Sustainable Solutions for Effective Homecare Cleaning Products

After two years of dynamic growth, consumer demand for home cleaning products, including laundry detergents, has slowed. But as the global economy shifts into a post-covid phase, raw material suppliers to the household cleaning segment continue to roll out an array of new products—nearly all of them based on sustainable chemistries.

Their expertise was on display at the annual meeting and industry convention of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI). Leading suppliers detailed their newest launches and lamented the current state of the supply chain. Still, most executives who spoke with Happi said they are upbeat about the business outlook for 2022.

“We’ve started 2022 strong. Demand is as robust as I’ve ever seen,” observed Marcelo Lu, SVP-care chemicals, North America, BASF. “The consumer won’t compromise on performance. She wants superior, sustainable solutions.”

Lu called 2022 a pivotal year. Observers wonder if the trends of the past two years will continue as covid-19 transitions from a pandemic to an endemic stage.

“I am quite positive. The trends are accelerating. Hygiene will remain top of mind and as consumers re-emerge, they’ll want to look good.”

Looking good should translate into more consumption of personal care products and, for the home, cleaning and disinfecting formulas, too.

Univar Solutions offers a range of services that go far beyond distribution, explained Aaron Lee, VP-global homecare and industrial cleaning.

“We provide technical and logistics solutions. We’ve changed the conversation about a what a distributor should be.”

According to Lee, there’s growing demand for collaboration, transparency and sustainability up and down the supply chain.

“Our customers want a full solution. We can bring it all together.”


Covid & Cleaning

With covid-19 cases declining in much of the world, demand for cleaning products has slowed. Within the laundry detergent category, through October 31, 2021, sales rose 1.8% to $8.1 billion in food, drug and mass merchandisers, according to IRI Market Advantage. Although powder sales fell 5.5% and liquid sales rose a scant 0.3%, unit dose sales jumped 9.3% to more than $1.8 billion. As one might suspect, Procter & Gamble dominates the unit dose category, with an 83% share. For a look at the top 5 players in the segment and the top 20 individual brand lines, see the chart on p. 78. In contrast, a year ago, laundry detergent sales in food, drug and mass were up nearly 6%.

As the world gets back to business, the hospitality and food service industries are returning to growth and that means gains in the industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning sector.

“We had a really good year,” noted Suzanne Carroll, VP-home and personal care, Nouryon. “I&I has come back on the strength of hotels, restaurants and airports.”

Analysts agree. Kline Group estimates 2021 industrial & institutional cleaning sales increased 7.7% to $8.0 billion last year. 


Supply Chain Woes

Supply chain issues have plagued the chemical industry for more than a year. In February 2021, a deep freeze in Texas led to widespread blackouts. The power failure broke the petrochemical refining supply chain. Suppliers have struggled to build redundancies.

“The past two years have been a real rollercoaster—full of fun and fear,” observed Lu. “In these times, it is important to remain close to our teams. We’ve all put a lot of stress on operations due to the enormous disruptions along the supply chain.”

Just last month, another cold snap in Texas dropped natural gas production in the state by 20%. It was the largest decrease in supply since the winter storm of February 2021. 

“The energy system is not ready yet,” Michael Webber, a professor of energy resources and mechanical engineering at UT Austin, told KUT 90.5 in Austin. “If it can’t handle the cold we had last week, then it’s not ready for another Winter Storm Uri event, that’s for sure.”

Suppliers to the global cleaning industry aren’t waiting for Spring or for Texas to work through its energy infrastructure issues.

Last month, Nouryon commissioned a biodegradable chelates production facility in the Netherlands to meet growing consumer demand for eco-friendly auto dishwashing and liquid laundry products. 
“We have a larger geographical footprint and can offer a range of innovative, sustainable solutions for our customers in the home care space,” asserted Carroll.

The new facility will double the company’s Dissolvine green chelates capacity by supplying Dissolvine M or MGDA (Methylglycine N, N-diacetic trisodium salt), Dissolvine GL or GLDA (Glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic tetrasodium salt) and other ingredients. The site will complement the company’s existing plants in Ningbo, China and Ohio.

Lee points out that Univar is well-prepared to handle distribution issues. The company has a fleet of 3,500 trucks and 1,000 rail cars to keep products and services moving around the world. But no matter where they purchase their materials, household and personal product formulators seek greener ingredients.

