Tom Branna, Editorial Director11.01.22
The pandemic is over, but so is the consumer’s obsession with cleaning. That’s the bad news scenario for the global household cleaning industry. In the US, household cleaner sales fell 7.1% in mass markets during the past year, according to IRI (see chart). Spray disinfectant sales dropped sharply, falling 28.4%.
But there are some bright spots within the household cleaning sector. Glass cleaner sales rose 7.3% to nearly $240 million. The gain was led by Windex, the segment leader from SC Johnson. The brand holds a 51.4% market share and posted a 9.3% gain in sales.
On a smaller scale, sales of abrasive tub/tile cleaner rose 4.1% to more than $109 million. Comet is the market leader with a 31.5% share. The KIK-owned brand had sales of more than $34 million.
After surging during the pandemic, consumer behavior is normalizing, explained Euromonitor Analyst Catalina Flores.
“Consumers have cleaning fatigue. They want better products—not more products,” said Flores, a featured speaker at the recent Cleaning Products 2022 conference held in Washington DC.
Declining demand comes at a time when inflation is soaring, labor shortages continue and supply chain issues remain. How are manufacturers responding? With higher prices and smaller packages; although Flores noted that consumers are not as sensitive to volume changes. As for the consumers’ response, Flores said shoppers are trading down to less expensive products.
For example, according IRI, sales of private label all-purpose cleaner/disinfectant rose 2.6% during the past year. In contrast, category sales fell 10.1%. Of course, in today’s post-pandemic world, private label isn’t a panacea. Sales of private label toilet bowl cleaners dropped 7.9%, according to IRI, and account for about 6% of category sales.
Furthermore, 6.5 million deaths worldwide are attributed to air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds WHO guideline limits and contains high levels of pollutants. Low- and middle-income countries suffer from the highest exposures.
“We have to educate consumers about the important role cleaning plays in reducing asthma,” said Ryan. “My challenge to the industry is to talk more about product benefits. Dust, particle pollution, particulate matter—it all impacts human health.”
Marie Striemer, Procter & Gamble’s senior manager of global scientific communications, explained that 70% of household dust is dead skin cells. Humans shed hundreds of thousands of skin flakes daily. The flakes are so fine (<20um) they become airborne and settle on surfaces. The rest comes from clothing, such as tiny fibers less than 200um; outdoors, such as fine soot and clay, and silicate and salt; and pets and insects. A mild case of dust mite allergy may cause runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing. But in severe cases, the condition becomes chronic, resulting in persistent sneezing, cough, congestion, facial pressure, eczema flareup or severe asthma attack.
As a registered nurse, Striemer noted that when patients presented asthmatic, a question posed by medical staff is “Are you dusting? Hygiene cleaning isn’t the most talked about topic, but (companies) should use social media as a way to reach consumers.”
In fact, according to Striemer, there is a proper order to dusting. Start high with the ceiling, crown molding and ceiling fans and work down. Use the right tools such as a trap and lock system rather than pushing dust around the room. Vacuum after dusting. She also recommended getting everyone in the family involved in dusting. Of course, Procter & Gamble manufactures Swiffer, the easy-to-use dusting system.
“(Laundry detergent) Scent boosters are not essential,” she noted. “Consumers may even move away from concentrated automatic dishwashing detergent to a standard detergent. They may even return to hand washing (dishes).”
Yet, even if the US economy slides into recession, sustainability will remain top-of-mind with most consumers. Flores noted that for subscription services such as Blueland, Dropps and Frey, sustainability plays a key role in purchasing decisions. But consumers must be educated about how to use concentrated cleaners.
“With the exception of Baby Boomers, most generations are using subscription services,” noted Flores. “Consumers want to buy products from purpose-driven brands. They want to use less water and reduce their carbon emissions as they learn more about sustainability. Retailers are making it easier for consumers to learn about sustainability.”
“We’re paving the way toward transparency,” she added.
As part of its drive to improve transparency, ACI has already created online searchable databases (such as Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative and Cleaning Product Ingredient Environmental Safety) for the market to access and understand comprehensive information on the safety of ingredients used in household cleaning products.
But those efforts may not be fast enough for some legislators and NGOs. States, including Oregon, Washington, New Jersey and Vermont, have introduced legislation regarding key chemical ingredients, packaging waste and household waste.
Hockstad said ingredient communication is the top issue for the Association. The goal is to provide consistent information for consumers no matter where they buy products.
ACI member companies continue to strive toward net zero emissions by 2050. At the same time, ACI’s circular packaging ambition calls for all cleaning products to achieve circularity by 2040.
Interest in packaging circularity rolls on. According to a Green Seal survey, 67% of consumers say that recyclability of packaging is important, 54% claim that the sustainability of the package is a factor in their purchasing decisions and nearly one in 4 respondents said sustainable packaging was very important when buying household cleaning products.
