Cleaning Chemicals Today Are More Sustainable & Safer

Ann Laffeaty traces the evolution of chemical cleaning products. An increasing number of today’s raw materials are plant-derived. 

Cleaning solutions - a chemical change - Ann Laffeaty traces the evolution of chemical cleaning products in the light of tightening legislation and a greater emphasis on sustainability and safety. There was at time when the only requirement of a chemical detergent solution was that it should be capable of cleaning the item for which it was intended. But that all changed when the health, safety and sustainability implications of cleaning products began to be monitored more closely. For example, we discovered that Paradichlorobenzen - formerly used in urinal blocks – was a carcinogen. We also found out that Alkylphenol ethoxylates, a synthetic surfactant found in detergents, had an oestrogenic effect and could disrupt hormones in fish.

And as our concern for factors such as health, safety and sustainability began to grow, new legislation was introduced. This has resulted in some dramatic changes to the chemical cleaning industry over the past 20 years. But are today’s safer, more environmentally-friendly products as effective as their predecessors? And do manufacturers and customers ever mourn the passing of yesterday’s more hazardous products?

CEBE Reinigungschemie manager Dr Jan Reimers confirms that today’s cleaning chemicals are generally more sustainable, safer and easier to use than their counterparts of 20 years ago. “Both the manufacturer and the end-user have become more sensitised to this issue,” he said. “It is not only legislation that puts the industry under pressure; end-users are also demanding safer and more sustainable products. This has led to changes in formulations and higher levels of training on product use along with greater transparency on the part of the manufacturers where hazardous ingredients are concerned.”

He says that many raw materials have recently been replaced with more environmentally-friendly, less hazardous alternatives. “In addition many products have become simpler - not only in their formulation but also in their use.” However, he cites niche products as an exception to this rule. “Though even where specialty products are concerned the trend is to improve efficiency while also minimising hazard.”

According to Reimers, these changes in the industry have largely been determined by legislation. “If one considers, for instance, the changes in concentration thresholds for declaring a product as an irritant to the eyes, 20 years ago that threshold was generally a concentration of 20 per cent,” he said. “Today this has been reduced to one per cent in some instances.”

He adds that in some cases, changes in formulation have led to poorer performance.  “This is the compromise that has to be made for sustainable development,” he said. “In other cases new raw materials have been discovered which have led to improved performance and sometimes also better environmental degradability.”

Change in behaviour

But is there anything about the chemical solutions of the past that either Reimers or his customers miss today?  “I can think of one thing that may be missed: Alkylphenolethxylates which, as non-ionic surfactants go, are still unsurpassed in many fields and are still in use in some industrial applications,” he said.  “However their impact on the environment is substantial which means that phasing them out and prohibiting their use with only a few exceptions was the right thing to do.”

He describes surfactant-free systems for carpet cleaning – such as the company’s own Spray Brite product – to be among the recent ‘game-changers’ in the chemicals industry. “The development of green labels has also led to a change in market behaviour, particularly since the phasing out of solvents in many products has led to them being more user-friendly.” Dr Schnell Chemie’s marketing executive Franz Felbermeir agrees with Reimers that there is a trend towards developing products with a broader application window, such as general-purpose 

cleaning solutions.

Specialist products

“Customers want to use one product to clean a range of different pollutants from a variety of surfaces,” he said. “At the same time, very specific products are being developed for specialist purposes such as the cleaning of marble, for example. This means that users can rely on a narrow range of products that resolve 90 per cent of standard issues while having a second range of highly specialised products that deal with the remaining cleaning challenges.”

He says that today’s focused research on coming up with systems designed to improve efficiency through the use of better technical equipment - such as microfibre cloths, for example - has led to more effective cleaning. “On the other hand, restrictions in the use of certain chemicals such as some dangerous organic solvents has left the industry looking for replacements for what were highly effective cleaning chemicals in the past,” he said.

Like Reimers he feels that today’s cleaning chemicals are generally more sustainable, safer and easier to use. “As soon as there is an understanding of the potential risks involved with certain substances the trend is to substitute these very quickly,” he said. “Anything that helps our customers to become more efficient in what they do is always a welcome idea. And if a product helps our customer to do a better job, that can be translated into a monetary advantage.”