“Demand is accelerating for green products that offer alternative way to control metal and salts. Greener chelates are better than phosphates and citrates,” explained Joe Ferrara, global business director, home and personal care, Nouryon.

Issues surrounding 1,4-Dioxane have impacted the household and personal products industry for years, but suppliers have solutions for those problems, too. More than two years ago, for example, BASF expanded its low 1,4-Dioxane line by adding several ingredients to its Flex surfactants and polymers range. The BASF Flex solutions allow brands in the cosmetics, personal care and home care industries to use ingredients that are certified low in 1,4-Dioxane for their formulations.

By the end of the year, New York will prohibit the sale of household cleaning and personal care products containing more than 2ppm 1,4-Dioxane and cosmetics products containing 10ppm 1,4-Dioxane. For household cleaning and personal care products the limit will be further reduced to 1ppm at the end of 2023.

The three-part Flex portfolio is comprised of:

• Low 1,4-Dioxane certified ingredients;
• Functional replacements for ingredients expected to contain high levels of 1,4-Dioxane; and
• Ingredients not expected to contain 1,4-Dioxane.

“We took clear action on 1,4-Dioxane with the launch of Flex,” observed Lu.

According to Ferrara, Nouryon is also ahead of low dioxane regulations by developing hybrid polymers for laundry care formulations.

“This as a big opportunity to accelerate the move from polymers with alternative chemistry,” he added.

In 2020 and 2021, Nouryon achieved the EcoVadis Gold rating, putting it in the top 3% of companies assessed by the global sustainability ratings provider. Nouryon earned strong scores in all assessed areas, including environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

For its part, BASF has 70 products in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice program and Lu said collaboration plays a critical role in developing sustainable performance.

“We want to amplify and multiply our partnerships,” asserted Lu. “There’s more collaboration to come.”

According to Stuart Holt, technical marketing manager for cleaning, Nouryon, 65% of the company’s product line is renewable, biodegradable or both. And these products are growing faster than Nouryon’s traditional chemistries.

Just last month, Univar added a full-service homecare and industrial cleaning laboratory to its flagship Solution Center in Houston. This latest investment will further enable Univar to help its customers better respond to shifts in consumer demand, regulatory changes and ingredient trends with a particular focus on sustainable and natural solutions, according to the company. A dedicated team of scientists, chemists and technical experts, backed by the latest equipment, analytics and advanced testing processes, will partner with customers and suppliers to help deliver next-generation home care and industrial cleaning products for better performing and more environmentally friendly solutions.


A Range of Innovations

ACI facilitated the demand for innovations through its innovation showcase, which featured presentations by Arxada, Croda, Lanxess, Locus Performance Materials and Nouryon.

Kiran Kulkarni, marketing manager, Arxada, explained that wipes have been the preferred format of disinfection selected by consumers during the pandemic. In fact, 71% of US consumers use wipes at least once a week. No wonder that wipes expenditures per household grew from $6.65 in 2016 to $15.53 in 2021, according to Mintel.

To help formulators capitalize on wipes’ popularity, Arxada rolled out Nugen Citric Guard, a sustainable disinfection solution. The citric-acid based formula kills cold and flu virus, and SARS-CoV-2 in one minute. The formula uses EPA Safer Choice chemistry and is under review for USDA BioPreferred status. The substrate is available in several cellulosic options.

The benefits of Croda’s Evogen sustainable microbial cleaning solutions, were detailed by Scott Tuchinsky, business head, consumer care, North America. He noted that consumers are increasingly willing to try microbial formulas. In the US, 49% of adults responsible for home cleaning said they were willing to try microbial cleaners. In China, 52% of adults involved in house cleaning regard microbial ingredients as safe. In the UK, 81% of surface cleaner buyers would be interested in microbial products that use good bacteria to clean surfaces and prevent odors.

Evogen microbial spores remain on the surface after the initial clean. The spores germinate and produce enzymes, which degrade molecules on the surface. Large, insoluble hard surface soils are broken down and malodor sources are degraded. According to Tuchinsky, Evogen GP 50x breaks down large molecules into smaller ones which are more easily removed on repeated cleaning. It remains on surfaces for up to four weeks. More soil is removed and a deeper clean is achieved. Applications include tiles, toilets, sinks, countertops and floors. Evogen ON 50x degrades malodor molecules. Existing malodors are removed and new malodors are prevented at the source, according to Tuchinsky. He said Evogen ON 50X continues to activate in the presence of malodors for longer-lasting odor neutralization and reduction. Application areas include waste bins, vehicle interiors, carpet and fabric care, and pet stains and animal bedding.