Mike Gruber, SVP-government relations and public policy, Household Consumer Products Association (HCPA), told Happi that states remain at the tip of the spear as new laws were enacted governing chemical reporting, restrictions on commonly used outdoor pesticides, unintentional ingredients, and actions that jeopardize next generation aerosol propellants.
“The onslaught of state-based legislative and regulatory activity has overwhelmed state regulatory agencies which has, in turn, slowed down agency workflows across the board,” said Gruber. “HCPA is amplifying the call for policy uniformity, clarity of definitions, and legislation that fosters smart regulations allowing industry and its complex supply chain to maintain inventories of life sustaining products without interruption.”
Gruber said that HCPA has been an increasingly and steady voice in state legislatures as states enact new extended producer responsibility bills. The Association’s Government Relations & Public Policy team has been effective in giving appropriate consideration for pesticides and other uniquely regulated products in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws.
Additionally, HCPA helped neutralize a California ballot initiative on plastics packaging through compromise legislation authorizing a new EPR law.
“Because ballot measures, once enacted, can only be amended through a new ballot measure, the Association’s sustained efforts at the negotiation table preserved industry’s legislative options as California regulators and industry work through program implementation,” Gruber explained.
In areas related to insect repellents, HCPA continues to play an instrumental role in drafting the reauthorization of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA), which expires next year. The bill authorizes the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect fees and perform regulatory work critical to the introduction of product innovations into market. The proposal outlines important process improvements for the agency, increased maintenance resources to reduce the backlog of EPA actions, and a new training program for onboarding employees at the agency, which is suffering from low head count.
Regarding product disposal, HCPA launched an aerosol recycling initiative designed to increase the ease and confidence with which end-users recycle their aerosol cans, leading to more infinitely recyclable metal remaining a part of the circular economy.
HCPA is actively engaging with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Division on ways to support commercialization of innovative, more sustainable chemistries.
Additionally, the Association is working to address US microplastics policy as Europe’s work on this matter inches toward a conclusion.
Keeping in mind sustainability commitments and product innovation, HCPA is coordinating with its members to promote uniform polices and develop technical content that enable companies to focus on innovating and building their business while driving product stewardship and sustainability efforts and educating and empowering people to live more sustainable lives.
Just last month, ACI issued its annual sustainability report. Eighteen member companies have committed to ACI’s 1.5°C Challenge by aligning their corporate climate strategy and targets with the science-based 1.5°C goal. An additional 20 members have made public commitments to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
Ten percent of members have a goal to reach zero waste to landfill. ACI’s Circular Packaging Roadmap outlines a wide set of ambitions, including a goal to achieve a 75% recycling rate for cleaning product packaging waste by 2030.
ACI was again named Safer Choice Partner of the Year (2021) by the US Environmental Protection Agency for helping consumers and purchasers to find products that are safer for human health and the environment. At Cleaning Products 2022, Clive Davies of EPA detailed the benefits of joining the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) programs. Safer Choice helps consumers, businesses and purchasers find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. The logo helps consumers and commercial buyers identify antimicrobial products that meet the health and safety standards of the pesticide registration process required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as well as other criteria required by the agency.
Davies urged attendees to get involved with the programs. Together with retailers and NGOs, brand owners can help refine messaging for audience subgroups, amplify key messages and reach target audiences, create original content for social media, and access tools and strategies unavailable to EPA.
For its part, Davies said EPA is committed to reinvigorating existing social media and websites. It will help partners plan and coordinate their outreach, and develop and track metrics to ensure the campaign is successful.
Flores urged cleaning product manufacturers to end “silo thinking.” The rise of smart homes means home care companies must work together with machine manufacturers to develop products that work in this new environment. But she also cautioned that the microchip shortage is short-circuiting the move toward smart homes. Flores also predicted that the shortage won’t end any time soon.
But there are some bright spots within the household cleaning sector. Glass cleaner sales rose 7.3% to nearly $240 million. The gain was led by Windex, the segment leader from SC Johnson. The brand holds a 51.4% market share and posted a 9.3% gain in sales.
On a smaller scale, sales of abrasive tub/tile cleaner rose 4.1% to more than $109 million. Comet is the market leader with a 31.5% share. The KIK-owned brand had sales of more than $34 million.
After surging during the pandemic, consumer behavior is normalizing, explained Euromonitor Analyst Catalina Flores.
“Consumers have cleaning fatigue. They want better products—not more products,” said Flores, a featured speaker at the recent Cleaning Products 2022 conference held in Washington DC.
Declining demand comes at a time when inflation is soaring, labor shortages continue and supply chain issues remain. How are manufacturers responding? With higher prices and smaller packages; although Flores noted that consumers are not as sensitive to volume changes. As for the consumers’ response, Flores said shoppers are trading down to less expensive products.