But does he miss anything about yesterday’s chemical solutions? “Superficially one could complain about the fact that some highly effective surfactants such as Nonylphenoles are no longer available,” he said. “However, these substances have a highly detrimental effect on the environment so the fact that they are no longer in use is overall good news. And this has helped us to keep the focus on seeking better and more sustainable ways to formulate new products.” He describes the company’s Milizid sanitary cleaner as one of Dr Schnell Chemie’s most revolutionary products. “It is our best-selling product and it stays on the top of our list through constant evolution.”

New regulations

Global marketing director of Diversey Care Lars Bo Madsen describes the changes in the chemical industry over the past 20 years as both significant and positive. “Changes have occurred due to regulatory introductions such as the Biocidal Products Directive, REACH, and latterly by GHS,” he said. “There has also been a move towards super-concentrated products that directly deliver less chemical and that entail less packaging, less storage, a lower carbon footprint and maximum safety for end-users.

“Meanwhile, closed systems and packaging with dosing control has been introduced to ensure accuracy, simplicity and safety. And end-users are increasingly requesting products with labels such as the Swan or Ecolabel.”

When asked whether today’s products were more effective than earlier versions he responds:  “What is meant by ‘effective’? Does it mean that a product removes more dirt and soil, cleans more quickly, does so at a lower temperature, uses a less concentrated solution or cleans with less scrubbing? I don’t think we tolerated more dirt 20 years ago so the question really boils down to the last four.”

He refers to the Sinner’s circle that sets out the four cleaning parameters of chemistry, mechanics, temperature and time. “Only when all four factors are harmonised can an effective cleaning result be achieved,” he said.

According to Madsen, super-concentrated cleaning products such as his company’s Diversey Smartdose system have changed the market considerably. This is a dosing platform for super-concentrated cleaners and disinfectants that is said to deliver larger amounts of cleaning solution, reducing plastic use and transport costs.

But what do Diversey Care’s customers miss about yesterday’s chemical products? “Maybe it was the easier decision process – does it work and is it the right price?” said Marsden.  “Nowadays the question: ‘Is it sustainable?’ has been added to the decision process. “But to be honest there is little about chemical products of the past that either Diversey Care or our customers miss today since chemical products have generally become much easier and safer to use.”

The company is launching a range of products containing plant-based actives from renewable sources. Most of the SURE range of products are derived from by-products from the agro-food industry and originate from crops such as sugar beet, maize, straw bran, wheat bran and coconut.

Green cleaning

“In the future I envisage that holistic green cleaning will become more prevalent,” said Marsden. “Green cleaning has already become more formalised in North America where it is accredited through schemes from the US Green Building Council’s LEED suite of accreditations and ISSA’s CIMS-GB scheme.”

Legislation has been the main driver for recent chemical industry changes says Dr Jim Taylour, head of research and development at Holchem Laboratories. “The chief focus in terms of legislation has been on personal and environmental safety,” he said. “The chemicals industry is relatively highly regulated and as new knowledge comes to light, regulations change and the industry reacts in order to ensure it remains legal. “In addition the industry often pre-empts legislation and through codes of practice and industry guidelines recommends voluntary restrictions or a change of use for certain chemicals.”

As an example he quotes a voluntary ban in 1995 on the use of Alkylphenol ethoxylates and Nonylphenol ethoxylates in detergents based on evidence that these compounds were endocrine disruptors. The ban was brought in before the legislation had been put into place.

Plant-derived formulas

Taylour echoes Marsden’s view that an increasing number of today’s raw materials are plant-derived. “An example of this can be seen in the use of palm oil-derived surfactants,” he said. “However, this issue has been complicated by considerations about the sustainability of palm oil production.”

Holchem offers a range of chemicals including its Perbac OPD open plant disinfection solution. This is claimed to be a safe and effective disinfectant for use on open surfaces without the strong acrid smell issues associated with peracetic acid disinfectants.

