Method cleaning products are marketed as non-toxic, but the reality is more complicated than the label suggests. While many Method formulas use plant-based ingredients and carry legitimate environmental certifications, some products contain ingredients that raise health and environmental concerns. In fact, a class action lawsuit specifically challenged Method’s “non-toxic” labeling, resulting in a settlement for consumers who purchased certain products between 2016 and 2021.
How Method Products Actually Score on Safety
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), which independently rates cleaning products for health and environmental hazards, gives Method’s all-purpose cleaners a wide range of scores. The Grapefruit, Lime + Sea Salt, and Ginger Yuzu all-purpose cleaners earn a B rating, which is relatively good. But several other varieties score much worse. The French Lavender, Pink Grapefruit, and Cucumber surface cleaners all receive F ratings. Both all-purpose cleaning wipes (French Lavender and Lime + Sea Salt) also score an F. Every antibacterial Method cleaner in EWG’s database, including Bamboo, Citron, and Wildflower scents, receives an F.
This means the answer to “is Method non-toxic?” depends heavily on which specific product you’re buying. Two bottles sitting next to each other on the same shelf can have dramatically different safety profiles.
Ingredients That Raise Concerns
Method products contain several ingredients flagged by independent reviewers. Their dish soap, for example, includes sodium lauryl sulfate, a common surfactant that EWG flags for potential organ effects, vision damage, and aquatic toxicity. It also contains lauramine oxide, which carries additional concerns related to nitrosamine contamination, a category of compounds linked to cancer risk and reproductive effects.
Some Method products have historically contained isothiazolinone preservatives, a class of chemicals widely used in household and cosmetic products. These preservatives are effective at preventing bacterial growth, but they’ve been linked to a rising number of allergic contact dermatitis cases. Method has actively worked to reformulate around these ingredients. By 2017, the company removed a problematic preservative from its formulas, which actually upgraded its Cradle to Cradle material health rating from Silver to Platinum in that category.
It’s worth noting that EWG ratings reflect the potential hazard of individual ingredients, not necessarily the real-world risk at the concentrations present in the final product. A low score doesn’t mean a product will harm you, but it does mean some ingredients warrant caution, especially with repeated exposure.
The “Non-Toxic” Lawsuit
Method’s non-toxic claims faced a direct legal challenge. A class action lawsuit alleged that labeling certain Method products as “non-toxic” was false and misleading. The case was resolved through a settlement with S.C. Johnson & Son, Method’s parent company, which provided compensation to consumers who purchased certain all-purpose cleaners, pet cleaning products, floor cleaners, and dish soaps between May 2016 and May 2021. S.C. Johnson admitted no wrongdoing, but the settlement itself signals that the “non-toxic” label wasn’t as straightforward as it appeared on the bottle.
The term “non-toxic” has no standardized legal definition for household cleaners in the United States, which makes it easy for brands to use loosely. A product can contain ingredients with known hazard flags and still carry a “non-toxic” label without violating any specific regulation.
What Method Does Well
Despite the ingredient concerns, Method holds certifications that most conventional cleaning brands don’t. About 92% of Method’s product lines are Cradle to Cradle Certified, with the majority earning Gold level. This certification evaluates material health, clean energy use, water stewardship, social fairness, and product circularity. Method offsets 100% of its energy use with renewable energy credits and operates a manufacturing facility with an on-site wind turbine. The company is also a certified B Corp, meaning it meets verified standards for social and environmental performance.
For their hand soap line specifically, all ingredients have been verified as safer for biological systems. And Method is cruelty-free, conducting no animal testing. Veterinary sources have recommended specific Method products, like their Squirt and Mop floor cleaner, as pet-safe options that don’t pose a threat to animals in the home.
How to Choose the Safer Method Products
If you want to stick with Method, your best strategy is to be selective. The spray-style all-purpose cleaners in scents like Grapefruit and Lime + Sea Salt consistently score better than the wipes or antibacterial versions. Antibacterial Method products score the worst across the board, so if low toxicity is your priority, skip those entirely.
Avoid assuming that all products in the same brand line are equivalent. A Method all-purpose cleaner with a B rating and a Method antibacterial cleaner with an F rating are very different products in terms of ingredient safety. Check individual product scores on EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning database before buying, especially if you have young children, pets, or skin sensitivities in your household.
Method is genuinely less toxic than many conventional cleaners, and its environmental commitments are backed by third-party verification. But calling the entire product line “non-toxic” overstates the case, which is exactly what that lawsuit was about.