It's all the same--shredded coconut husk. Most compressed coco coir isn't enriched with nutrients (but if it is, stay away), and I'm sure they sterilize the horticultural grade stuff same as the pet-shop stuff, but if not, sterilization is easy enough. They come in pretty huge bales, too, which would last you daaayyyssss (I'm not sure how many cubic feet the bales are, but filled around 8- 5 gallon buckets or so).