Sodium lauryl sulfate has long been the workhorse surfactant in many personal care formulations. Applications range from toothpaste to shampoo and skin care products. While a highly effective flash foamer, it requires auxiliary surfactants to effectively condition, build viscosity or develop lather. It also has a well-deserved reputation for harshness due to a proclivity to strip skin and hair of their natural lipids. This leaves them dry, fragile and vulnerable to environmental stress.

We are pleased to introduce ENDINOL™ SCS Coco-Sulfate to address these important issues. ENDINOL™ SCS Sodium Coco-Sulfate contains alcohol sulfates derived from whole coconut oil including the longer and unsaturated chains. These components add new, desirable and unique properties. No longer is it necessary to use amide or betaine to build viscosity. Some formulators even report having to use small quantities of hydrotrope to REDUCE viscosity. The longer chain and unsaturated sulfates are also reported to provide mild conditioning.

If you are interested in this exciting molecule (INCI: Sodium Coco-Sulfate, CAS#68955-19-1), contact your salesperson or our Customer Service Department today for samples and an MSDS.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released action plans on August 18, 2010 proposing restrictions on nonyl phenol (NP) and nonyl phenol ethoxylates (NPEs), under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The action was taken as part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s previously announced commitment to strengthen and reform the government’s management of the potential health risks of various chemical products including NP and NPEs.

Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention is quoted as saying “The action plans announced today are examples of EPA’s renewed dedication to improve chemical safety to protect the health of the American people and the environment.”
EPA says it will add NP and NPE to its recently announced (December, 2009) Chemicals of Concern list of chemicals that may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health and the environment. This previously unused TSCA authority appears to signal the agency’s commitment to fully use the tools currently available, while supporting legislative reform of TSCA. NP and NPEs are used in industrial applications and consumer products, including detergents and food packaging.
On June 22, 2010 the Textile Rental Services Association, (TRSA) representing 98 percent of the industrial laundry facilities in the U.S., committed to voluntarily phase out the use of NPEs in industrial liquid detergents by Dec. 31, 2013 and industrial powder detergents by the end of 2014. It may be that EPA will use this agreement as a template to structure the phase out in other areas of application. The TRSA commitment letter may be viewed on the EPA web site at

http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/actionplans/TRSA NPE Phase Out Commitment Letter.pdf

The status of other Alkyl Phenol Ethoxylates (APEs) such as those derived from octyl phenol is unclear at present. If you market laundry, dishwash, transportation or other detergents based on APEs you may wish to discuss alternatives with your Coast Southwest Sales Representative.

Since nearly everybody in the chemical industry is touched by enironmental and sustainability issues and concerns, we’ve made a habit of checking in on ICIS’s Green Chemicals blog,  one site that provides consistently-updated reportage on these topics, aggregating news on government and industry activity and the “development of green within the chemical industry.”    There are many good links to stories about companies, consortiums and researchers who are making daily progress in paving the way for a greener, yet still very profitable future.