For example, according IRI, sales of private label all-purpose cleaner/disinfectant rose 2.6% during the past year. In contrast, category sales fell 10.1%. Of course, in today’s post-pandemic world, private label isn’t a panacea. Sales of private label toilet bowl cleaners dropped 7.9%, according to IRI, and account for about 6% of category sales.
A Global Dust Up
Cleaning may no longer be top-of-mind for many consumers, but it remains critical for those suffering from allergies, noted Dr. John Ryan, chief strategy officer, Allergy Standards, a certification company that promises to help people create healthy indoor environments through science, certification and education. According to Ryan, more than 65 million Americans are impacted by allergies and 26 million Americans have asthma. Air pollution takes away 1-3 years of a typical human life.Furthermore, 6.5 million deaths worldwide are attributed to air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds WHO guideline limits and contains high levels of pollutants. Low- and middle-income countries suffer from the highest exposures.
“We have to educate consumers about the important role cleaning plays in reducing asthma,” said Ryan. “My challenge to the industry is to talk more about product benefits. Dust, particle pollution, particulate matter—it all impacts human health.”
Marie Striemer, Procter & Gamble’s senior manager of global scientific communications, explained that 70% of household dust is dead skin cells. Humans shed hundreds of thousands of skin flakes daily. The flakes are so fine (<20um) they become airborne and settle on surfaces. The rest comes from clothing, such as tiny fibers less than 200um; outdoors, such as fine soot and clay, and silicate and salt; and pets and insects. A mild case of dust mite allergy may cause runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing. But in severe cases, the condition becomes chronic, resulting in persistent sneezing, cough, congestion, facial pressure, eczema flareup or severe asthma attack.
As a registered nurse, Striemer noted that when patients presented asthmatic, a question posed by medical staff is “Are you dusting? Hygiene cleaning isn’t the most talked about topic, but (companies) should use social media as a way to reach consumers.”
In fact, according to Striemer, there is a proper order to dusting. Start high with the ceiling, crown molding and ceiling fans and work down. Use the right tools such as a trap and lock system rather than pushing dust around the room. Vacuum after dusting. She also recommended getting everyone in the family involved in dusting. Of course, Procter & Gamble manufactures Swiffer, the easy-to-use dusting system.
Cash-Strapped Consumers
Cleaning is critical to indoor air quality and overall human health, but cash-strapped consumers are reducing spending on non-essentials, said Euromonitor’s Flores.“(Laundry detergent) Scent boosters are not essential,” she noted. “Consumers may even move away from concentrated automatic dishwashing detergent to a standard detergent. They may even return to hand washing (dishes).”
Yet, even if the US economy slides into recession, sustainability will remain top-of-mind with most consumers. Flores noted that for subscription services such as Blueland, Dropps and Frey, sustainability plays a key role in purchasing decisions. But consumers must be educated about how to use concentrated cleaners.
“With the exception of Baby Boomers, most generations are using subscription services,” noted Flores. “Consumers want to buy products from purpose-driven brands. They want to use less water and reduce their carbon emissions as they learn more about sustainability. Retailers are making it easier for consumers to learn about sustainability.”
What’s On-Pack?
Consumers say they want more information about the cleaning products they use, especially the ingredients that they contain. American Cleaning Institute President and CEO Melissa Hockstad told Cleaning Products 2022 attendees that ACI members are committed to sustainable innovation with new products and processes.“We’re paving the way toward transparency,” she added.
As part of its drive to improve transparency, ACI has already created online searchable databases (such as Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative and Cleaning Product Ingredient Environmental Safety) for the market to access and understand comprehensive information on the safety of ingredients used in household cleaning products.
But those efforts may not be fast enough for some legislators and NGOs. States, including Oregon, Washington, New Jersey and Vermont, have introduced legislation regarding key chemical ingredients, packaging waste and household waste.
Hockstad said ingredient communication is the top issue for the Association. The goal is to provide consistent information for consumers no matter where they buy products.
ACI member companies continue to strive toward net zero emissions by 2050. At the same time, ACI’s circular packaging ambition calls for all cleaning products to achieve circularity by 2040.
Interest in packaging circularity rolls on. According to a Green Seal survey, 67% of consumers say that recyclability of packaging is important, 54% claim that the sustainability of the package is a factor in their purchasing decisions and nearly one in 4 respondents said sustainable packaging was very important when buying household cleaning products.
Mike Gruber, SVP-government relations and public policy, Household Consumer Products Association (HCPA), told Happi that states remain at the tip of the spear as new laws were enacted governing chemical reporting, restrictions on commonly used outdoor pesticides, unintentional ingredients, and actions that jeopardize next generation aerosol propellants.
