If sorbitol sounds familiar, it is probably from a pack of sugar-free gum. Same compound, very different job. In our cleaners it works as a binder, helping our refill tablets hold together so they stay firm in the pouch, then dissolve once you drop them in water. It does none of the cleaning, and the tablet is a cleaner, not food.
Quick facts
- What it is: A sugar alcohol. Technical name: D-glucitol.
- Its job in our products: Binder. It helps hold tablets together. It does not do the cleaning.
- Where it comes from: Glucose from corn or other plant starch, hydrogenated.
- EPA Safer Choice: Green circle. EPA's list has no page for each chemical, so search the full list for CAS 50-70-4.
- EWG grade: B. See the EWG entry.
- CAS number: 50-70-4
Why a tablet needs a binder
A refill tablet starts as a blend of powders that gets pressed into shape. Without a binder, a pressed tablet can crumble in the pouch or in transit. Pharmaceutical makers use sorbitol as a filler in tablets made by direct compression, because it presses into firm tablets. That same property is why it works as a binder in ours.
Then it has to let go. Sorbitol is very soluble: each molecule carries six hydroxyl (-OH) groups that hydrogen-bond with water, so it dissolves along with the rest of the tablet in the water you add and is carried off when you wipe or rinse. The cleaning itself comes from surfactants such as sodium coco sulfate.
From plant starch to sugar alcohol
Sorbitol occurs naturally in many fruits, and in seaweed and algae, but the sorbitol used in products is made commercially. Glucose from plant starch, such as corn, is reacted with hydrogen over a metal catalyst, which converts the sugar into the sugar alcohol. So we describe it as plant-based but processed.
Ratings, and where it goes after the rinse
EPA lists sorbitol with a green circle, and EWG grades it B. For what each rating covers, see how we vet ingredients.
Down the drain, microbes break sorbitol down. In the standard Japanese MITI test with activated sludge, it reached 81% of its theoretical oxygen demand (the oxygen needed to break it down completely) within two weeks. NIH's PubChem summary concludes that biodegradation is an important fate process for it in soil and water, and that its potential to build up in aquatic organisms is low.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration affirms sorbitol as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for food use under 21 CFR 184.1835. That is a food-use status. It does not describe cleaning products.
Handling and safety
Our tablets are concentrated cleaners until they dissolve. Keep the pouch sealed and stored up high, out of reach of children and pets. Keep tablets and the mixed cleaner away from your eyes, and rinse with plenty of water if contact happens. Use them as directed.
If someone swallows a tablet or the mixed cleaner, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222, free and open 24 hours a day. If a pet gets into it, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 (a consultation fee may apply).
Which Green Llama products use it
It is in all four spray refill tablets and every kit that includes them. The same tablets also list sodium benzoate.
- All-Purpose Cleaner Refill and Spray Kit, Lemongrass (scented with essential oils)
- Fragrance-Free All-Purpose Refill and Spray Kit (fragrance-free)
- Bathroom Cleaner Refills and Spray Kit, Lavender (scented with essential oils)
- Glass & Mirror Cleaner Refills and Streak-Free Glass & Mirror Cleaner Kit (scented with essential oils)
- Expert Home Cleaner Kit and Complete Surface Cleaner Starter Kit (include scented sprays)
- Home Kitchen Kit (fragrance-free) and Refill Cleaning Bundle (includes scented refills)
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
- ASPCA. (n.d.). Animal Poison Control. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control
- Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). Sorbitol. EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning. https://www.ewg.org/cleaners/substances/5735-SORBITOL/
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). Sorbitol (PubChem compound summary). PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sorbitol
- Sorbitol, 21 C.F.R. § 184.1835. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/184.1835
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Safer Chemical Ingredients List. Safer Choice. https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients
