Is sodium coco sulfate just sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) with a friendlier name? Close, but not quite. It is a mix of related surfactants, and SLS is one member of that family. A surfactant is the ingredient that lets water grab grease and carry it away, and the "coco" in this one's name refers to coconut oil fatty alcohols. It is in our all-purpose, bathroom and glass cleaner refill tablets because it cuts oily film.
Quick facts
- What it is: An anionic surfactant. Technical name: sulfuric acid, mono-C12-18-alkyl esters, sodium salts.
- Its job in our products: Lifts grease and oily film so they wipe away.
- Where it comes from: Fatty alcohols, sulfated and then neutralized with a sodium base. A processed ingredient, not a raw natural one.
- EPA Safer Choice: Green circle on the Safer Chemical Ingredients List.
- EWG grade: C. See the EWG entry.
- CAS number: 68955-19-1
Where SLS fits in
The clue is in the technical name. C12-18 means the oil-loving tails are chains of 12 to 18 carbon atoms. SLS is the 12-carbon member of this family, while sodium coco sulfate is a mix of chain lengths.
Coconut oil explains the overlap. About half of its fatty acids, 45.1 to 53.2% under the international Codex standard, are lauric acid, which has that same 12-carbon chain. Our sodium lauryl sulfoacetate page explains why a similar-sounding name is not a sulfate at all.
What it does when you spray and wipe
Each molecule has a long carbon tail attracted to oil and a water-loving head that here carries a negative charge. The tails work into the oily film on a counter, faucet or mirror while the heads stay in the water, so the grease leaves on the cloth instead of smearing around. Our refill sprays are cleaners, not disinfectants: they remove grease and soil.
What EPA, EWG and HERA say
EPA's green circle and EWG's C both describe the ingredient, not our finished sprays. See how we vet ingredients.
HERA, the European cleaning industry's ingredient risk assessment program, reviewed the C12 to C18 alkyl sulfates, the family sodium coco sulfate belongs to. It concluded that their use in household detergents and cleaning products poses no concern in any environmental compartment.
Handling and safety
The same HERA review found alkyl sulfates irritating to skin and eyes when neat or in concentrated solution, and essentially non-irritating to human skin below 1%. That is data on the ingredient family, not a test of our finished spray. Our refill tablets are concentrated until they dissolve, so keep them away from your eyes. Once dissolved in the bottle, the cleaner is diluted, and on surfaces you rinse, like a sink or tub, it leaves with the rinse water. If cleaning sprays tend to dry out your hands, gloves help on longer sessions.
Keep unused tablets sealed in their pouch, up high or in a latched cabinet, out of reach of children and pets, and drop the tablet into the bottle yourself rather than handing it to a child. If a tablet or the cleaner gets in eyes, rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. If any is swallowed, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222, free and open 24 hours a day.
Which Green Llama products use it
- All-Purpose Cleaner Refill and All-Purpose Spray Kit, Lemongrass (scented with essential oils)
- Bathroom Cleaner Refills and Bathroom Spray Kit, Lavender (scented with essential oils)
- Glass & Mirror Cleaner Refills (scented with essential oils)
- Expert Home Cleaner Kit (includes scented sprays)
- Home Kitchen Kit (fragrance-free)
- Refill Cleaning Bundle (includes scented refills)
The same tablets also list sorbitol and sodium benzoate.
Full ingredient lists are on each product page. Or browse all our ingredients →
Sources
- America's Poison Centers. (n.d.). Get poison help. https://poisoncenters.org/get-poison-help
- Codex Alimentarius Commission. (1999). Codex standard for named vegetable oils (CODEX-STAN 210-1999). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/4/y2774e/y2774e04.htm
- Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). Sodium coco sulfate. EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning. https://www.ewg.org/cleaners/substances/5530-SODIUMCOCOSULFATE/
- Human & Environmental Risk Assessment on Ingredients of Household Cleaning Products. (n.d.). Alkyl sulphate [Human health and environmental risk assessments]. HERA. https://www.heraproject.com/substance/alkyl-sulphate/
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Safer Chemical Ingredients List. Safer Choice. https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients
