (no…”
- Prices and photos: Amazon product data, read November 2, 2026.
- EPA Safer Choice product list (laundry detergents), CSV read 2026-11-02, read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Tide Free & Gentle, The Procter & Gamble Company, fragrance_free: True. Dreft Baby, The Procter & Gamble Company, fragrance_free: blank.”
- NEA Seal Product Directory: Dreft Free & Gentle Liquid (accepted 2023-11-14), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Dreft Free & Gentle Liquid: Free of dyes and perfumes, hypoallergenic”
- NEA Seal Product Directory: Noodle & Boo Ultra-Safe Baby Laundry Detergent (accepted 2026-09-04), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Developed for sensitive skin, our high-performance formula is Accepted by the National Eczema Association”
- The Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets, maker product page, read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Starch, PVA, Vegetable Glycerin, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Glycereth-6 Cocoate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside…”
- NEA Seal Product Directory: Tide Free & Gentle Liquid High Efficiency (accepted 2025-12-16), read November 2, 2026. Quote: “Tide Free & Gentle Liquid High Efficiency (for FDM)”
The paper trail
Every product on this page was looked up in the EPA Safer Choice list, CPSC recalls, California Prop 65 notices and EWG’s database. We read each maker’s full ingredient label and worked out what a load or an ounce really costs. Every flag links to where it came from. How we snoop.