Why Gluconolactone Sodium Benzoate as a Preservative?

Preservatives are an affront in clean organic beauty. They are absolutely necessary, and yet it is difficult to find one that is non-toxic and effective. To understand how we chose gluconolactone sodium benzoate as our main preservative, it helps to explain the process we use and the information we rely on.

The EWG's Skin Deep Guide

We start with this free online guide to personal care products and their ingredients, aimed at helping people find safer products. The database scores ingredients so you know how concerned to be about using them. A score of 1 means low hazard and safe for use, while a 10 means extremely high hazard. A data rating below the score tells you how much research has been done. That combination lets us gauge both the safety of an ingredient and how much is known about it. We always look for the lowest score possible with as much data as possible.

Ecocert Compliance

Our second requirement for selecting a preservative is Ecocert compliance. Ecocert requires that ingredients come from renewable resources and are manufactured through an environmentally friendly process, and that a minimum share of ingredients come from plant-based origin and organic farming. Products must also be free from animal-derived ingredients (other than those produced by animals, such as milk and honey), animal testing, GMOs, formaldehyde, parabens, PEGs, phenoxyethanol, polluting packaging, silicon, and synthetic perfumes and dyes.

We use gluconolactone sodium benzoate at a rate of 1.5% gluconolactone and 0.5% sodium benzoate. This broad-spectrum antimicrobial made from corn is Ecocert compliant, and also meets Whole Foods and European REACH standards. According to EWG, gluconolactone has their lowest rating of 1, meaning low risk. Sodium benzoate is rated 1 to 3 depending on the concentration used, and we use a low concentration.