Is Cleancult Non-Toxic? Ingredients and EWG Scores

Cleancult products are formulated to avoid many of the chemicals that raise the biggest red flags in conventional cleaners, but calling any cleaning product truly “non-toxic” requires a closer look at what is actually in it. The brand builds its formulas around coconut-derived surfactants, essential oils, and a short list of preservatives and chelating agents. Most of their products earn strong ratings on EWG’s cleaning product database, and their ingredient lists are notably shorter than what you’d find from legacy brands. Still, “non-toxic” is a marketing term with no legal definition, and several ingredients Cleancult uses carry nuances worth understanding.

What Is Actually in Cleancult Products

Cleancult’s lineup spans dish soap, laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaner, hand soap, and bathroom cleaner. The ingredient lists vary by product but share a common backbone. The primary cleaning agent across most of their formulas is sodium coco sulfate, a surfactant derived from coconut oil. Supporting it you’ll typically find cocamidopropyl betaine (a milder co-surfactant), glycerin, sodium chloride for viscosity, citric acid as a pH adjuster, and essential oils for scent. Some products include tetrasodium glutamate diacetate as a chelating agent, and preservatives like phenoxyethanol or sodium benzoate appear in certain formulas.

What Cleancult leaves out matters, too. Their products are free of chlorine bleach, phosphates, parabens, phthalates, synthetic dyes, ammonia, and formaldehyde. They don’t use 1,4-dioxane, a contaminant that can show up in conventionally manufactured sulfate surfactants. The brand is also transparent about its full ingredient lists on product labels and its website, which itself sets it apart from many competitors that lean on vague “proprietary blend” language.

Sodium Coco Sulfate as the Primary Surfactant

Sodium coco sulfate (SCS) is the workhorse ingredient in most Cleancult products, and it’s the one most likely to raise eyebrows among ingredient-conscious shoppers because of its similarity to sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). The two are chemically related: SLS is a single, purified compound, while SCS is a broader mixture of fatty acid sulfates derived from whole coconut oil. SCS retains a mix of chain lengths rather than isolating the C12 lauryl fraction, and that difference matters for how it interacts with skin.

Research comparing the two has found that SCS shows roughly 15 percent less skin irritation potential than SLS based on a standard measurement of protein interaction. However, SCS showed a stronger tendency to strip lipids from the skin’s outer layer, which could compromise the skin’s protective barrier with prolonged or concentrated exposure.¹ Both SCS and SLS reduced cell proliferation in lab-cultured skin cells after four hours of contact. In practical terms, this means SCS is gentler than SLS by a modest margin but is not inert. For a dish soap or all-purpose cleaner that contacts your hands briefly and gets rinsed off, the difference is unlikely to cause problems for most people. For anyone with eczema, contact dermatitis, or very sensitive skin, even coconut-derived sulfates can provoke irritation when used repeatedly without gloves.

Essential Oils and the Fragrance Question

Cleancult scents its products with essential oils rather than synthetic fragrance blends. This avoids the “fragrance” loophole that allows conventional brands to hide dozens of undisclosed chemicals behind a single word on the label. But essential oils introduce their own set of concerns that the “natural = safe” assumption tends to gloss over.

Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds. When you spray an essential-oil-based cleaner in an enclosed bathroom or kitchen, those compounds enter the air. Research on essential-oil-based cleaning products has confirmed that the fragrance chemicals they release include compounds classified as allergens, which are associated with skin irritation, allergic rhinitis, and asthma.² Linalool and limonene, two of the most common essential oil components, can also oxidize on contact with indoor ozone to form secondary pollutants like formaldehyde, though in small quantities.

The practical takeaway isn’t that essential-oil-scented cleaners are dangerous. It’s that “fragrance-free” is the safest option for anyone with respiratory sensitivities or fragrance allergies, regardless of whether the scent comes from a lab or a lavender field. Cleancult does offer some unscented or lightly scented options. If you’re choosing Cleancult specifically to reduce your indoor chemical exposure, opting for those over the strongly scented versions is the move that actually delivers on that goal.

Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, and Endocrine Concerns

Two essential oils that appear in various “natural” cleaning products deserve special attention. Lavender oil and tea tree oil have both been flagged for potential endocrine-disrupting activity. Clinical reports documented cases of breast tissue development in prepubertal boys who were regularly exposed to topical products containing these oils, and lab assays confirmed that both oils show weak estrogenic and anti-androgenic properties.³

Context matters here. The reported cases involved leave-on products like lotions and shampoos applied directly to skin over weeks or months, not rinse-off cleaning products used on countertops. The dose and duration of skin contact with a cleaning spray is vastly lower than with a body lotion. That said, if you have young children in the house and you’re trying to minimize unnecessary endocrine-active exposures, checking whether your Cleancult products contain lavender or tea tree oil is reasonable due diligence. It’s worth noting that Cleancult’s ingredient lists are clear enough to make this check quick.

Preservatives in the Lineup

Preservatives are the ingredient category where “non-toxic” claims get the most scrutiny, because every water-based cleaning product needs some form of microbial protection to prevent bacteria and mold from colonizing the bottle. Cleancult uses phenoxyethanol and sodium benzoate in various products.

Both are considered among the milder preservative options compared to alternatives like methylisothiazolinone (a notorious sensitizer) or formaldehyde-releasing agents. Research on the antibacterial mechanisms of sodium benzoate and phenoxyethanol shows they work by disrupting bacterial cell membranes and increasing oxidative stress within microbial cells.⁴ That mechanism is specific enough that at the concentrations used in cleaning products, these preservatives are effective against bacteria without posing meaningful risk to human cells during normal use. Phenoxyethanol is widely used in cosmetics and is permitted at concentrations up to 1 percent in personal care products by most regulatory bodies. Sodium benzoate is a common food preservative approved by the FDA.

The one caveat: phenoxyethanol can cause contact dermatitis in sensitized individuals, though this is uncommon. If you’ve had a reaction to skincare products containing it before, you may want to wear gloves when using Cleancult products that list it.

Chelating Agents and Supporting Ingredients

Tetrasodium glutamate diacetate (GLDA) appears in some Cleancult formulas as a chelating agent, meaning its job is to bind metal ions in hard water so the surfactants can work more effectively. This ingredient is worth mentioning because it represents the newer generation of chelating agents replacing EDTA, which has been criticized for poor biodegradability.

GLDA is readily biodegradable and derived from a natural amino acid (glutamic acid). A safety assessment by the Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety concluded that tetrasodium glutamate diacetate is safe in cosmetics at the concentrations and practices of use described in the assessment.⁵ Since cleaning products typically use similar or lower concentrations than cosmetics, and contact time with skin is shorter, the safety profile for its use in household cleaners is even more favorable. This is an ingredient where Cleancult made a genuinely better choice than many competitors who still rely on EDTA.

Citric acid, another common Cleancult ingredient, serves double duty as a pH adjuster and a mild chelating agent. It’s the same compound found in citrus fruits and is generally uncontroversial. One thing to be aware of: cleaners with citric acid tend to be slightly acidic, which is actually closer to skin’s natural pH than alkaline cleaners. Research on skin health has shown that highly alkaline cleansers can disrupt the skin’s microbial balance, potentially encouraging the overgrowth of opportunistic organisms like Candida albicans, while overly acidic formulas can suppress beneficial skin bacteria.⁶ A mildly acidic cleaner that gets rinsed off quickly is unlikely to cause either problem.

What EWG Scores Mean and What They Don’t

The Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning rates products on an A-through-F scale based on the hazard profiles of individual ingredients, transparency of labeling, and the overall formula. Cleancult products generally score well, with many earning an A rating. This reflects the brand’s short ingredient lists, its avoidance of the most concerning conventional chemicals, and its full disclosure of ingredients.

But EWG scores have limitations that are easy to miss. The system is hazard-based, not risk-based. That distinction matters: hazard asks “could this chemical cause harm under any conditions?” while risk asks “does this chemical cause harm at the dose and exposure route a person actually encounters?” A chemical that is hazardous at high concentrations in a lab might be perfectly safe at the trace level found in a product you rinse off your hands. EWG’s database can flag ingredients that pose theoretical concerns even when the real-world risk is negligible.