Like Marsden, Taylour feels that an increasing trend towards the use of super-concentrates has further changed the face of the industry. “This is particularly the case in the hospitality and facilities management sectors where the traditional ready-to-use toilet cleaner has been replaced by a thicken-on-dilution system developed using novel surfactant chemistry,” he said. Holchem’s Optimum Toilet Cleaner Concentrate is an example of this.

Taylour believes that industry regulations will continue to change and shape the chemicals sector. “As legislation such as BPR, REACH and the Detergent Directive matures, detergent and disinfectant suppliers will continue to drive the development of their products to ensure that they remain legal, cost-effective and safe both for personnel and for the environment,” he said.  ustainability and safety.

The Science & Evolution Of A New Soap

Making a new product takes lots of time, money: It took eight years, 450 product sketches, 6,000 consumer tests and hundreds of millions of dollars for Procter & Gamble to create something that it hopes will be destroyed in the wash.

Tide Pods are palm-size, liquid detergent-filled tablets that are designed to be tossed in the washer to take the measuring cups — and messiness — out of laundry. P&G says the product, which hit store shelves last month, is its biggest innovation in laundry in about a quarter of a century.

Tide Pods aren't the sexiest of inventions, but they illustrate how mature companies that are looking for growth often have to tweak things as mundane as soap and detergent. The story behind Tide Pods provides a window into the time, money and brainpower that goes into doing that.

P&G, the maker of everything from Pampers diapers to Pantene shampoo, has built its 175-year history on creating things people need and then improving them. (Think: Ivory soap in 1879; Swiffer Sweeper in 1999.) Each year, the maker of everything from Pampers diapers to Pantene shampoo spends $2 billion on research and development. The company also rolls out 27 products annually, or more than two a month, worldwide.

The focus on innovation has paid off. P&G says 98 percent of American households have at least one of its products in cupboards, broom closets or bathrooms.

And while about 15 to 20 percent of all new products succeed, P&G has claimed a 50 percent success rate. Four of the top 10 new consumer products in 2010 were made by P&G, according to research firm SymphonyIRI.

"What they've gotten very good at is being able to understand consumer expectations," says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a New York customer research firm.

 

But improving things like window cleaner and toilet paper can take years. It also can cost hundreds of millions of dollars — or up to 100 percent of first-year sales — to develop, make and market them. And even then, new products are a tough sale to consumers.

"You have to develop a product that is meaningfully better than the ones out there, which is tough because generally speaking consumer products work pretty well," says Ali Dibadj, an analyst at Bernstein Research who follows P&G. "You then have to convince the consumer to try the product ... and then get that consumer to break their old habit to make a new one."



FIRST LOAD: A PRODUCT IS BORN

The $6.5 billion laundry detergent sector has been ripe for a new product. With the exception of fruity scents and suds that work in cold water, detergent hasn't changed much since P&G rolled out Liquid Tide in 1984.

Liquid Tide, which costs about $15 for 32 loads, is the best-selling detergent, according to SymphonyIRI, the research firm. But cheaper rivals have been gaining: For instance, the number of units sold of Church & Dwight's Arm & Hammer Oxi-Clean Laundry, the No. 2 detergent brand that costs $8 for 35 loads, rose 13 percent in the past year. Unit sales of Liquid Tide were flat.

In 2004, P&G decided to try to freshen up the category. Surveys and observations of 6,000 consumers found that more than a third dreaded doing laundry. A big reason: nearly a quarter said their laundry was in the basement, requiring apartment dwellers to lug a seven-pound detergent bottle up and down stairs.

Researchers also found that people rewashed loads about 20 percent of the time because they thought detergent didn't get their laundry clean enough.

And many were confused about which detergent to use when they wash in different ways: In regular washers and high-efficiency machines; big loads and small ones; and in hot and cold water.

"We knew people felt laundry was complicated," says Alex Keith, vice president of P&G's unit that makes laundry detergents and fabric softeners.

So P&G set about to create a product that weighed less, cleaned better and could be used with any washing machine, any size load and in water at any temperature.



Pod-like products had been on the market before. P&G introduced tablets filled with powder detergent in 2000, but yanked them from stores shelves two years later. The problem was that powder tablets didn't always dissolve completely, leading to messiness. They also only worked in hot water.

