This ingredient is used in our products.
What It Is
C6-C12 and C10-C16 alcohol ethoxylates are nonionic surfactants made by reacting plant-derived fatty alcohols with ethylene oxide. The carbon range (C6-C12 or C10-C16) refers to the length of the fatty alcohol chain, which affects the surfactant's solubility and cleaning properties. These ingredients are listed on the EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List and function primarily as cleansers and emulsifiers.
Common Uses
Alcohol ethoxylates are among the most widely used nonionic surfactants in household cleaning products worldwide. They appear in dish soaps, laundry detergents, all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, and air freshener sprays. In cleaning products, they serve as primary or secondary cleansers. In spray products like air fresheners, they act as emulsifiers — helping essential oils or fragrance compounds mix evenly with water so the product sprays as a uniform mist rather than separating.
How It Works
Like other nonionic surfactants, alcohol ethoxylates reduce the surface tension of water and form micelles that trap oils and dirt for removal. The ethoxylate portion of the molecule (the hydrophilic head) is a chain of ethylene oxide units, and its length can be adjusted during manufacturing to tune the surfactant's behavior. Shorter ethoxylate chains produce better degreasers; longer chains produce better emulsifiers and foam agents.
Because they carry no charge, alcohol ethoxylates are compatible with virtually all other surfactant types. They are particularly effective at low temperatures and in hard water, where some anionic surfactants lose performance.
Safety and Regulation
Alcohol ethoxylates are listed on the EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List, meaning they meet EPA Safer Choice criteria for lower concern based on available hazard data (EPA Safer Choice program). The EPA has established tolerance exemptions for certain alkyl ethoxylates in food-contact applications.
The primary safety consideration with ethoxylated ingredients is the potential for trace levels of 1,4-dioxane, a byproduct of the ethoxylation process. 1,4-Dioxane is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the EPA. However, modern manufacturing processes include vacuum stripping or purification steps that reduce 1,4-dioxane to very low levels. The distinction matters: alcohol ethoxylates made with proper purification steps carry negligible 1,4-dioxane residuals, while lower-quality production may leave higher traces.
At typical use concentrations in consumer products, alcohol ethoxylates have low skin irritation potential and low acute toxicity. They are biodegradable, though the rate of biodegradation varies with chain length and ethoxylation degree.
Why Natural Flower Power Uses It
Natural Flower Power uses alcohol ethoxylates in its dish soaps and air fresheners.
In the dish soaps, they contribute to cleaning performance — particularly grease cutting at lower concentrations. In the air fresheners, their role is entirely different: they act as the emulsifier that keeps essential oils dispersed evenly in the water-based spray formula. Without an emulsifier, the essential oils would float on top of the water and the spray would be uneven — some bursts would be mostly water, others mostly oil.
We source plant-derived alcohol ethoxylates that are EPA Safer Choice listed. The ethoxylation process does introduce the theoretical risk of 1,4-dioxane traces, which is worth acknowledging. We specify low-residual material from our suppliers precisely because of this concern.
Related Ingredients
Polysorbate 20 is another emulsifier Natural Flower Power uses in its air fresheners, serving a complementary solubilizing function for essential oils. Decyl glucoside is a nonionic surfactant in the same broad category but made without ethoxylation, meaning it carries no 1,4-dioxane risk. Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) is a different ethoxylated surfactant — one that Natural Flower Power does not use — with more significant 1,4-dioxane concerns due to higher typical residuals.
Sources
- U.S. EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List. Surfactants category. epa.gov/saferchoice.
- U.S. EPA. "1,4-Dioxane Technical Fact Sheet." epa.gov.