Kalaguard SB (sodium benzoate) is a newly-registered consumer-friendly preservative from Lanxess. Rosanna Stokes, Americas business development manager, noted that cleaning and sanitizing have become top priority with consumers; sales grew 5% in 2020, compared to pre-covid forecasts. Sustainability is important, too. Green-marketed products “significantly outperform” their conventional counterparts in consumer markets. For example, sales of EPA Safer Choice designated products posted a CAGR of 10.4% from 2015-2019. That’s well ahead of the 1.45% CAGR for the entire household cleaning category.

Kalaguard SB is nature-identical and readily biodegradable, listed by Safer Choice, Ecolabel and other green certifications. It is certified as non-irritating and non-sensitizing to skin. It is effective in formulations up to pH7. To enhance preservation efficacy of organic acids such as Kalaguard SB, Lanxess recommends developing preservation solutions in initial formulation planning. It is also possible to add chelators or other preservation boosters, or select a surfactant that extends preservation efficacy.

Locus Performance Ingredients launched a line of non-GMO sophorolipid ingredients that outperform and replace problematic chemical surfactants in a variety of CPG product formulas. According to Greg Smith, VP-sales and marketing, Amphi biosurfactants, are suitable in a range of HI&I products including all-purpose cleaners, tub and tile cleaners and laundry detergents. To help formulators create effective products, Locus PI created a range of formulations using the technology.

“Most biobased surfactants aren’t drop-in replacements. You have to build them, we did,” explained Smith. “There is no silver bullet. You have to formulate your way to improved performance.”

Nouryon’s novel chelates chemistry was on display during the showcase, too. Holt noted that Nouryon’s MGDA and GLDA chelates are biobased, readily biodegradable, with low toxicity, lower carbon process and strong chelation. Similarly, its hybrid polymer (Alcoguard H5941) offers a good alternative to traditional polyacrylic acid. In dishwash applications, it left virtually no spots or films. In hard surface cleaning applications, the chelate/polymer combination enhanced soil breakup and kept removed soil dispersed.

According to Holt, green chelates and hybrid polymers provide more sustainable solutions to address issues of hardness ions in cleaning applications. Their mechanism of action is complementary and even synergistic.

“Green chemistry is effective without performance compromise,” Holt concluded.

The final presentation, from Jun Su An, product development director, Solugen, highlighted its glucaric acid-based technologies. These materials enable formulators to create detergent formulations with better environmental profiles and less toxicity. The material feedstock is domestic corn sugar, not petroleum. That’s good news considering consumers’ demands for green chemistry—formulators are happy, too.

“Customers want reliable suppliers with stable pricing and local inventories,” he explained.

But no matter the technology, nearly every supplier and marketer agreed that collaboration is critical as issues such as supply chain, inflation and innovation mount in 2022. Perhaps Lu said it best when he advocated for more collaboration.

“We do our best when we learn from one another,” he said. “We are stronger together.” 

ACI Looks at the Future of Work Like every other human behavior, the pandemic turned the work week and workforce upside down, Amy Riccardi, founder, Leadership Evolution Group, told attendees at the American Cleaning Institute Annual Meeting & Industry Convention. In 2020, 50% of global survey respondents said they earned less money than in previous years. Nearly half worked fewer hours and 53% temporarily stopped working. Worse, 32% said they lost their jobs or business. In that tumultuous environment, it’s no surprise that more people than ever are dissatisfied with their jobs and have left the workforce in droves. “There are a range of reasons why employees are dissatisified,” said Riccardi. “Workers complain that there is a lack of honesty, transparency, fairness, consistency, authenticity and trust.” But rather than complain, workers have more options than ever. In the US, there was 2% increase in the number of business owners. Half of workers want to change their careers and just over 50% of US adults 55 and older are out of the labor force due to retirement. That’s up from 48.1% in August 2019. “People have options,” noted Riccardi. “They’re not going back to the way it was pre-pandemic.” To retain employees, she recommended a people-centered organizational design that focuses on employees’ strengths, provides individualized employment experiences and offers opportunities for leadership roles.