To make sure Tide Pods would dissolve in hot and cold water, P&G turned to MonoSol, a company that makes water soluble films. The firm developed a polyvinyl alcohol film that not only dissolves in any temperature water, but even in sweaty palms. The film also is strong — it won't break even when stretched over the top of a can of marbles and shaken — but soft to the touch.

The film created another problem, though. Detergents, which mostly consist of water, would cause the pod to melt before it even gets into the wash. So P&G made a detergent that is 10 percent water — compared with Liquid Tide, which is 50 percent water.

Next, scientists had to figure out how to combine cleansers, brighteners and fabric softeners into one product, while keeping them separate until the pod dissolves in the wash. Doing so would ensure each liquid would work better. After 450 product sketches, P&G developed a proprietary technology that sections the pod into three chambers for all three liquids.

The result? A soft ball with three separate bubbles filled with liquids in Tide's trademark white, blue and orange colors.



INNOVATE, RINSE, REPEAT

Making the product was half the battle. Consumer testing is at the heart of product development for P&G, which has more than 25 facilities across the globe where people can use the things it makes.

The Beckett Ridge Innovation Center, located about 30 minutes from P&G's Cincinnati headquarters, is one of them. Inside, there's a 3,000-square-foot grocery store packed with everything from Charmin diapers to Cascade dishwashing liquid. There's also a 2,000-square-foot mock clapboard house where researchers analyze how people do laundry, wash dishes, take showers and change babies' diapers.

About 50 P&G researchers work at the center, watching and videotaping about 20,000 shoppers each year in their "natural" environment. The testers are picked by third-party companies and paid based on the task they complete.

"When we watch consumers in action, we can see things they can't otherwise explain or articulate," says Jessica Hall White, director of P&G's unit that makes fabric care brands like Tide, Gain and Downy.

When P&G researchers had consumers test Tide Pods at the center, they found that 97 percent were satisfied with their experience, compared with about 68 percent who felt that way beforehand while using regular detergent. People also liked how Tide Pods felt in their hands.



When it came to packaging, P&G took a more futuristic approach to testing. The company used three screens at the Innovation Center to project 3D images of a virtual grocery store. There, testers could see early designs of Tide Pod packaging on the virtual store shelves alongside regular detergents.

Researchers learned that people sometimes looked over the product. So P&G determined that in order to stand out, Tide Pods needed to have see-through packaging. The company developed a clear fishbowl-like container that shows the pods clearly.

The product was developed. The consumer tests were done. The packaging was complete. Next, it was time to get Tide Pods to market. P&G was poised to be the first to have its product priced at $20.89 for 57 pods in stores by September of last year.

But the company ran into problems making the pods, which require different manufacturing equipment than what's used to make regular detergent. At the same time, P&G was flooded with orders from supermarkets and retailers.

P&G declined to give details on the manufacturing problems it had, but it says the issues forced it to push back the launch date of Tide Pods by five months to February. In the hyper-competitive world of consumer products, that might as well be an eternity.

Tide Pods entered a market that was already getting crowded. Henkel's Purex UltraPacks and Sun Products' All Mighty Pacs came out in February, too. And Church and Dwight plans to launch its Toss 'N Done Power Packs— made of crystals — this month.

All of the products — all more expensive than liquid or powder detergents — are priced similarly. An analysis by research firm Janney Capital Markets found that Tide Pods' average price per pod is 27 cents, compared with Church & Dwight's and Sun Product's at 25 cents and Henkel's at 31 cents.

But P&G has a big advantage. The Tide brand is one of the most recognized in the world.

With pricing so close, P&G hopes to win over shoppers with performance and brand recognition. The company says it expects Tide Pods to ring up $300 million in sales during its first year.

San Marco, a Janney Capital analyst, says P&G is at a slight disadvantage because it wasn't first to market its product. But he believes its Tide Pods product is likely to hit its first-year sales goal.

"It seems when Procter does anything in the laundry category it makes a huge wave," he says.

Still, P&G isn't taking chances. The company spent an estimated $150 million on a marketing campaign to roll out Tide Pods. The first commercial debuted during the Academy Awards, one of TV's biggest events.

The tagline for the ad: "Pop In. Stand Out."