What You Should Know About Mrs. Meyer's: A Review

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Intro

If you find yourself looking at the endless brands on the cleaning aisle, wondering which one is best when they all have so many fancy words and labels claiming different things, then you’re like me. Buying things can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to clean eco-friendly things.

Liking a product is not the only thing that matters, many of us also want to know who’s behind that product. Mrs. Meyer’s is a big brand name in cleaning. I see Mrs. Meyer’s products on the aisles of Target, and what really made me think about the brand was seeing them on Grove Collaborative’s website.

I often see Mrs. Meyer’s products get thrown in with “eco-friendly” items but are they really an “eco-friendly” brand? There’s a lot that goes into the idea of being eco-friendly, and for every person or brand it means something different. The government doesn’t regulate that term so there’s no set standard for what it means.

This post is a review of the Mrs. Meyer’s brand. I’m going to look at many things but first let’s rip the bandage off.

Do I recommend Mrs. Meyer's?

No.

I tested several of their products and there are a few things that make their items stand out above the rest. But ultimately, there are much better brands that do the same thing with a smaller footprint on the planet.

In each section, I’ll explain a little bit about why I’m looking at that specific criteria. As I create more reviews on brands I’ll probably do this less. For now if you have questions, comments, corrections, or concerns please make sure you reach.

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Are their mission, vision, or core values visible?

No. I wasn’t able to find any of the three on their website or through Google search.

I’m looking for this information because all three of these things are short, brief, and to the point statements (or even just words) that tell you what a company is about, what they want to accomplish, and how. They’re often grand statements about how they want to change the world.

Mission statements, vision statements, and core values aren’t always on company websites. But when it comes to a “green” and “eco-friendly” brand, I expect to see how they want to impact the world on their website. You can see mine right here.

A lot of people don’t care about that stuff when they’re buying boxes of plastic baggies at the supermarket. But you’re likely in the sustainability movement because you do care about the state of the world, so knowing how a company wants to work to improve the world is kinda important.

The mission, vision, and values should help center a brand and guide what they do, kind of like how a compass helps to orient on a map. Without them easily available, you have to try and piece together what makes a company tick.

For Mrs. Meyer’s, I dug a little deeper than I think an average consumer would, and I still couldn’t find any of the three. These would often be on the “About Us” page, and they shouldn’t take more than a moment or two to find.

I did see a lot of keywords in my search however. Their info uses words like inspiration, values, and passion. Most of their Discover content gently turns you toward “fragrance” and a sweet image of an old woman that the company is named after.

They even go so far as to say, “ rooted it in the common sense values she passed along to her kids,” you just don’t get told what those “common sense values” are.

In other words, they spend a lot of time telling you what makes them different from other brands on the shelf, and then appeal to your emotions or nostalgia by telling sweet stories about someone’s mom.

Right away this raises red flags, because instead of truly telling you what they’re all about they’re giving you marketing.

Finding a vision, mission, or core values should be the easy part of my research. Instead, I’m only finding warning signs.

Mrs. Meyer's Stakeholders

Mrs. Meyer’s was acquired by SC Johnson in 2008. So, SC Johnson is a stakeholder, in this case financially.

A stakeholder is a person or entity that is concerned with another person or entity. A stockholder or a shareholder is a great example. They have a stake in a company, they are concerned with that company’s performance.

I mention this because knowing who is involved with who is very important. You might be on board with Mrs. Meyer’s but not with SC Johnson, or any other brand’s parent company. That can impact your decision on whether or not to support a brand with your money.

And ultimately, it means that Mrs. Meyer’s answers to SC Johnson, for better or for worse.

Inconsistencies

This section could be a very long section, but I’m not going to be as nitty gritty as I would otherwise be because their inconsistencies are not why I don’t recommend them.

The only inconsistency I’ll mention here is their use of essential oils.

Their ingredients generally stand up to the image they portray. Lots of people find their ingredients to be more desirable to synthetic alternatives in other brands.

Still, others rightfully point to the dangers of essential oils and natural fragrances. With any fragrance on the skin, you run the risk of developing contact dermatitis among other skin conditions. But, that is also the case with any brand using essential oils.

Inconsistencies really come into play when there is a clear purpose, mission, vision, goal, or core value.

If a company says it’ s their mission to reduce plastic consumption, but then they come out with a line of plastic bottles, you’d rightfully wonder why. That would be an inconsistency and we would be right to question their dedication to their mission/values.

But without those essential descriptions of what drives a brand, it’s a little harder to hold them accountable. Like, getting onto your best friend for breaking his diet when he never said he was going on a diet in the first place.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Mrs. Meyer’s products truly do smell better than almost anything I’ve ever used. I tried their honeysuckle scented hand soap for a would-be product review (amongst other products) and it was amazing.

The nostalgia and good vibes hit hard. At recess in kindergarten I would race with the other kids to a fence along the back of our playground to get to the honeysuckles first and enjoy the nectar. The hand soap reminds me of that everytime I use it.

I think the same is true for the other scents I’ve smelled in stores and friends’ homes. Sadly, I tried the products before I decided against recommending the brand. And their great smell is actually why I’m really strongly discouraging you from buying them.

They just smell so damn good and I don’t want you to get sucked into an unsustainable product because of how good it smells.

Weaknesses

All the weaknesses I want to discuss will be in the next section except for their parent company. Mrs. Meyer’s being owned by SC Johnson is certainly a weakness, but that isn’t why I don’t recommend them.

Why I don't recommend Mrs. Meyer's

They just aren’t as good as alternatives out there. And I mean “good” in many different ways.

Mrs. Meyers just isn’t a sustainable, zero waste, eco-friendly brand. Yes, I know none of those terms are regulated. But Mrs. Meyer’s doesn’t measure up to those loose terms, really, in any way that is worthy of your money.

Instead of buying this brand, I recommend Blueland.

Both brands are leaping bunny certified and transparent about their wonderful smelling ingredients. But Blueland beats them with B Certification, Cradle to Cradle certification, EPA Safer choice, EWG Verification, Climate Neutral certification, and USDA BioPreference.

I’ve done a full review of Blueland’s hand soap but two of my favorite features about the products are that the refill tablets lead to less fuel consumption and they don’t require a plastic bottle to begin with.

Shipping teeny tiny refill tablets uses less fuel than a heavy liquid filled container. All of their items use refill tablets except the dish soap, which is a powder.

Blueland also boasts a very sturdy reusable glass bottle for their hand soap. For their cleaning kit (other household cleaners) they feature a reusable plastic bottle, which still beats the single use ones you get with Mrs. Meyer’s.

If you’re not a fan of Blueland (I’ve never met someone who isn’t), then there are other brands (like Clean Cult) you could try. Clean Cult makes hand soaps, dish soaps, cleaning solutions, and more.

Dropps makes toilet cleaners, dish detergents, and laundry detergent. I personally use drops for laundry and dish.

My point is, you have other alternatives that are way more kind to our planet than what Mrs. Meyer’s offers at this time. I hope one day that will change, but for now I cannot recommend them. They are not Andrew Approved.

When you purchase greener alternatives, you’re voting with your dollars. I hope brands like Mrs. Meyer’s recognize that and make the necessary changes to leave less of an impact on our planet.

I would love to one-day enjoy their scents without the plastic, but until then I’ll stick to my sustainable products.

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In case you didn’t catch my post B Certified Corporations, you can check it out here.

What You Should Know About Mrs. Meyer’s: A Review