4 Ways Suppliers Elevate & Escalate Sustainable Cleaning Solutions

Laundry is enjoying a moment in the sun.

Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author, recently devoted a whole episode of his popular podcast to this most mundane of household chores. He even traveled to Cincinnati, home of Procter & Gamble (P&G), to talk to company experts about the science of cleaning clothes.

About 90% of the energy used in washing a load of laundry comes from heating the water. P&G and other consumer packaged goods companies have reformulated their detergents to be more effective in cold water, which is better for the environment than doing laundry in hot water. The goal of P&G brand and cleaning detergent Tide is to get 75% of the annual laundry loads in the United States washed in cold water by 2030, up from less than 50% today.

The ambitious effort is just one example of how brands within the home and industrial cleaning space have embraced sustainability strategies as they work to bring eco-friendly products to market that conserve resources and minimize waste. For certain consumers, cleaning products have become lifestyle products. They are shopping for these products based on their values.

The coronavirus pandemic has heightened awareness of cleanliness and hygiene. At the same time, more cleaning means more chemical exposure and the potential for adverse reactions. Consumers and institutional customers are looking for effective cleaning options that do not sacrifice health or sustainability.

It’s a tall order. Moving forward, brands expect their chemical and ingredient suppliers to be innovative partners on their journey to a more sustainable future.

Here are some of the top lessons our home care and industrial cleaning team has gleaned from our work with these brands as they work on blazing the trail to a more sustainable future.


Connect and Collaborate

Combating climate change is too large a problem for any one company to solve. As companies rethink their product formulations, suppliers will also be challenged to renew all that is old.

The path to greener chemistries is not just about using new ingredients or finding alternative raw materials. It’s also about evolving formulas to deliver better products. For example, Lanxess has developed more eco-friendly preservatives that extend shelf life and reduce waste and energy use. Novozymes focuses on enzymes that make other ingredients more versatile, boosting the final products’ cleaning power, sustainability and efficacy.

Collaboration also may mean partnering with third parties, such as non-governmental organizations, that can be critical change agents to help accelerate sustainability efforts.


Be All ‘In’tentional

Being intentional means bringing commitment, focus and attention to sustainability. It will help companies think about sustainability in a more deliberate way and consider every aspect of production, use and disposal.

Brands are increasingly addressing the needs of consumers who want to know where their products come from and what ingredients they contain by turning to natural, plant-based ingredients, such as guar gum powder. The versatile powder, which is made by grinding the seed tissue of beans from guar plants, serves as a thickener and stabilizer in a variety of food and non-food products, including cosmetics, lotions, shampoos, soaps and detergents.

With global demand for guar gum growing, Solvay, a world leader in guar derivatives, has committed to sustainable development of the crop.

Since 2015, Solvay has worked with industry partners and TechnoServe, a non-profit organization, on the Sustainable Guar Initiative in India, which provides about 80% of the world’s total guar production.

TechnoServe works with farmers to improve crop yields through rainwater harvesting systems, soil replenishment techniques and seed treatment. The program also empowers women farmers with health and nutrition training. 

The program has been deployed in 36 villages in northern India and enrolled 7,000 farmers, one-quarter women. From 2015 to 2020, Solvay’s guar initiative saw a 125% increase in guar yields, which helped increase farmer revenues by 143%.


Establish Transparency to Build Trust

Consumers increasingly want to know more about the ingredients in their products. They read the labels on packaging and research ingredients to learn more about why they are used and environmental or safety concerns. But they shouldn’t need a PhD in toxicology to understand labels.

Brands are responding by requesting suppliers provide the specifications of their products. Brands also are placing greater value in standards like “Safer Choice,” the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) product certification and labeling program.

Formulating cleaning products can pose unique challenges. Products are expected to be fast-acting, effective at cutting through grease and grime, and safe to use on multiple surfaces. Dow publishes on its website a list of its chemical ingredients that meet the EPA’s Safer Choice standard.

For too long, the chemical and ingredient industry has been seen as part of the environmental problem. Dow is focused on increasing trust in chemical technology by driving transparency in its portfolio. Raising visibility also sends a message that a company is willing to face public scrutiny.


Practice Proactivity

The market is more dynamic and facing more disruptions than ever before, thanks to many factors converging at once, including rapidly changing consumer tastes and regulatory changes. New digital technologies also enable manufacturers of consumer and industrial products to better evaluate the value and quality of inputs from suppliers. These pressure points are creating uncertainty around demand and profitability.

Companies must develop fresh sets of skills to expand their product properties and applications. Many sustainable practices, such as improving feedstocks, optimizing the supply chain, or working with environmental partners, don’t pay immediate benefits. The important thing is to start somewhere and make wise changes.

Looking back, P&G introduced a cold-water Tide formulation in 2005—long before most American consumers were attuned to the environmental benefits of washing clothes in lower temperatures. Sales were slow because consumers were skeptical of claims that their clothes could get as clean in cold water as in warmer temperatures.

But P&G maintained its sustainable-solution effort and has gradually made progress on its goal of achieving 75% of laundry loads washed in cold water. In 2005, the company estimated that consumers washed just 30% of their loads in cold water; now, it’s pushing 50%.

Each sustainable cleaning solution on its own may not appear to have a substantial environmental impact. However, with cleaning brands, suppliers and distributors working together to increase the number of eco-friendly processes and products, the future of our planet will look better and better.

Learn more about how the cleaning industry is formulating cleaner, greener products by watching Innovation Summit 2021, a virtual panel moderated by the American Cleaning Institute. 

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Aaron Lee is vice president for Univar Solutions’ global homecare and industrial cleaning (HIC) vertical and has spent more than 20 years in the chemical industry. He leads a dedicated market vertical delivering technical solutions to the cleaning industry, leveraging Univar Solutions’ strong portfolio of sustainable products, services, practices and technologies to aid customers and consumers in meeting their sustainability goals, and helping keep communities healthy, fed, clean and safe.
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