“The onslaught of state-based legislative and regulatory activity has overwhelmed state regulatory agencies which has, in turn, slowed down agency workflows across the board,” said Gruber. “HCPA is amplifying the call for policy uniformity, clarity of definitions, and legislation that fosters smart regulations allowing industry and its complex supply chain to maintain inventories of life sustaining products without interruption.”
Gruber said that HCPA has been an increasingly and steady voice in state legislatures as states enact new extended producer responsibility bills. The Association’s Government Relations & Public Policy team has been effective in giving appropriate consideration for pesticides and other uniquely regulated products in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws.
Additionally, HCPA helped neutralize a California ballot initiative on plastics packaging through compromise legislation authorizing a new EPR law.
“Because ballot measures, once enacted, can only be amended through a new ballot measure, the Association’s sustained efforts at the negotiation table preserved industry’s legislative options as California regulators and industry work through program implementation,” Gruber explained.
In areas related to insect repellents, HCPA continues to play an instrumental role in drafting the reauthorization of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA), which expires next year. The bill authorizes the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect fees and perform regulatory work critical to the introduction of product innovations into market. The proposal outlines important process improvements for the agency, increased maintenance resources to reduce the backlog of EPA actions, and a new training program for onboarding employees at the agency, which is suffering from low head count.
Regarding product disposal, HCPA launched an aerosol recycling initiative designed to increase the ease and confidence with which end-users recycle their aerosol cans, leading to more infinitely recyclable metal remaining a part of the circular economy.
HCPA is actively engaging with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Division on ways to support commercialization of innovative, more sustainable chemistries.
Additionally, the Association is working to address US microplastics policy as Europe’s work on this matter inches toward a conclusion.
Keeping in mind sustainability commitments and product innovation, HCPA is coordinating with its members to promote uniform polices and develop technical content that enable companies to focus on innovating and building their business while driving product stewardship and sustainability efforts and educating and empowering people to live more sustainable lives.
Just last month, ACI issued its annual sustainability report. Eighteen member companies have committed to ACI’s 1.5°C Challenge by aligning their corporate climate strategy and targets with the science-based 1.5°C goal. An additional 20 members have made public commitments to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
Ten percent of members have a goal to reach zero waste to landfill. ACI’s Circular Packaging Roadmap outlines a wide set of ambitions, including a goal to achieve a 75% recycling rate for cleaning product packaging waste by 2030.
ACI was again named Safer Choice Partner of the Year (2021) by the US Environmental Protection Agency for helping consumers and purchasers to find products that are safer for human health and the environment. At Cleaning Products 2022, Clive Davies of EPA detailed the benefits of joining the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) programs. Safer Choice helps consumers, businesses and purchasers find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. The logo helps consumers and commercial buyers identify antimicrobial products that meet the health and safety standards of the pesticide registration process required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as well as other criteria required by the agency.
Davies urged attendees to get involved with the programs. Together with retailers and NGOs, brand owners can help refine messaging for audience subgroups, amplify key messages and reach target audiences, create original content for social media, and access tools and strategies unavailable to EPA.
For its part, Davies said EPA is committed to reinvigorating existing social media and websites. It will help partners plan and coordinate their outreach, and develop and track metrics to ensure the campaign is successful.
What’s Ahead?
Hockstad reminded the audience that the ACI Annual Meeting will take place January 30-February 4, 2023 at the Grande Lakes Marriott, Orlando, FL. The theme of the meeting is, appropriately, “Cleaning is Caring.”Flores urged cleaning product manufacturers to end “silo thinking.” The rise of smart homes means home care companies must work together with machine manufacturers to develop products that work in this new environment. But she also cautioned that the microchip shortage is short-circuiting the move toward smart homes. Flores also predicted that the shortage won’t end any time soon.
Before the calendar flips to 2023, the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA) will hold its annual meeting at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL, December 4-7. Allie Hayes, VP-communications and public affairs, noted it is HCPA’s first in-person only meeting since the pandemic. “We are excited to welcome attendees back and, especially, to offer increased networking opportunities through a new and improved exhibitor space,” said Hayes. With EPR being a priority issue for the industry, HCPA will host a half-day EPR Workshop that aims to facilitate practical discussion, information-sharing and networking related to implementation in states across the country. “We intend to use the results of these discussions to put together a set of EPR implementation principles to supplement our existing EPR policy principles and help guide our advocacy efforts,” explained Hayes. HCPA started the Innovation Awards in 2019, which recognizes members of the household and commercial products industry for accomplishments in product innovation. This year’s awards will be presented by HCPA’s Sustainability & Product Stewardship Council, with a focus on innovations that help the industry transition to an environmentally and socially sustainable economy. In addition to awards in five categories—Ingredients, End-User Communication, Technology, Circular Economy, and Carbon Footprint—there will also be an Association Award, voted on by annual meeting attendees during a poster session on Sunday, December 4. www.thehcpa.org |