Conversely, a good EWG score doesn’t account for how you use the product. Using any cleaning product in a small, poorly ventilated bathroom while scrubbing for 20 minutes creates a different exposure scenario than a quick spray-and-wipe on a kitchen counter. EWG’s rating assumes typical use, but “typical” varies a lot from household to household. The score is useful as a screening tool for comparing products on the shelf, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for a safety guarantee.

It’s also worth knowing that EWG is an advocacy organization, not a regulatory agency. Their ratings are informed by toxicology data but filtered through the organization’s own methodology and weighting system. Products that score poorly on EWG may still be considered safe by the EPA’s Safer Choice program, and vice versa. If you want a second opinion, look for whether a product also carries the EPA’s Safer Choice label, which uses a different evaluation framework focused on the full formulation rather than individual ingredient hazards.

How Cleancult Compares to Conventional “Green” Competitors

The natural cleaning market has exploded in the past decade, and Cleancult sits in a crowded space alongside brands like Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyer’s, Method, and Grove Co. What distinguishes Cleancult isn’t so much a radically different ingredient philosophy as a combination of choices. Their use of GLDA over EDTA, coconut-derived surfactants over petroleum-derived ones, and full ingredient transparency puts them on the cleaner end of the spectrum. Their packaging model, which emphasizes refillable containers and reduced plastic waste, is also a differentiator, though that’s an environmental rather than a toxicity consideration.

Where Cleancult doesn’t necessarily outperform every competitor is on fragrance. Brands like Seventh Generation offer a wider range of fragrance-free options. Mrs. Meyer’s, on the other hand, uses essential oils similarly to Cleancult and carries the same allergen and VOC considerations. Method products often include synthetic fragrances, which avoid the essential oil concerns but introduce their own set of undisclosed compounds. There is no perfect option here, just trade-offs that depend on what matters most to you: allergen avoidance, VOC reduction, ingredient transparency, or scent preference.

Practical Guidance for Sensitive Households

If you’re choosing Cleancult specifically because someone in your household has chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, or young children, here are the things that actually matter based on what the ingredients tell us:

Ventilate: Open a window or turn on a fan when using any scented cleaning product, including essential-oil-based ones. The volatile compounds need somewhere to go besides your lungs.
Choose unscented when possible: This eliminates the largest remaining source of potential irritation in Cleancult’s formulas.
Wear gloves for extended use: Sodium coco sulfate is milder than SLS but can still strip skin oils during prolonged contact. Dish-washing sessions are the biggest culprit.
Store securely: Non-toxic branding can create a false sense of safety around children. Even plant-based cleaning products can cause nausea, eye irritation, or stomach upset if swallowed.
Rinse surfaces that contact food: Any surfactant residue left on cutting boards or countertops is best rinsed away, regardless of how “clean” the ingredient list looks.

The Limits of “Non-Toxic” as a Label

No federal agency in the United States regulates the use of “non-toxic” on cleaning product labels in a standardized way. The Consumer Product Safety Commission considers a product “non-toxic” if it doesn’t meet the specific criteria for toxicity under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, which mainly covers acute dangers like poisoning, corrosion, and flammability. A product can legally be called non-toxic while still containing ingredients that cause skin sensitization, trigger asthma, or raise chronic-exposure questions, as long as it won’t poison you if you accidentally swallow a small amount.

Cleancult’s use of the term is more honest than most because their formulas genuinely avoid the harshest conventional chemicals. But the gap between “won’t acutely poison you” and “contains nothing that could ever affect your health under any circumstances” is wide. Every surfactant disrupts cell membranes to some degree; that’s how it cleans. Every essential oil releases volatile organic compounds; that’s how it smells. The question is always about dose, duration, and individual vulnerability, not about a binary toxic-or-not classification. Cleancult gets the dose and ingredient selection right for the vast majority of users. Understanding where the remaining edge cases lie puts you in a better position than any label can.