I felt it was necessary to address this issue since someone raised the issue in a comment on the blog post, Laundry Detergents - Clean House, Clean Planet (Feb 23, 2009). There is controversy regarding the use of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds. As with most things in "natural product commercialism", there is no clear cut determination as to who is right or wrong on this.
According to Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): If improperly formulated, SLS can irritate skin, but our superb formula uses coco-betaine and lauryl glucoside to counter this. To read the entire statement, click the following link, http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SSLI1G/SalSudsLiquidCleaner.htm
Of course, if you do a quick google search, you will see some pretty scary stuff by the National Health Information Centre on the effects of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). A report is cited from the Journal Of The American College Of Toxicology in 1983 showing levels of .5% could cause irritation and levels over 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation.
