Why biosurfactants are the future of sustainable, high-performing ingredients for household and industrial product formulations

The world’s household and commercial cleansing habits have been forever changed by the events of the past year. The problem? While consistent washing and sanitizing is good for personal and public health, it has raised an array of concerns about the safety and sustainability of legacy surfactant ingredients, such as sodium lauryl sulfates. The increasing regulatory scrutiny of product labeling and the rising consumer demand for more sustainable products has formulators intensifying their search for high-performance, safer and milder cleansing ingredients.

For decades, formulation innovators for cleansing products have had to make a choice: performance OR  sustainability. Now, the emergence of new glycolipid biosurfactants from Locus Performance Ingredients eliminates the need to choose. Specifically, Amphi^® M—a new high-purity, TSCA-approved line of sophorolipids—is designed to maximize performance AND sustainability in household and industrial product formulations. Similar to the Ferma^® S line for personal care formulations, these nature-derived ingredients provide a safer replacement to legacy chemical surfactants with even better results. Amphi^® M offers a new way of formulating, without palm oil and deforestation, with a lower carbon footprint, with no residual toxic Proposition 65 chemicals and no skin irritation. Amphi^® M is readily biodegradable, GMO-free and meets vegan standards. Like Ferma S, the line is USDA certified for having 100% biobased, renewable content. Plus, the multifunctionality of these ingredients allows for high performance at minimal usage rates to keep formulated costs low.

Here are the top 3 reasons HI&I formulators are switching to these sustainable and high-performing biosurfactants:

1. To Meet Consumer Sustainability Demands
Amphi^® M meets consumer demands for sustainability, safety and cleaner labels. The novel ingredient is non-GMO, non-toxic, non-irritating and palm-free. It is USDA certified as 100% biobased and readily biodegradable with a near-zero carbon footprint.

2. To Comply with Governmental/Regulatory Challenges

Amphi^® M ingredients have no EO and therefore no 1,4-dioxane or other proposition 65 trace materials—which are banned in some states and require disclosures in others. They are not derived from palm oil, minimizing deforestation concerns over palm-based ingredients. These biosurfactants are also readily biodegradable and have low aquatic toxicity—eliminating environmental concerns.

3. To Enhance Product Performance
Most importantly,  Amphi^® M delivers step-change performance when compared to traditional anionic and nonionic surfactants. The mild ingredients are multifunctional and perform 5–25X better than legacy petrochemical ingredients. Amphi^® M is easy to formulate with, and its multifunctional properties enable it to replace more than one legacy surfactant for simpler and more cost-effective formulations.

Amphi^® M sophorolipids have been recognized as one of the best alternatives to legacy surfactants due to their superior performance, versatility and lower usage rates.

Locus Performance Ingredient experts discussed the benefits of using glycolipid biosurfactants for household and industrial formulations during the HCPA Mid-Year meeting. You can watch the full HCPA biosurfactant presentation here.